Heater debate.

[Jimmy120883]

Where and how is best to place your tank heater?
I've always had it at the opposite end of the tank from the filter and at an angle.
However I've read on a few sites it should be closer to the filter and straight down at a 45 degree angle which is correct?

 

[GaryE]

Whatever fits. I don't think there's a best way. It should be where the water moves, and beyond that, go for it.

 

[10 Tanks]

Where and how is best to place your tank heater?
I've always had it at the opposite end of the tank from the filter and at an angle.
However I've read on a few sites it should be closer to the filter and straight down at a 45 degree angle which is correct?

Hello. I don't use them anymore. I keep my place at between 72 and 77 degrees. This is a good temperature range for the fish I keep. However, when I did heat my tanks, I placed the heater next to my filtration device. The water movement produced by the filter did a reasonable job of distributing the heat.

10

 

[Colin_T]

Heaters should be as close to the bottom of the tank as possible.
*NB* Some heaters are not fully submersible and should not be completely underwater.

I like aquarium heaters to be centrally located on the back of the tank but just above the gravel. I have them on a slight angle with the heating coil lower than the thermostat (cable/ cord end). This allows heat to come out of a larger area and the heat rises up from the bottom. Having an airstone or power filter outlet blowing water across the heater is also beneficial to heat distribution.

 

[GaryE]

I'd never really thought about this, but now that you ask, I thought about it more. I think it depends on how you filter the tank. I like to have 2 filters on any tank. If I am using air, one in each corner, and in larger tanks, an air powered filter and a HOB or canister. I try to position the heater near the outflow. I don't want the warm water pulled into the filter and splashed out before it's distributed.

One of the companies used to sell HOBs with integrated heaters, a bad idea because heaters are not very durable. They didn't last.

There is uneven heat distribution in most tanks, with dead spots, stratification if you're under-filtered, etc. Dwarf Cichlid parents will lead their broods to the best places for oxygen levels and warmth. I always noticed they stayed away from the actual heaters. I assume that's because the water closest to them when they're on is too warm. When I bred a lot of them, I had a basement room that was at 18c, and I heated the Apisto tanks to 26, so the heaters were active.

I think you have to look at your tank, and position the heater in relation to the filter. They're interconnected. You want warm water all through the lower reaches of the tank. If you notice you are getting mulm or debris settling in spots, then you can expect the water movement there to be less, and you may have to make changes, in decor, filter placement, or even heater placement.

With most species, we overheat their tanks, and we have to look into that too. I have a fishroom with 45 tanks, and use heaters in at most 3 or 4 of them.

 

[jaylach]

Personally I have mine horizontal between the air risers for my under gravel filtration. My reason for this is that it causes a more wide heat convection moving more water for quicker heat dispersion. With placing between my air risers they also help to disperse heat by their own water movement. Boils down to 2/3 to 3/4 of the back of my tank being a water moving system.

 

[Sleeveless]

I used to have mine to the back left of my filter pickup then pickup then output facing to the right to create a circular flow around the tank. THen I upgraded my heater to the Fluval E series that loves to give a LF (low flow) alarm in the back corner so it needs to be in the flow of water to eliminate the warning light. Works either way, but OCD kicks in and I hated seeing LF all the time on the LCD. My tank throughout stays a good 78 degrees.

 

[Magnum Man]

I agree with most posts above…
One thing, I think some people worry about this too much… in nature, there are large changes of water temperatures, between varying depths, and sunny, and shaded areas… the fish are free to move about, between these areas, so if your tank is not exactly the same temperature in every square inch, it’s not a concern, as long as most of it falls within your fishes comfort range..

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I agree with Colin_T. I place all my heater horizontally near the bottom. And here is why.

A heater is not for circulating the water in a tank, but it will do so because heat rises and to that extent it can cause the cooler water at the bottom of the tank to move up and that cause circulation. However, the real circulation comes from out filters, powerheads and air stones.

Next., it is much easier to hide a heater lower down where it is behind plants or decor. However, In my tanks where I use a canister filter I do not have heaters in the tank normally, I have an inline heater *Hydor) on the output line of the canister. However for one set-up I had no choice and the heater is on the intake line.

Fimally, an in tanks heater emits heat from the lower half only. When one places it verticall that heat is not spread out that much and we get a column of heated water that rise up around the heater. But if we place it horizonatlly near the bottom we get a "wall" of heated water rising up. I feel that is more effective in the results. Not all tanks can be heats this way so the next best option is vertically bu at and angle. This gives a greater surface from which heat can be dispersed.

I usually have more than one heater in a tank in order to prevent and single point failure from being able to overly effect things. I prefer to have a pair of 200w heaters than a single 400w for example. I also prefer to have multiple filters in most tanks. However, it is not always possible to do multiple heaters or filters.

As always my way is just that and it is not the only way. The choice is always yours to make and often depends on the tank specs and one's buget.