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I have a 10 gallon tank with a 2-15 gallon heater in it, the insstructions said that there was no need to adjust the thermostat (because theres not one). it says it will keep the water temp at 78F. when I wake up in the morning to check the tank it reads 72-74 F. its brand new, is this normal for the thurmostat to be that sluggish? I have taken it out and submersed it in a cold glass of water and the light comes on..(its a fully submersable heater). my 50 gallon tank has a adjustable thermostat though.
I also just learned that moveing the heaters closer to the running water helps disperse the conduction of heat better, I did move it closer to the filter system of the tank.

Personally I would get an Eheim jager 50w heater it will be perfect, and it will work as a heater should and that is have a good thermostat setting and extremely easy to set up.

Keith

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thanks for the input. I may try that

I exchanged my small automatic 76F 2-15 gallon heater with an adjustable heater. and its for 30- 50 gallon, but im going to titrate it down, because I know the heater is not for his ten gallon starter tank, at least he will stay at the right temp lights on or lights off.

Adjustable thermostats are much better heaters than the single temperature ones anyway .

Heaters don't always have directions but it's usually best to get them installed in the tank then leave them unplugged for 10-15 minutes before plugging them in so that the internal thermostat can adjust.
At least that's how I've always read was the best way to put in a heater. Not sure if heater technology has improved much in teh past few years but it could explain why you were getting a low temperature with your old heater. It was also likely underrated for your tank.


^_^

I totally agree, yea the same applies for my heater, I had to leave it unplugged for 15 min before plugging it it, I had to do that for my 50 gallon when I added tropical fish in it too

its doing well, and stabilized a couple of centimeters away from min temp...its a foot long heater, the only adjustable they had...but it stabilized for my blood worm eating dragon-fish

He's now in 81-82 F water (stabilized) after tweaking it on and off all day

The mini little single temp heaters are good for a back up heater, I personally like the Marineland "Stealth" heaters because they are all black and easier to hide in the background. It is all up to personal preference though (although I'm sure that you should stick to one of the "typically" better brands for better results).

I usually runt two heaters in tanks, especially the smaller tanks I like to keep a little heater and a larger heater so that if one goes out the water temp doesn't dip drastically.

Ten Gallon tanks are tons of fun, but have tendencies to get cold and build up waste fast because of their size.

Good luck!
-Brandon

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"