Do you reccomend 1 big heater or 2 small ones?

[cujoho78]

Hi. I'm going to get a US 55 gallon tank in the next week or so and can't decide on the heater. Some people reccomend 2 smaller heaters such as 2 x 150 watts as opposed to one 300 watt heater. One reason this is suggested is because if the heater breaks or stops working, the other heater will not let the temperature drop too much. The other reason is that if the heater gets stuck in the on position, a larger 300 watt heater will heat the water up faster than one 150 watt heater thereby cooking the fish. If the 150 got stuck on, there would be more time to catch it and unplug it. The problem is that the difference in price between a 150w and a 300w heater is only a few dollars. So buying 2 of them will basically double the expenditure on the heater. So what would you reccomend for a 55? One 300 watt, one 250 watt, or a combination of two heaters such as two 150 watt.
Thanks in advance for your comments.
edited for spelling.

 

[Bloo]

I have 1 heater in my 50 gallon and it's been absolutely fine.

But yes, people do seem to recommend two.
I guess if one breaks it's not such a big deal in terms of temperature fluctuation.
I must be honest, I don't always check my tank temperature and possibly only once a week. So if the heater did decide to pack in, I'd probably only notice a while after it happened.