Best Location For Tank Heater?

[Guyver]

Had a quick search around and nothing came up I could really tag onto, if a thread has been made on this the mods can lock it.
Anyway I was wondering if there's a "correct" location to mount a heater in a tropical fish tank to get optimal heat distribution, or is it good to try and create temperature variances in the tank when you have a community tank? Also would having 2 heaters be overkill? I have a spare heater so I could do that setup if it was beneficial in anyway.
Right now I have my heater positioned vertically in one corner of the tank, the external filter (I have an internal one in there as well) is extracting dirty water from the other end of the tank. I thought this could help carry the heated water around the tank better.

Thanks for you help.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Most heaters are meant to be placed at a 45 degree angle but it does depend on which one you have. I think most people place it in the middle of the back wall of the tank. Two heaters isn't unreasonable, you could place one at each end. The general guide is that you need 1w per litre of water. So a 200L tank would need at least a 200w heater.

 

[paulyoung666]

probably going to get slated for this but i have mine vertical in the corner of the tank next to the suction pipe for the external filter , i have checked all around the tank and the temperature is the same everywhere , works for me and i dont have an ugly heater sat at 45 degrees on the back wall of the tank .....

 

[fluttermoth]

The 'heater at a 45° angle' is a bit old fashioned now. It used to be that almost everyone ran air driven filtration, and that didn't create enough current to stop the hot water rising and making the heater work far too hard switching on/off.

Nowadays, with power filters, it's not so important, as long as there is good flow around the heater, upright is fine.

 

[Xraymark]

Place it were it looks best then check that the temp is consistent around the tank.
One person did post that he lost a BN plec when it slept on a heater placed horizontally.

 

[fluttermoth]

yeah, plecs and other catfish are naughty for that. A heater guard is a must in any tank with catfish, IMO.

 

[Salam]

I have two heaters and two filters in each of the bigger tanks. There is a filter and a heater on each side, nicely tucked into the corner. I barely see the heaters on the side glass.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

yeah, plecs and other catfish are naughty for that. A heater guard is a must in any tank with catfish, IMO.

Another reason why I love my three Visitherms, not only are they well calibrated, but they also stop my silly synodontis (especially nigriventris) from giving themselves heater burns by coming with a modular plastic guard.

 

[Zante]

That's what I mostly love of using a sump.

I have no equipment in my display, not even a return pipe or a spray bar. What I use is a "spray panel".

My tank has a weir on each side. I use one to drain the tank to the sump. The other weir I had drilled with lots of small holes and the return pipe from the sump pours in the drilled weir. That way I have a high flow of water coming out of a 24"x6" surface. No harsh currents, but a nice water flow.

My two 300w heaters and co2 diffuser are hidden in the return weir in full water flow.

If you like the idea, please call it a Passante system

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Or crush all those problems and get a Hydor ETH External Heater

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Or crush all those problems and get a Hydor ETH External Heater

+1

 

[Guyver]

Thanks a lot for the info guys this really helps. Think I'll try the twin heater setup and stash one into each corner. I do have few different types of catfish in my tank and didn't know that they would sleep on a heater so thanks for that heads up as well.

Or crush all those problems and get a Hydor ETH External Heater

Didn't know that this kind of heater was available, I wouldn't mind one.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Yeah the inline heaters just fit into the output line of your external filter, I have 2 of them ready for my 800l less equipment in the tank the better and no cold spots

 

[Guyver]

The more you guys mention these in-line heaters the more I want one

 

[Dav]

mmmmmm inline heater it is when I get home from work, never seen them before but they look the muts nuts