heaters

I have this heater. We had a cold snap today and my temp. dropped so I plugged this in for the first time. I set it at 77°F. Can I leave it on overnight? Will it stay at this temp and not cook my fish?

Is it one that keeps a steady temp?
I don't recognize that one.
You could look online and see what the features are.

You still just got peppered cories? They'll be fine all the way down to 60F. I keep mine at 68F

It will switch on and off but will (try to) hold the water temperature just below what you set it at, it turns off when at it's at that temp, not the water, then switches on when it falls a certain way below the temp set. Most use a bimetallic strip as a switch rather than any calibrated electronics gubbins.
Best placed horizontal and low in the tank in the filter current from the outlet rather than the intake.

I test in a bucket with a thermometer I trust. The settings are rarely accurate on heaters. So set it to the temp you want and then measure what temp the water actually ends up at. Then adjust the heater until it comes out at the right temp. You can do this in the tank but then you have to keep a closer eye. Easier in a bucket because you can cool it quicker to do the next round.

Warning: Make sure the heater has finished heating. Most heaters do not stay on continually until the water has reached its temp. They come on and then repeatedly turn off for a few minutes to prevent oveheating (of the heater itself). So check how long the "rest" is. It has only stopped heating when the light stays off for longer than the rest period.

I fell asleep before I could read any of these . It was though. I had it set at 77°F and the temperature for the entire tank got up to 74°F. I'm going to leave it in and continue to monitor.

HoldenOn said:

View attachment 115927
I have this heater. We had a cold snap today and my temp. dropped so I plugged this in for the first time. I set it at 77°F. Can I leave it on overnight? Will it stay at this temp and not cook my fish?

Click to expand...

I have found most heaters to be inaccurate and unreliable in my 50 years as an aquarist with the exception of the Fluval E series. This immersible
heater runs about $40 but is far superior than any other..and yes once set it keeps temp right where you want it..with a built in thermometer.

Perbud said:

I have found most heaters to be inaccurate and unreliable in my 50 years as an aquarist with the exception of the Fluval E series. This immersible
heater runs about $40 but is far superior than any other..and yes once set it keeps temp right where you want it..with a built in thermometer.

Click to expand...

Definitely buying. The garbage I had installed almost boiled my fish. Left it on at 77 and woke up at 83. Very disappointed.

Thinking about getting this heater. Hygger Titanium Tube Submersible Pinpoint Aquarium Heater, could 300 watts cause a problem, or is that a good thing?

I'm also worried about dispersion of warm water. I don't want to add an air stone for fear of to strong of a flow for my corydoras and kribensis, and I've been having trouble getting reliable flow out of my filter.

I use an aerator like this, my cory likes to ride the bubbles

By placing the heater low convection currents will distribute the heat, I don't know if a tank will develop thermoclines but a container of water usually balances itself out.
The only issue with using a bigger heater than the 2.5-5watt per gallon is that if it runs away you'll have less time to react.
(300watts is enough to heat 40gallons 27degrees above ambient.)

What fish are you keeping @HoldenOn ? And what temp is your tank without a heater?

I’m sure this is the wrong way but I have two undersized heaters one always stays on even during the summer as it has a built in thermostat the second starts to come in use around about now in the year as I will put on during night times and folders months I run both constantly, my tank is in a bay window tho so outside temp really does effect my tank temp , even with both heaters in my tabk will drop from 27.5+ to 26.5-

Choosing heaters can be tricky things.

Buts basically, you get what you pay for.

Personally I am a fan of the Fluval E series heaters, have had them in a couple of tanks and have been really good for me so far.

What I tend to do when buying heaters for my tanks is buy the next step up heater wattage.

Say for example I have a 100litre tank then I’ll buy a 150w or perhaps a 200w heater, this uses less energy to heat up a 100litre tank than a 100w heater.

So no matter what size of tank I have, I ensure I have the slightly larger heater than is recommended by manufacturers.

So if it’s a 300litre tank then I’ll get 2x 200w heaters as this gives a more even temperature throughout the tank as it has larger footprint dimensions and if one fails then a 200w heater will be ok to heat the 300l tank temporarily until I replace the failed heater.

Btw I always have spare heaters of varying wattage in spare cabinet. Very useful to have just in case of heater failure or needed to set up emergency quarantine or treatment tanks etc etc