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Hi there,

I bought a heater online and forgot to upgrade the heater wattage like I did the tank its going in. The heater is a 200 watt going in a 65 gallon. Will that be enough heat? Would it be better to get an additional 50 watt to go as well so that it gets the whole 250?

any advice welcome,

tigermom

If you do put 2 heaters in the tank you should get 2 of the same size. Otherwise, one of them will have to work harder than the other or one of them will never come on because the other switches on first. I would probably suggest just getting another 200 watt heater like you already have. This sounds like overkill but if one of the heaters malfunctions its not likely to overheat the tank all by itself and its really unlikely that both will malfunction at the same time.

3-5 watts per gallon is the approximate guideline. I'm not sure what guideline you're using to get that 250 is the magical number. 200 watts alone will be fine, no need for an extra heater. If you want two heaters, two 100s or two 150s will do the job. But there's no real necessity to go out and spend money now. I mean, it might be nice to have some back-up heaters on hand in case of heater failure, but in terms of a heater having enough heat for the tank, a 200 watt will be fine.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Thanks for the replies you two. I got 250 watts because that is what the box said. upon further inspection of the box, it actually says or how I'm reading it is that I will need 2 x 250 watt heaters for a 65. I don't know, I think today is simply my brain fart day and I'm having a hard time understanding something as simple as a heater box. I guess its a spelling out kind of day.

I guess Ill be fine then, thanks all,


Tigermom

I don't think you need 2 x 250 for a 65 gallon... Maybe if your tank was 100 gallons... My 125 gallon only has one 300 watt, which I admit is on the low side but it's done its job for years.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Hi,
The basic "rule of thumb" for most of the USA is that
you would want 5 watts/gallon. The wording of the
sentence is because in the Southern states, the outside
temperatures are not normally that cool and it takes less
energy to maintain the tank temperature. It's still a
good rule to follow. As for the larger tanks, it is
generally a good idea to use two heaters, one at each end,
and that is why they recommended two heaters intead of
just one. The larger amount of water and possible dead
or low current flows within the tank could cause areas
of warm water and areas of cooler water.

About the only time I'd use one in a large tank
was if the heater was part of the filtration system such
as this:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+8755+3627&pcatid=3627




-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Speaking of dead spots... Best bet of course to fix that, would be to put the filter right in the output of your filter inside of the tank.

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction

Frank I can only speak for myself, but living here in S. Florida still use the 5watts per gal rule. The reason being AC, we run ours at beleave it or not 68 to 70 degrees. So it is really what the room tempture is going to be in the area where the tank is placed. As some of my rooms are cooler than others, I have 2 tanks that have no heaters in them at all as those room no matter how hard I try I can only get them down to 76 degrees and the warmest has been 82 in the tanks. We discussed this before and you helped me with that problem.

However yes 2 heaters should be used in larger tanks, this will help to eliminate warm or cool spots in the tank and as a safety back up feature, for you cooler area folks or try inline heaters I use them and love the way the keep a uniform temp. in the tank. Also you can us return kits that will distrubute the returning waters more evenly. I assume monkey meant put the heater right in the flow of the returning tank water. the problem with that is the suction line on must HOB filters is also directly in the line of the return so you end up heating up just some of the water and the rest get sucked back up into the filter. I feel the best way to try and eliminate these spots is to us power heads to good tank circulation

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

The two heater rule is a must if not you can guarantee the one & only heater will go bust when you are not home and during the colder months. Also carry a spare heater.
Heater placement I have one each end of the 5ft tank one is close to the outlet spray bar and the other very close to the filter inlet. I also have plenty of water movement from the UGFs and air stones.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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