Using a heater with higher wattage?

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missmonday

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Aug 6, 2015
Messages
294
Location
Portland, OR
Hello,

I currently have a 29 gallon tank using a 100w heater with the heater saying 78F but thermometer saying 74F. Thankfully the heater remains consistent with temperature.

Seeing as I'm hoping to eventually get a 55 gallon (but not set it up immediately), I got a 150w eiheim jager after seeing the great reviews on Amazon, and noticing there wasn't much price difference I went for the higher wattage. It says it's rated for up to 79 US gallons, but I don't want to potentially fry my fish in the 29 gallon.

Another reason why I bought the higher watt was because my house is usually 65F during the fall and winter and I've read that higher wattage helps maintain higher temps in colder rooms.

Thoughts?
 
When buying a heater you really want to go by how many degrees you need to increase the water versus tank size. So if you need to heat your tank more than a few degrees you need the stronger heater. Sounds like the heater you have can't keep up.

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I really only wanna keep the tank at about 75F so I figured at 10 degree change is fairly significant, and wouldn't want to put a big strain on a 100w heater. Especially since my mom loves keeping the windows and doors open for fresh air (there is no window or door close to the tank), but my mom keeps things pretty Spartan for heating the house heh.

I just don't want my fish to freeze, but I don't wanna accidentally cook them either.

Would it be a good idea to put the 150w eheim heater in my 29g tank?
 
I would. I use 100 watt on my 20g tanks to raise aprox 10 degrees

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Most people suggest 2 lower wattage heaters. So if 1 gets stuck on it won't fry the tank assuming the other wont malfunction


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