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Hiya,

I was wondering what size heater i should use for a 50cm cube tank(i think 33gals), I currently have a 50watt which was for my 18inch tank. Since the tank size is 4-5 times as much...should I get a bigger heater?

Regards
Steve

Here is a chart (scroll down a little) that gives you a wattage and gallons comparison. I think you definitley need a heater with higher wattage.

chart

IMO, that chart is way over kill. IMO, the heater you have will be just fine. I use 50 watters in tanks up to 30 gals, and they do just fine.

The thing is, with a 50 watter, it will have to work more to heat the same amount of water than a 150 watter will. But, in the end, they will use about the same amount of electricity, and both will heat the water just fine.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Sorry, i did not mean to give the wrong information; i just went along with what i had always believed...i guess i was wrong...

Hooktor, no harm done, just IMO is all. As many people heat their tanks by exactly what that chart says, and some even more. Your post was fine, no worries.

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There is always a bigger fish...

It also depends on how much you will be heating the tank above ambient room temperature. If the room is very cold, you will want a bigger heater. If the room is warmer you don't need much. Generally the guideline is about 5 Watts per Gallon of water, but as has been posted above, this may be overkill depending on individual circumstances. It IS best to go with the smallest heater necessary because in the event of a thermostat malfunction where the heater gets stuck in the ON position you will be less likely to lose all of your fish. On my own tanks I usually go with 25-50 watt heaters (my largest tank is 29 gallons) but I have a few extras laying around in case it gets particularly cold and the small heaters aren't cutting it. Then all I do is add another one on the opposite end of the tank.