Is this an ok place for my heater? Opinions?

[Daven]

Hey guys. I got a 300w eheim jaeger heater to replace in my 75 gallon tank. I did not expect it to be so large, but it claims to be fully submergable. I cannot fit it vertically like I always did before and it's an eyesore at about middle height. The water will never fall below this level and the AC110 outlet should spread it here. Would you guys place it elsewhere?


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[Autumnsky]

Unless you have fish that would lay on it I would put it on a couple small stones one at each end to hold it above the substrate and let it be lower at the bottom more under the inflow of the filter for good dispersal of warm water. Did the instructions give any valuable input on placement tips?

 

[RedDevil83]

I would have to agree with autumnsky towards the bottom, I see that in quite a few tanks.

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[Daven]

I'd have to find the box to see if it mentioned anything. I know it's best to have it by the filter I lets, and that's where I kept my old ones. But I tried placing it down there and it sticks out like a giant sore thumb. It's too big and the styling doesn't do a thing to lean away from looking like a heater :/ also, I don't see much flow down lower in the tank to disperse it. Especially the back of the tank. I'm debating getting a power head but it would blow my pool filter sand across the tank within a day :/ I was hoping since the outlet is there that it would disperse it ok as well while hiding it away at the top


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[ArtistGardener]

I agree that bottom is much better for proper heat distribution. I would angle it downward so that the bottom half of it is hidden by the largest stone pile and the heating elements are closer to the bottom of the tank and the larger filter intake and flow. If you did that, you could move the whole thing a bit to the left, too.

 

[Daven]

Would that really be better considering it wouldn't see much flow at all there? I thought you needed good flow to distribute it well?


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[ScotJudd]

Warm water rises so having the heating element low down makes good sense. You don't need a terrific amount of water movement, just enough so it doesn't cause a hot spot.
I have my heaters in a black plastic slotted casing and I find this blends in better than the shiny glass.


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[Daven]

Warm water rises so having the heating element low down makes good sense. You don't need a terrific amount of water movement, just enough so it doesn't cause a hot spot.
I have my heaters in a black plastic slotted casing and I find this blends in better than the shiny glass.


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I am worried about the hotspot. I usually have to keep my water level up[ quite a bit so that the HOB filters dont push the sand into huge craters pretty much instantly. This means not a terrible amount of flow. Maybe i should get a power head :/ i just worry about the same thing happening from that lol I lower the heater to have the one end rest onto of that top rock (not a real rock) and sit level so it seems to be good for now. I have to figure something out for this. Another issue is that the heater is so long and weighs a decent amount, so the suction cups cant hold it horizontal for long before it tips down anyways. Figured it resting on something to begin with would stop any sudden jolts

 

[Autumnsky]

I wouldn't think you would need to worry much about the heated water not dispersing. Probably don't need a power head. If you really needed one you could do a nano type with a less strong flow. The plastic black cover for the heater is intriging!

 

[ScotJudd]

I wouldn't think you would need to worry much about the heated water not dispersing. Probably don't need a power head. If you really needed one you could do a nano type with a less strong flow. The plastic black cover for the heater is intriging!

I bought my tank second hand and it had loads of equipment but all the heaters were in a black plastic guard with slots in it.
Google 'aquarium heater covers'. They only cost a few dollars. They prevent fish getting burnt against the heater and, being black, disguise the heater quite well. Mine have a coating of green algae and moss which helps hide it even more, they just need scrubbing every few months if the algae or moss grows too much over the slots.


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[chat_patta]

The proof is in the pudding
Touch the glass when the heater had been on for a little while and I am sure that you will go for the heater covers.