What Size Heater ?

[JenCliBee]

They are equally efficient and will use exactly the same amount of electricity per day. That's that the "watt" part means.

so if its on less it will use
more than a one that is on more

It doesn't work like that lol, 300 watt yes would be on say 1 3rd of the time less yes? but it will be using 1 3rd more electricity while on where as the 200w will be on 1 3rd more but but while on will be using 100watts less power... the bill isn't going to be drastically different either way.

What your forgetting is the usual rule is 1 watt per litre, the tank is 150 litres so the 200 watt mentioned is still over powered, 300 watt isn't actually necessary... infact if you want to be pedantic about it a 150 watt heater would suffice and not anything higher.

Basically there is no need what so ever to have a 300 watt heater when a 200 is already over powered and would do the job perfectly.

 

[the biffster]

just found this

DeltaT____10F____15F____20F____25F
Gallons-------------Watts---------
10________53____80____106___133
20________80____120___160___200
30________93____140___187___233
40________107___160___213___265
55________127___190___253___316
75________147___220___293___367
90________160___240___320___400
120_______180___270___360___450
150_______200___300___400___500
180_______213___320___425___533
200_______220___330___440___550
250_______233___350___467___583

300 is nearer to 265 than 200 still

 

[JenCliBee]

just found this

DeltaT____10F____15F____20F____25F
Gallons-------------Watts---------
10________53____80____106___133
20________80____120___160___200
30________93____140___187___233
40________107___160___213___265
55________127___190___253___316
75________147___220___293___367
90________160___240___320___400
120_______180___270___360___450
150_______200___300___400___500
180_______213___320___425___533
200_______220___330___440___550
250_______233___350___467___583

300 is nearer to 265 than 200 still

Not meaning to sound rude but i fail to see the point of the guide?.... the guide looks like it's from the manufacturer which could mean various things... ie use more of our heaters unnecessarily to make us more profit.


Lets got to the bottom of the scale.... for the chart a rough guide going by that is a 30-40 litre tank would need close on 150 watt heater?... do YOU think a tank this size needs a 150 watt heater?.

Just because a 300 watt heater would work, it doesn't mean a 200 watt heater wouldn't work just aswell and infact better due to a malfunction and the 300 w heater way over heating the tank so basically there is more than 1 flaw to your suggestion of using a 300 watt heater.


It doesn't look like anybody is going to convince you lol so i will leave it there but i assure you that alot of very experience fish keepers aswell as many years of experience would tell you that a 300 watt heater is over kill and really unnecessary.

 

[the biffster]

just found this

DeltaT____10F____15F____20F____25F
Gallons-------------Watts---------
10________53____80____106___133
20________80____120___160___200
30________93____140___187___233
40________107___160___213___265
55________127___190___253___316
75________147___220___293___367
90________160___240___320___400
120_______180___270___360___450
150_______200___300___400___500
180_______213___320___425___533
200_______220___330___440___550
250_______233___350___467___583

300 is nearer to 265 than 200 still

Not meaning to sound rude but i fail to see the point of the guide?.... the guide looks like it's from the manufacturer which could mean various things... ie use more of our heaters unnecessarily to make us more profit.


Lets got to the bottom of the scale.... for the chart a rough guide going by that is a 30-40 litre tank would need close on 150 watt heater?... do YOU think a tank this size needs a 150 watt heater?.

Just because a 300 watt heater would work, it doesn't mean a 200 watt heater wouldn't work just aswell and infact better due to a malfunction and the 300 w heater way over heating the tank so basically there is more than 1 flaw to your suggestion of using a 300 watt heater.


It doesn't look like anybody is going to convince you lol so i will leave it there but i assure you that alot of very experience fish keepers aswell as many years of experience would tell you that a 300 watt heater is over kill and really unnecessary.

yes and if it is a manufacturers
chart it must be right cos if they cant
get it right who can i know which one i would trust
i feel we have to disagree on this one i feel that
a 300 watt heater is more suitable to a four foot tank
than a 200 watt heater but i will stick with what as worked
for me for years and have had no problems.


its there tank you decide

 

[KittyKat]

1: 300w for 2 hours = 200w for 3 hours = 600w where 600w costs the same in electricity regardless of how it is achieved.

2. That scale says that a 40 gallon tank needs a 265w heater if the house is 10°C and you want the temperature at 22-23°C. Assuming a normal house is at 15°C (59°F) and you want to get the temperature to 23°C (74°F), then that guide says to use a 160W heater.

 

[JenCliBee]

just found this

DeltaT____10F____15F____20F____25F
Gallons-------------Watts---------
10________53____80____106___133
20________80____120___160___200
30________93____140___187___233
40________107___160___213___265
55________127___190___253___316
75________147___220___293___367
90________160___240___320___400
120_______180___270___360___450
150_______200___300___400___500
180_______213___320___425___533
200_______220___330___440___550
250_______233___350___467___583

300 is nearer to 265 than 200 still

Not meaning to sound rude but i fail to see the point of the guide?.... the guide looks like it's from the manufacturer which could mean various things... ie use more of our heaters unnecessarily to make us more profit.


Lets got to the bottom of the scale.... for the chart a rough guide going by that is a 30-40 litre tank would need close on 150 watt heater?... do YOU think a tank this size needs a 150 watt heater?.

Just because a 300 watt heater would work, it doesn't mean a 200 watt heater wouldn't work just aswell and infact better due to a malfunction and the 300 w heater way over heating the tank so basically there is more than 1 flaw to your suggestion of using a 300 watt heater.


