300W Heater

[basil1]

Im a bit puzzled, as im looking for a new tank for my new hobby a 60 litre tank should do, so been looking at a fair selection of plug n plays, eg interpet fishpod 64 lit, which comes with 150watt heater,

Now am I right when as a rule of thumb its 1 watt per litre, so how come ive been looking at a juwell rekord 600 63litre tank supplied with a 50 watt heater, also an mp aquarstar 54litre again with a 50 watt heater, can someone explain please.

 

[arobinson1984]

Some fish places will pair alsorts of equipment together if it makes financial sense to sell them together.


Andy

 

[basil1]

But these are plug n play packages made up by the manafacture, surely a 50 watt heater is way to small for a 63 litre tank.

 

[arobinson1984]

I wouldnt say it is way too small, ideally it should be a 75w though.

The 1w per L is only a guide, there are other aspects to take into account such as surface area etc, a short 63L tank with a small surface area would likely heat quicker than a longer 63L with larger surface area.



Andy

 

[basil1]

I wouldnt say it is way too small, ideally it should be a 75w though.

The 1w per L is only a guide, there are other aspects to take into account such as surface area etc, a short 63L tank with a small surface area would likely heat quicker than a longer 63L with larger surface area.



Andy

Ta, now I understand, my tank will be going in conservetry, so the 150 watt heater which comes with the interpet 64l fishpod should be ample, yes, thats if I go for that, also been looking at the aquael brillux, anyone have any info or views on this tank.

 

[OldMan47]

In general the Rena, Visitherm, Eheim and Ebo-Jaeger heaters are quite reliable. I have probably left out somebody's favorite heater from the list since almost any big name brand seems to be fairly reliable. As others have said, the particular heater you have is larger than most of us would use. Perhaps with a discus keeper who wanted very warm water in the tank and may have had the tank in a cool room, the overkill of that heater might have seemed justified.

 

[arobinson1984]

Basil1,

A 150w in a 64L tank is abit overkill and have no idea why the manufacturer is providing such a high powered heater for a small tank.

If you read back in this thread you will see where I have explained the problems with having a heater that is too powerful for the tank. A 75w would be suffcient for the 64L tank or even a 100w heater at the most.

If you are thinking of buying one of these plug & play packages from a shop then I'd have a word with them and see if they will swap the heater for a lower powered one if I was you.


Andy

 

[OldMan47]

I always use a bit different thumb rule than Arobinson but I would have only come up with a 100 watt heater for that tank myself. Correct me if I'm wrong but this came from another owner, not the manufacturer, with that big heater.

 

[basil1]

Basil1,

A 150w in a 64L tank is abit overkill and have no idea why the manufacturer is providing such a high powered heater for a small tank.

If you read back in this thread you will see where I have explained the problems with having a heater that is too powerful for the tank. A 75w would be suffcient for the 64L tank or even a 100w heater at the most.

If you are thinking of buying one of these plug & play packages from a shop then I'd have a word with them and see if they will swap the heater for a lower powered one if I was you.


Andy
I have just checked the specs again and it does come with 150 watt, the tank will be going in a conservertry, so my thinking, with the temp in winter falling it would be able to cope as it gets bitter in there,

 

[OldMan47]

The 150 W heater in a cold room does indeed make sense. As others have said, the only danger posed by a large heater is if it were to have a problem and get stuck in the ON condition. I have had that happen a long time ago but not in the last few years since I got back into the hobby. The older heaters that were not water tight and could not be submerged, often had problems due to the moisture that is always present near a tank. They would either fail ON or they would fail OFF. I much preferred it if they failed OFF since the fish always survived being a few degrees cooler than usual. I still have a few of those older heaters from my fish keeping in the 80s and I just keep a closer eye on their tanks.

 

[basil1]

The 150 W heater in a cold room does indeed make sense. As others have said, the only danger posed by a large heater is if it were to have a problem and get stuck in the ON condition. I have had that happen a long time ago but not in the last few years since I got back into the hobby. The older heaters that were not water tight and could not be submerged, often had problems due to the moisture that is always present near a tank. They would either fail ON or they would fail OFF. I much preferred it if they failed OFF since the fish always survived being a few degrees cooler than usual. I still have a few of those older heaters from my fish keeping in the 80s and I just keep a closer eye on their tanks.
My thoughts exactly, though im no expert, thats why I joined this forum, however what about the summer even a 300 watt wont go over the temp set would it,

As for thermos sticking, I hope it WAS a thing of the past, and does not happen now, apart from frying your fish isnt there a fire hazard.

 

[Dave Spencer]

Mmmm....aren`t we scaremongering a tad, chaps.

I have run a 300W on a 120l Lido for a few years, now. Zero problems. If a heater sticks on, it sticks on, and Sod`s Law says you won`t spot it, no matter what the size of the heater.

I have also run a Hydor 200w on a 24l without any problems. I don`t even bother with a thermometer anymore, after I have initially set the temperature. I never used to look at the reading, and it spoilt the view.

Reliability is the most important factor, here. I have read some stories of Hydor external heaters sticking on, but I have three and they seem fine, plus they are one less piece of hardware to take up room in the tank.

Save yourself some money, an stick with your current heater is my advice.

Dave.

 

[arobinson1984]

Not scaremongering at all dave, just pointing out the possiblity and the fact that it happened to one of my juwel heaters about 3 months ago culminating in me losing £150 worth of fish!

The heater was the correct size for the tank so as you say, if it does stick on then sods law it wont be spotted, unfortuanately mine stuck when we have been out all day, i only realised when I got home and put my hand in the tank and the water was almost hot.

Guess lesson is get a good reliable heater from a good manufacturer, although as I say mine was a juwel heater, not some unbranded chinese cr*p.

For anybody with an external filter, I'd also recommend the hydor eth's run one on my tank and its a fantastic heater.

Not to mention the other negative to having a heater thats too powerful, the temp "bouncing" up and down fater than normal which isnt too good for the fish. There was a thread on this topic last year with a discussion about the negative effects of a heater too large. I'll try find it.


Andy