Heater Question

[Velksfish]

I think my 2-Top Fin 300W (45-64 gallon) heaters stopped working. So I went to Petsmart and bought a National Geographic Aqua 300W (up to 250 Gallon) Heater.

Will this be enough to heat my 60 gallon tank?
Has anyone ever used one of these do they work good?
I was thinking about putting in the middle of my tank, is this good placement?


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[dalto]

I can't speak to that particular heater but a 300w heater should be more than enough to heat a 60g tank unless you need to shift the temperature by a very large amount.

 

[Velksfish]

I just want it to stay around 73-76 or so.

Where is the best placement?
I know they normally say closer to the output of the filter. But I have 2 filters. 1 is a canister filter and the other is a hob filter. I have one near one end and the other near the other end of the aquarium.

I was thinking about putting the new one right in the middle of the tank.


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[dalto]

As long as it is somewhere where the water is flowing you will be fine. Just don't put it in a dead spot, if you have any of those.

 

[ProAquarist]

Take it back and get a smaller heater, and a different one. An over sized heater is a nuked tank waiting to happen. the only ones I trust on my clients' tanks anymore are Cobalt Neo-Therm and Aqueon Pro. You also want the minimum size to keep the tank warm. In your case that is probably about 2w/gallon. Ideally this is split in to two different heaters so that neither is capable of overheating the tank if it gets stuck on.

 

[Velksfish]

I wake up this morning and the 2 heaters I thought were broke,seemed to be working. So I turned all the heaters to around 73 or so and going to run all three. My tank was right were I wanted it this morning. So going to see how it goes. I think I put the new heater in a dead spot on my tank so it actually going to help out a lot, I think.


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[ProAquarist]

You need to be really careful about how much heater wattage you have in there. If any of them are strong enough to overheat (it sounds like they all are) every one of them is a disaster waiting to happen. Having all of them in there just gives you that many more chances of one getting stuck on.

 

[dalto]

Alternatively, a heater controller is another way of addressing the issue of overheating.

Either way, I would not continue to use heaters that had stopped working and then mysteriously came back. I have lost too many tanks of fish to heater failures over the years.

 

[Velksfish]

Alternatively, a heater controller is another way of addressing the issue of overheating.

Either way, I would not continue to use heaters that had stopped working and then mysteriously came back. I have lost too many tanks of fish to heater failures over the years.

Will my new heater be enough to heat the entire tank? Where is the best place to put on I have a filter at each end.


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[dalto]

Will my new heater be enough to heat the entire tank? Where is the best place to put on I have a filter at each end.

A 300w heater is more than enough to heat a 60g tank. Just place it in the flow of the water. Preferably near the outlet but it doesn't matter all that much.

 

[ProAquarist]

As said the 300 watt is too much heater for that tank. One 300 on its own is more than enough to fry every fish in that tank. Return it and get a better quality, lower powered heater.

Unless you are severely lacking flow placement really won't make a difference. Stick it on the back in the middle. If you have more decor on one side and want to hide it behind some decor, that's great, it really won't matter.

 

[RackinRocky]

I have two Aqueon Pro heaters in my 55 gallon. Each are 200 wt. BUT in winter, the room the tank is in goes down to 60, so I really have to have a bit more heater power to keep the tank up to 77. If the room you keep your tank in stays fairly warm (70 or so) in winter, I would think a 200 wt. would be fine. Or even two of the 100 watt heaters.

 

[dragon14]

As long as it is somewhere where the water is flowing you will be fine. Just don't put it in a dead spot, if you have any of those.

Silly question, but, what is a dead spot? For instance in our 10g and 5g, we have the water flow buffered to a minimum but we have the heater next to the filter. Is that a good spot?

 

[Fresh2o]

A dead spot is an area with little to no flow or current.
If there is decent flow near the filter (in most cases it should be) then that is a good sport for the heater.


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[dragon14]

Thanks!

 

[Velksfish]

I have two Aqueon Pro heaters in my 55 gallon. Each are 200 wt. BUT in winter, the room the tank is in goes down to 60, so I really have to have a bit more heater power to keep the tank up to 77. If the room you keep your tank in stays fairly warm (70 or so) in winter, I would think a 200 wt. would be fine. Or even two of the 100 watt heaters.

I am the same way during the winter is gets pretty cold here that is why I had the 2 heaters. To make sure the tank stayed around 75


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[dragon14]

Our room temp gets to an avg of 64 in winter. 100w for a 10g should be perfect for then. Otherwise, we can put our 50w in with it, provided it's not being used by another fish in the 5g.

 

[RackinRocky]

Agreed, 100 wt. for a 10 gal. in a colder room would be perfect. That's what I have in my 10 gal.

 

[dragon14]

In summer it can get up to 79 in here.

We watch the temperature on the thermometers and so far so good.

 

[militantpotato]

If you're using more than one heater, or one over powered heater, use a controller. Heaters fail frequently and usually in the on position. Using a controller with two heaters makes sure they both work in unison. I've had several overpowered top quality heaters stick on and cook fish. It's not a good idea.

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