Heaters Not Heating

[Matthew5664]

When setting up my new system I bought a heater to fit for the size of the aquarium (have another tank same size with heater same size) However the temp never got passed 23 cels and had to get another rated for a bigger tank than I have.

Has anyone come across this problem with there setups?

 

[bogwood]

If the room where you keep your tank is cold... or near a drafty doorway etc, then it's advisable to upgrade the heater wattage more than specified... or could be a dodgy heater...

 

[Matthew5664]

I have no lighting on the tank at the mo and no hood could that effect it?
Have a look here:

The tank

 

[bogwood]

I have no lighting on the tank at the mo and no hood could that effect it?
Have a look here:

The tank

possibly... but a heater with the correct wattage (5w per gallon) should do the job... a canopy will keep existing heat from escaping (and some fish like Gourami that occasionally breath surface air prefer the surface humidity that a canopy provides)... and lights will obviously create a little heat of their own...

 

[Chri$]

i have my heater set to 26 but the thermometer reads 24 - 25.

 

[Rooster]

i have my heater set to 26 but the thermometer reads 24 - 25.

The settings on heaters are only "ballpark" they are not accurate - I would trust a thermometer, however, I have a stick on digital, and two electronic ones... all read slightly different !!!! so near enough is good enough

 

[karlp]

I had a Juwel Lido as my first tank (100 litre) and it was positioned in the corner of the room near two windows and in the winter it couldn't maintain the temperature so had to upgrade it to a higher power one.

In my tanks now I always run two heaters just in case, normally each heater slightly lower than the spec of the tank, but together higher spec.

As Rooster says, the settings on the thermostats are pretty inaccurate and it's trial and error to get them right.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> I have a stick on digital, and two electronic ones... all read slightly different !!!!

A man with a watch always knows the time, a man with two is never quite sure.

To OP, is the heater adjustable? Have you tried adjusting it if it is? Do not believe the markings on any heaterstat, they are,as was said already, just a ballpark figure.

 

[Matthew5664]

The ajuster is one 29 the tnaks at 24.5 and never gets higher! think I'm gona get another