How To Heat Two Tanks With The One Heater ?

[alien-planet]

So guys i have a male betta and hes thriving i also decided to buy a female betta aswel , clearly i cannot put both in one tank as the male will chase it and kill it so i got myself another small tank same.size as the other one to place the female in but i have an issue and it goes as below

i have a heater in one of the tanks (male betta tank) and now i have the female going to go into the 2nd tank is it possible to heat both the tanks with just the one heater ? Reason i ask this is because i believe i can but would like to know if anyone else has done it or any helpful tips about how to go about with this .

i thought as the heater is in the one tank and i need both tanks heated i thought by cutting 2 pipes / hoses and put one hose or pipe into the heated tank and feed that water to the cold water tank and to the same with the cold water to the hot water it acts like a feed that keeps the water flowing and heating to both tanks at same time should heat water in both tanks which also means both fish bettas will be sharing the water supply. I got this idea from my head when i built my sump.

what do you guys think ? Im also thought doing this will save me money aswel instead of buying another heater.
Another way was to maybe place the heater in the sump and feed both water supply's from both tanks into the sump and the heater can heat it up there while flowing both tanks with the heated / clean water.

 

[ShinySideUp]

How would you move the water through the pipes? You would have to use a pump of some description, the water wouldn't flow by itself as it would have to rise up over the tops of the tanks. If you were to buy a pump system with suitable hoses you would have been better off buying a new heater. If as you say the tanks are small then a simple 50w heater would cost no more than twelve pounds; probably less.

 

[Ch4rlie]

hmm, unusual question. 
 
heaters are relatively cheap so no real point in doing that.
 
However, its an intriguing idea.
 
The only real way i can think of, is having an small external filter, and fitting an inline heater then splitting the output hose into two direction, one hose for each tank, would mean though you need two input from both tanks into the filter to keep flow going, can be done i think, just a little thinking required.

 

[alien-planet]

Just trying to save electricity hence the question , totally understand heaters are cheap but electric bill is a rip off lol

i got one more issue recently i got myself a T-Bar for my air pump so i can have it running air though both tanks at once from the one pump but for some reason it does not work any ideas why ? It only seems to be directing the air to one side and not both at same time. I suspect its the wrong shape maybe a Y-shape bar splitter will do better

 

[ShinySideUp]

It wouldn't make any difference to the electricity bill. If you have, say, a 70 litre tank with a 50w heater then you add another 70 litre tank then your 50w heater will work twice as long to keep twice the water at temperature. So, heater efficiancies aside,  2 x 50w heaters heating separate 70 litre tanks will use no more electricity than one 50w heater heating two tanks.
 
Regarding your air problem:
 
Try pinching the air line that is working and you will probably find the other air line will start to work; air flow is going to take the path of least resistance so make sure your airstones are both the same age and type and if that is not the problem then you can either part-pinch the working line or change the depth of the airstones so that the working air line's airstone is deeper thus giving more resistance to the air flow.

 

[Fishmanic]

or just buy one of these and adjust the airflow as necessary
 
http/www.amazon.com/Jardin-Fishing-Manifold-Lever-Valve/dp/B005DJREAC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1400543097&sr=8-2&keywords=two+way+air+valve+aquarium

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Well you need to rethink. One heater having to heat twice the water works twice as hard- no money saved on electricity.

 

[Lateral Line]

I agree with the other posters, trying to save money in that manner = buying yourself a lot of trouble.