It doesn't look like anybody is going to convince you lol so i will leave it there but i assure you that alot of very experience fish keepers aswell as many years of experience would tell you that a 300 watt heater is over kill and really unnecessary.

yes and if it is a manufacturers
chart it must be right cos if they cant
get it right who can i know which one i would trust
i feel we have to disagree on this one i feel that
a 300 watt heater is more suitable to a four foot tank
than a 200 watt heater but i will stick with what as worked
for me for years and have had no problems.


its there tank you decide

I know i said i wouldnt continue but hey-ho lol.....

I thought i would post's visitherm guide to watts and litres/gallons.....

25Watt - 5 gallon tank
50Watt - 5-20 gallon tanks
100Watt - 10-40 gallon tanks
200Watt - 25-65 gallon tanks
300Watt - 55+ gallon tanks
400Watt - 65+ gallon tanks

now that's a drastic difference to the guide you gave and from probably one of the best heaters companies on the market.

As to the manufacturer guide and then must be getting it right..... i had a matsui video recorder once and MATSUI claimed it was the best video recorder in it's range.... unfortunately my common sense told me it was a selling gimmick.... if you believe what manufacturers tell you than i guess that's completely your choice, unfortunately i tend to go with experience and many other more experienced people than a manufacturer that's is intent on making money.


Again if the 300 watt works for you then fine but the question put forward from the OP was ..... what heater is needed for his size tank and the info that is correct is 150-200 watts or a 300 watt if you want to unnecessarily use one.

One thing i don't understand is in the last post you put ......

a 300 watt heater is more suitable to a four foot tank

That comment completely contradicts why you put a guide... it has no relevance on tank size.. it's water volume.

Right that is enough from me lol.

At least there is plenty for the OP to go on lol.

 

[star4]

sera heater guide, sorry for the link, it wont let me copy the chart.

http/www.sera.de/en/guides/ratgeber-alt/the-new-aquarium/heaters.html

Also states for a 150l tank a 300w heater is required at a room temperature of 15, now these are the manufactures of the heaters, yes of course they want to make money everyone does.

Some people use a smaller heater in a tank for many years and have no problems, I understand that, but just think how many posts are on this forum stating disasters of "my heater has malfunctioned and boiled my fish, or packed and my fish are freezing or packed up while still under warranty" just because they chose a different heater to the manufactures recomendations because someone told them "yeah a smaller heater is fine"

Pick a heater make, read what the manufactures state and chose the correct heater that way.

 

[KittyKat]

http/www.sera.de/en/guides/ratgeber-alt/the-new-aquarium/heaters.html

Also states for a 150l tank a 300w heater is required at a room temperature of 15, now these are the manufactures of the heaters, yes of course they want to make money everyone does.

No, that is Δ t°: the Δ is a delta, it means the difference in temperature, so that chart says if the room is at 10°C and you want 25°C in the tank, then get a 300w heater. Also, here is the text explanation from there:

* For rooms with little or no heat – 1.5 watts per liter of water (6 watts per gallon)
* For heated rooms – 1 watt per liter of water (4 watts per gallon)

 

[kiriyama]

Hi, I was just wondering
46ltr came with 100w
95ltr came with 150w
At the moment the 46ltr has an external filter running with a 300w external heater, I want to use this filter and heater on the 190ltr tank but I have cut the hoses really neay and they won't reach the bigger tank
I stripped the 95ltr tank and put the 150w heater in the 190ltr , I was just wanting to ensure this was adequate prior to putting all the fry in there

 

[Tropicoll]

Can I ask a slightly different, but related question?

Whether the tank needs to have 200 or 300 watts, would it be better to go for a single 200/300w heater or a pair of matched 100/150 watt heaters at opposite ends of the tank?

Thanks!

 

[shasm]

In my 55g I use a 100w as primary heat and a 200w as secondary heat. The secondary only comes on if there is a 2tenths degree drop. I rarely see the 200w come on. But my house stays around 75F. Don't know if that helps or not.

 

[KittyKat]

Whether the tank needs to have 200 or 300 watts, would it be better to go for a single 200/300w heater or a pair of matched 100/150 watt heaters at opposite ends of the tank?

It is better to use two smaller heaters because there is less likelihood of a breakage in either direction harming your fish. While it is better to have the heaters at opposite ends, it is also good to have them in places with decent flow.

 

[kiriyama]

I think a heater at either end of a large tank would be a good idea, I totally agree with the idea of being more efficient with a flow, that's wht I like the external heater because it's working with the flow of water constantly

 

[JoshuaA]

yes but it has to work all the time
to maintain that temp were a 300 works
less saying on bills

That isn't true, the energy required to heat up the water to a set temperature is the same as the specific heat capacity doesn't change. If both heaters need to heat the water up to 27 degrees and hold it they will be putting the same amount of heat energy (Joules) into the water.

I think those guides are pretty stupid from manufacturers anyway, if you have to heat up the water from 10c room temperature then you should probably address that before getting a tropical tank otherwise you will be spending a stupid amount of money on heating. Plus once the temperature has reached its required temperature you only need to keep it stable, I kept my 125l tank on a 50w heater at 27 for a week stable before I finally got my 150w heater. I did introduce warm water from the tap though to get it there as there was no way in hell it would ever be able to heat it up from cold. Though maintaining the temperature it didn't have a problem.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

From a pricing point of view, I found Rena Smart 300W Heaters cost a few pennies over £22 on Ebay. The savings on getting a lower wattage were not that great, literally a few quid, so personally I would get 300W models everytime. Might be overkill for smaller tanks, but knowing they are suitable for larger tanks too is reassuring and saves buying a high watt heater during a tank upgrade