# i need a heater.



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Well now that my tanks have dipped to 74 degrees,I am starting to think I really need a heater. The best heater for me would have to be one that has a little knob to adjust the temp. I need a heater that can make my tank's water go up to 78 degrees. I have several 10 gallons a 20 gallon high,and a 29 gallon tank. Also when your answering could you please state which tank you are talking about the heater going into? Thanks it will be much easier to understand that way.


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

petsoloutions.com


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You need to know the lowest temp your room will get. The old rule of thumb was 10 Watt per gallon per 10 degrees. So 100W heater in a 10 gal would go up to 10 degrees warmer. You'd only need 50 W if the room never dropped below 73 and 200W if you were keeping the 10 in a 58 degree room.

Some of the newer heaters are more efficient than the old ones. A good catalog or manufacture web site should tell you what temp range each model does. 

Its not strictly linear as small tanks have a lot more surface area to volume ratio and therefore cool off faster. You need more than 10W for a 1 gallon and less than 550W for a 55.

So if the room is never more than 10 degrees cooler than where you want the tank, you'd get 100W for 10s, 200W for 20s, 300W for 29s.

The other factor is what temp the fish like. 78 is good for most tropical fish, but many CA cichlid, for example, don't mind 74 seasonally.


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Well i looked up petsolutions and went to the heaters and found a heater that will come in multiple watts and has a heater knob. Here's a link to it.http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Aquarium-Heaters/I/Jager-Thermostatic-Heater.aspx. I really like it,right in my price range*per tank*,and it has that knob for the temps. Hey yall i just noticed my post count is 333 haha.


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Well i just remembered something important. Does that site accept debit cards?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

debit/credit ; yes..


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

What 13 year old owns a credit/debit card? LOL! Make sure you have your parents permission first. I know I would NEVER let my son use a credit/debit card without permission. If he had, that would be the end of his computer usage and more. Meaning no Xbox, TV, etc...


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

I have friend that pulled out a debit card once. Does that count? But dont worry i always ask my parents if they will get it for me. I always ask my mom and i give her the cash.


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

if i have a 29 gallon tank that never goes below 73 degrees in it,then would i use a 150 watt heater?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

A 150 watt unit would work since you only want to raise the temp a few degrees, and if you're sure the room won't get cold.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Buy a good one. Cheap ones tend to stick. I had one stick two days ago, and the water was 95 degrees.


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

I agree....don't cheap out on a heater.....it's true, "you get what you pay for" I even lost (cooked) every fish in my 90 gal. The heater was an ebo, but it was over 12 years old. I should have changed it out long ago.


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

i have heard very good things about these heaters. Check out the reviews for them!!they are all good except for one which i dont think was the heater's fault. I think it was the mans fault.http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Aquarium-Heaters/I/Jager-Thermostatic-Heater.aspx


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

They have a good rep. Mine drove me nuts trying to keep it a water line, it stuck up past the lid. Someone here said to just ignore the instructions and sink it, and I did and it works fine. Any heater can fail. These have a better rep than most but are still occasional killers, using a smaller heater should give you a better safety margin.

The fix is a $20 temp controller for each tank. http://www.atlantaaquarium.com/show...roller-how-to-wiring-(easy)&p=61450#post61450


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

whoa,that was so confusing.i got lost in the first step.do i really need this?im not trying to be lazy or cheap but this is so confusing and i have 7 tanks to do "things"to i have to put heaters in them,up grade the lights,buy new filters for a couple new tanks,just so much to do and i know the heaters alone are gonna be about 160 bucks and these are gonna be about 140 bucks,filters i cant even tell,lights several hundred bucks.....it's gonna take me a LONG time to even get all of my tanks where they are suppose to be at.i got off to a bad start with my fish tanks now it's coming back at me HARD.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Better find a job soon or hope for the best from Santa. LOL!


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

well i am gonna EVENTUALLY get the money....but it might be in a year or tow*sighs i've dug a pit and fell in and can not get out now*


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

It would be cheaper to replace your fish. But it is heartbreaking to have a tank of fish dead overnight. The link is from a discus keeper with a couple hundred dollars at least of fish in each tank. Modern heaters piss me off because they should be able to put in shutoff thermal fuse and they don't because of cost. But its always been an issue. I lost high-fin lyre-tail swords to a heater stuck-on in the 80s. 

Unless you have have super warm-water fish, I'd not worry about heaters until the tanks are 70 or you see problems like ich. In the cold season, feed less and shorten the light period. You have to weigh the benefit against the risk.


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

well the tank is 74 degrees and all i need to move it up is to 78 degrees.
pros. fish will be in the right temp.they might grow more.i can get a german blue ram for my 20 gallon.i h=will have more options at fish.

con. i am stuck with a smaller amount of fish that can go with my tank.the heater might go crazy and kill my fish.it could make me bury about $100 of fish.it could kill my 2 favorite fish,my betta(tropy),and my female blue gourami(big blue).

i guess i have it,no heater.besides my golden white cloud minnows are doing great.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

oh white clouds are cool water fish.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

Just to stir the pot a little-- I have a100 watt heater in a 30 gallon tank and it is about 7-8 years old.

Last time I read up on heater recommendations it was suggested that you only need 3 watts per gallon instead of the previously recommended 5 watts per gallon. My tank is between 76 &78 . My room temperature is set for 70.
My 10 gallon tank has either a 50 watt or 75 watt heater in it. I can no longer read the info printed inside the glass tube part.
I always keep a couple of heaters as spares--just the cheap versions incase something goes wrong.
There is a Big Als about a mile from my house so I can get a good heater any time I need one.
I also check the temperature of the tanks first thing in the morning and in the evening just to make sure everything is fine.learned this the hard way!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You may want a non-submersible heater to save money. They may also be a bit more reliable as long as you don't break the glass tube or the seal at the top of tube.

