Heater advice for surviving a Canadian winter

[Petrichor]

Hello! I moved to Ontario about 3 years ago and I finally started my 24 gallon nano saltwater tank (aiming for a reef tank). My tank is located in my basement, so it'll keep cool in the summer, however I am worried my heater won't be able to keep up with winter temperatures. Right now I have a used 75W Eheim heater plugged in for cycling.

The basement was finished by the previous homeowners, and it appears to have been done in a hurry, so I can't vouch for how adequate the insulation will be for an aquarium in winter. My last saltwater tank was built in a desert, so I have no idea how to deal with potentially not enough heat! Would it be a good idea to upgrade my heater, and if so, how much higher wattage?

 

[Brookster123]

I'd get a controller with larger wattage heater If the ambient temp is less than 15-20° desired tank temp.

 

[skrapeNKA]

Do you have any heating in the basement at all? The majority of the insulation should simply be the fact that it's set in the ground. I'm just across the way in Michigan and have done a fair bit of basement dwelling through my youth and college years! If your basement holds around 18C you shouldn't have much to worry about outside of a power outage.


A large wattage heater with a controller like Brookster suggested would certainly work, but you could also consider two appropriately sized heaters as well if that's outside your budget.


This is also mostly just wild speculation without knowing what temp you are trying to keep your tanks at