Heater Requirement

[azotemia]

Hi
I dunno if this is on the right forum, not sure where to put it. I'm planning to get couple of tanks; a 65 U.S. gallon and a 90 U.S gallon one. Now Im not sure how much wattage i need for each tank. Help pls.

 

[Colin_T]

It depends on how warm the room is that the tanks will be kept in. If the room is an average comfortable temperature for people then a 200watt heater should be fine for the 65g and a 300watt heater for the 90g.
If the room is cold or the tanks are really long then get 2 of each heater for the tanks, ie: 2 x 200w for the 65g, 2 x 300w for the 90g. Have one heater at each end of the tank.
Coverglass will help hold heat in and reduce the time the heaters are on. A piece of polystyrene foam stuck to the back of each tank will also help reduce the amount of time the heaters are on.

 

[azotemia]

thanks for the reply, but you lost me with the foam thing. could you elaborate that for me pls. thanks a bunch

 

[Colin_T]

the sheets of white polystyrene foam that normally go under a tank to cushion the base can be glued or taped to the outside on the back. This will act as insulation and help keep the tank warmer for longer. This means the heater won't be on for as long.

 

[azotemia]

how efficient is that?

 

[Colin_T]

Foam on the back makes a big difference. And if you insulate the sides as well as having a coverglass on top, the heaters will only come on about 1/3 as often as would without the insulation. Also using thicker foam on the back and base will work better than thin foam, but it depends on what is available. In general tho glass is a pretty poor insulator so anything you can do to prevent or minimise the heat radiating out of it will make a big difference to the amount of time the heaters are on for.