Your 2 cents

[jmhart]

You know, everybody's got a differnt opinion about how to place your heaters. Some people say vertical, some say horizontal, and some say slanted. I think a good case can be made for all.

In my bigger tanks, I use two heaters, so I have one vertical and one horizontal, just in case. In one of my tanks, I've got one heater position vertical next to the HOB intake. They kind of blend in to one piece of ugly. I have the other heater down low horizontal behind some fake plants(this take is new, haven't gone planted yet).

In the other one, I've got one heater horizontal low behind some plants and the other is vertial kind of sorta blending in with some tall plants. I use the visi-therm stealths so they blend in pretty well with my black background.

If you have an HOB, I'd recommend position the heater either horizontal under then output or vertical next to the intake. This way the HOB sucks in(or just pushes around) the heated water to mix it well.

If it's not possible to do this, I'd say slant it.

But again, everybody's got a differnt answer. Bottom line, just make sure there is enough flow in your tank to spread the heat around.

 

[Sploke]

If the heater is fully submersed, all the heat produced will be dissipated into the water regardless of placement. What comes into play more at that point is proper water circulation. I could see if your heater is vertical with no flow, then it would heat a thin column of water around itself and would not mix. But, with proper filtration, that should create enough flow that the heated water will disperse and be replaced with cooler water ready to absorb more heat.

 

[FtwayneFish]

thanks guys