how important to a tank is a

Temperature can be the single most important component in the life of your fish. Fish are very sensitive to changes in temperature and a sudden shift can send their immune systems out of whack making them very stressed, causing them to be easily infected by diseases.
 
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I accidentally left my heater off after a w/c and my fish (Guppies) were listless and you could almost see them shivering... once the heater was back on the fish perked up and were much happier...the difference was only a couple of degrees but it makes a huge difference to them!!!

I think a heater is the most important thing along with a good biological filtration system..

Of course if you live in the tropics and tank temp without heater is able to stay consistent at the temp your fish require... then heater wouldnt be necessary... for example I live in melbourne, Aust. and temps in tank naturally without heater can get down to 16degrees celcius when I need them at 25degrees for my guppies so I need a heater ... but....
people living in Queensland in Aust may not need a heater because it is hotter up there all the time and the tank temp sits around 25degrees without heating... I suppose we need to take into account where we live and what temps the fish require and go from there. HTH :dive2:
 
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im confused on the heater thing as well, my tanks often heat up past the set temperature on my heater.

That and all my thermometers tell me different temps so which one do I go by?


I have

Regular In tank,
Coralife Digital
and an $80 Infered Digital

The IR is usualy at least 2 degerees higher than the other two, the regular analog diverets fromt eh digital at temps under 80...
 
I have a few heaterless tanks. I have heaters in my main tanks, but they rarely ever turn on. I keep the temp in my fishroom 77F-79F year round. My Filters heat the water a little too, so my tanks are usually 1 or 2 degrees warmer than the room temperature.
 
Here in Florida, I only use heaters in the "winter". November - February.
 
When I started my first tank a few months ago (10g), I had a school of red-eye tetras (still got 'em). I noticed that they would hover around the heater wand, all of them facing it, and at first I thought it was some bizarre tetra behavior: worshipping the wand LOL. Seriously, it was set at 76 degrees F; I started upping the heat by very small increments until they no longer spent time at the heater, but exhibited normal behavior. They seem to do best at 80 degrees.

I completely agree with testecho that large fluctuations in temp, or having temps too low or high, stress the fish and leave them wide open for problems. Bettas need to have a constant temp, or they will get fungus. Get a good heater (adjustable temp) and a good thermometer. Just my 2 taters worth.
 
justintoxicated said:
im confused on the heater thing as well, my tanks often heat up past the set temperature on my heater.

That and all my thermometers tell me different temps so which one do I go by?
Click to expand...

get a cheep liquid expansion heater (ones with the red line) when its room temperature, make shure that it reads the same as the house thermometer, then put it in the tank... they won't lie to you...

your heaters might be telling the truth and it is possible that the different parts of your tank are really that far apart in temparature, this would happen if the water doesn't move enough in your tank...
 
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