how much heater watt for a 230L?

[didz04]

Hi.

I am battling against ick and its first time i've had a tank running this size. I'm trying to get temp running to 30 degrees to remove the ick. I have a 150w heater and a 100w in there. At the moment i can only seem to get it to 28/29 degrees max. I'm looking to buy a new heater and just wondering would a 200w, 250w or going straight to a 300w be best please?

Thanks

 

[Neleono]

I've heard that a watt per liter is a good measurement so I think a 250 would do well. I'm not an expert but that's the general rule of thumb. Hope that helps!

 

[didz04]

Thanks. I'm just hoping one running heater on its own will get it to 30.

 

[Colin_T]

Insulate the tank. Put 1 inch thick sheets of polystyrene foam on the back and sides, and maybe the front if it still won't hit 30C.

Have coverglass on the tank. Get glass that is 4, 5, or 6mm thick because it's less likely to chip. You can also put polystyrene on the top of the tank at night after the lights have gone out.

Try to keep the room warm, close the windows and doors if it's cold outside.

If worst comes to worse, put a blanket or towels over the tank. Make sure they aren't resting on the light unit and don't come in contact with the water.

 

[Guyb93]

When choosing heaters I always go with the two undersized heaters , one il keep at 30c and the other at the desired temperature mines 27c reason I do this is neither heater is strong enough to heat my tank but not far off the second heater kicks in maybe 3-4 times a day so if one breaks and constantly heats the other will switch off and won’t be able to reach that temp also if it breaks and loses power I know my tank will tank a day or two to drop to room temp giving me time to replace the second heater , just a cautious approach

 

[didz04]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I ended up buying a 300w heater just in case. We set it to 31 degrees but thermometer is showing 30 which is not bad. I might add another thermometer to make sure its not a bit off. If so i'll try the suggestions above.

 

[Robertadamplant]

I would invest in a second thermometer. While one is about to be removed (only added to test the temp in the middle of the tank) I currently have four thermometers for my aquarium. This is so I could check the temp in each area of the tank during set up.

 

[didz04]

Thanks that's an idea, yeah when you go to a fish store and see thermometers up for sale you tend to find odd one or two with one degree difference.