Need help choosing a heater for a 10gal tank/..........

[EdgarMedina1010]

Need help choosing a heater for a 10gal tank/.......... do you think this is a good one? ............ "Therma-Flow PC Plus Heater 150 Watt" ...I saw this at petsmart.com

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I prefer the Visi Therm Stealth (50 Wat). You don't need 150 watts for a 10 gal tank. The rule of thumb is 5 watts per gal.

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

ok thanks!!!

 

[noncentric]

Hi Edgar, that heater that you mentioned is not submersible. That heater attaches to the edge of the tank and cannot be submersed underwater.

The submersible heaters are better. They usually don't have the clamp thing at the top of the heater, but have suction cups instead to attach them to the inside walls of the tank.

Yep, 50-watts is all you'd need for a 10-gal.

Good luck!

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I prefer Ebo Jager submersibles and I usually go with the general rule of thumb of three to five watts per gallon. The key is to get a quality submersible, whichever brand you choose. The cheap, hang-on heaters are unreliable, inaccurate, and WILL fail-- probably taking a tank of fish with them. Then you'll be replacing your heater and your fish.

Whatever you do, don't try to save a few bucks when it comes to your heater. IMO, it's the most important piece of equipment in your tank, so you'll want a reliable one.

 

[Creamhorses]

It's a good idea to follow the 'watts per gallon' suggestions. If you put a 150 watt heater in a ten gallon tank, we all know it will easily heat the tank, but what happens if you want to slowly raise the temp for meds, ick, etc? You could put your fish @ risk by too sudden a change in temp say you cranked the thermostat from 76-86.
It would take a 50 watt heater in a 10g several hours to accomplish this, but a 150 watt will do it much faster, or perhaps too fast.

Just something to think about.

CH

 

[Annie/Aggie]

i've tried both heaters and i've found that the submersible ones are the better ones....

 

[Alshain]

I use a visitherm steath 100 watt (50 watts will do) for my 12 gallon. Its completely submersable, has a no-water cut off, a nice visible temperature selector and is accurate to +/- 1 degree. Its also plastic so no need to worry about breaking. For all in tank heaters I would definately reccomend this model.

As for accidentally changing temperature too fast, most fish keepers only turn the dial a few degrees at a time anyway. While its running normally without interaction, it will periodically kick on and off to regulate the temperature so it doesn't really matter how fast it can heat. The only real problem with buying a high watt heater for a small tank is that you are spending more than you need to.

 

[Elmware2000]

I find that with submersable heaters, the rubber suctions tend to rot after awhile and don't hold the heater in place. I think I prefer clamp-on heaters just because of that. Too bad they didn't make clamps for submersable heaters which were held on by magnets from the outside of the tank or something.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You can buy replacement suction cups for a very cheap price at the lfs.

 

[JeffreyL]

heater

EdgarMedina1010, second the nomination for the visi-therm stealth. Petsmart carries them also, and if you have a store locally ........ print out the model and price, take it to your local Petsmart and they will honor that price. On some items I have saved 40% or better.

 

[Alshain]

Re: heater

EdgarMedina1010, second the nomination for the visi-therm stealth. Petsmart carries them also, and if you have a store locally ........ print out the model and price, take it to your local Petsmart and they will honor that price. On some items I have saved 40% or better.

My Petsmart won't do that, but some might.

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

yeah i bought a visitherm steath (50 watts) .....thanks for the advice!