Remember to unplug heaters before water change and plug back in after. Glass heaters can shatter when they try to heat air instead of water. Checking tank temps regularly is always a good idea.

white clouds come from cool, fast-moving mountain stream. 64-72F say a couple of web sites. So don't buy a heater for them. A powerhead or stronger filter to get the oxygen up would likely be more appreciated.


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

Just bought one a week ago. They usually have a scale on the back as to how many watts per gallon. I have a 250 w in a 55 and that is so that I have more than enough according to the scale.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

I had totally forgot about this, thanks. I was actually looking for this a while ago.


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## fish nerd (Jul 3, 2015)

Evil wizard... why do you need all new equipment? Did all of your stuff stop working at the same time? Don't feel that you need to do it all right away! Believe me, I often feel overwhelmed with all the "stuff" i need/want to do for my tanks, but at the end of the day, are your fish happy? Do they "need" more lighting, or do YOU "want" more lighting? With my two planted tanks, 2 small betta tanks, 2 other tanks that I'm maintaining, and a newly acquired 55, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed as well. Some of them don't have lights, some no cover, some no substrate... I will get them all to a perfect state, but it doesn't have to be NOW. I always remember this... I am LUCKY to have what I have, and I will appreciate each new item that much more. Take your time and make sure you enjoy your HOBBY!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Our hobby is a high startup cost, low maintenance cost one. That's why stores don't really care if all your fish die and you drop out of the hobby, they already have all your money. They'd rather hook the next guy. I spend very little in stores now even though I know i should support the locals, I tend to buy big quantities of what I need online because its so much cheaper. 

Agree with the be patient and be flexible. Consider that ancient Chinese kept fish in nothing but ceramic bowls, they just changed water 3 times a day. People here used to heat tanks with incandescent light bulbs IN THE WATER. I couldn't believe the pics. 

Put the fish first. Keep what will do well with what you've got.

I have had mixed feelings about heaters since my first "stuck-on" heater made all my high-finned lyre-tail swordtails jump out of the tank when I was about 13.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

let me ask you this fishnerd....what do you mean by a "perfect state" ?????
perfect for you ? or perfect for the fish ? do you really believe that you are capable of creating the "perfect state" in an aquarium...
one of the biggest problems i see people make is the constant tinkering with their tanks..never satisfied with how it is..and then want the changes to be instant....and then cannot understand what went wrong when disaster strikes..and what i am always trying to explain to folks................ " the more you mess with your tanks ; the more problems you create for yourself. "
in nature the lakes and rivers and oceans are open systems..an aquarium is a closed system...a "perfect state" cannot exist in an aquarium.....the best that we can do is try to give our fish the best possible environment for them that we are able to achieve...
if you want a "perfect " planted tank i would suggest keeping fish to a bare minimum..if you are more into the fish than see to their needs rather than the plants..mother nature does not buy plant fertilizers.nor does she have giant co2 tanks along side of the lakes and rivers...
we should spend more time and energy learning from nature rather than some company that wants our paychecks.
as you are finding out that by reducing ferts and co2 things are improving..keep up the good work...best of luck..


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Thanks loha. I am not sure what is with people reviving old threads. This thread was 8 months old.


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## fish nerd (Jul 3, 2015)

The perfect state is obviously the fine balance between what we want from our tanks, and what our tanks need. This goes outside the OP's question about heaters, but for me, I want to be able to grow amazing plants that will help keep the fish happy. My focus is NOT on the fish, not yet. Once I can get my plants happy, then my fish will benefit as well. I have a 55 gallon tank waiting to be set up, and I'm thinking of doing a cichlid tank. For that one, I'll focus on the fish. My perfect state is one where the fish and plants are happy, and I see how my hard work has paid off. I'll let you know when I get there, haha!


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Well when you get to your perfect space post a pic here.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

When new people join, ALL of the threads, even the old ones, show up as new. That's why old threads get revived. 
Is that really such a bad thing? There are a lot of great threads in the graveyard.
One day, we might even want to have a "necro day" on which we all go back and resurrect a few threads. That would really make this place jump for awhile.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

In other news only slightly related, my White Clouds, in their 72 degree water, are spawning like crazy. There must be 80+ fry in that tank. I'm not even going to try to raise them, but I did set out a tub to make a big batch of greenwater.

Have you ever seen baby White Clouds? They have a brilliant neon green/blue stripe, nose to tailtip, which puts Neon Tetras to shame. Its too bad they don't keep it in adulthood.


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

TheOldSalt said:


> When new people join, ALL of the threads, even the old ones, show up as new. That's why old threads get revived.
> Is that really such a bad thing? There are a lot of great threads in the graveyard.
> One day, we might even want to have a "necro day" on which we all go back and resurrect a few threads. That would really make this place jump for awhile.


 Oh I was just wondering what makes them go to the old threads, now I know. Thank TOS.




TheOldSalt said:


> In other news only slightly related, my White Clouds, in their 72 degree water, are spawning like crazy. There must be 80+ fry in that tank. I'm not even going to try to raise them, but I did set out a tub to make a big batch of greenwater.
> 
> Have you ever seen baby White Clouds? They have a brilliant neon green/blue stripe, nose to tailtip, which puts Neon Tetras to shame. Its too bad they don't keep it in adulthood.


No I have not seen them, I will look them up..... DO NOT LOOK UP BABY WHITECLOUD ON GOOGLE! I regret not putting fish in the search bar.
I am planning to get some normal white clouds for my 10 gallon I think. I might make this tank heavily planted and get a dozen, now that would look nice I bet .


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## WildForFish (Aug 5, 2008)

neon green/blue stripe with eye balls.

They are lovely tinies.


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

That sounds nice .


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