What is a good heater for a 55 Gallon Tank?

[phoenixkiller]

The title says it all. Tomorrow at 6:00 I shall have in my possession a 55 gallon tank with a Marineland BIO-Wheel, gravel, decor, and background. What is a heater with good ratings? I have searched online and found nothing with 5 star reviews. Any ideas?

Also, is there a pretty black wood-with-cabinets stand out there for 80 dollars or less?

[Trabba]

Personally, I like this one...not sure of how it is rated but has served me well. Aqueon Pro Heater 200 - 200W - 13 5/8 in.

[blert]

Get a heater that is FULLY submersible. FYI, The Fluval M series, though a very nice looking heater, is NOT fully submersible. The ViaAqua Titanium is a nice heater, it has a remote thermostat and remote thermal probe. I have one of these and it works very well.

The wattage you need depends on how much you need to heat the water.
For ~50 gallons:
If you need to raise the temp by -
9F get no less than a 150watt
18F get no less than a 200watt
27F get no less than two 200watt.
This is only a guideline, not the gospel.

[HooKooDooKu]

For something as big as a 55g, you might want to consider a pair of heaters, one on each side. That way, if one does go out, you've already got the 'backup' in place.

You can also lower the wattage just a little bit if you get two heaters. So say rather than getting one 200w heater, get a pair of 150w heaters.

In addition to heaters being fully submersible, also look into heaters that are 'ok' when out of water. Basically, some heaters say they MUST stay submerged all the time. Others will say that it is ok for them to be 'on' out of water. I like the ones that can be out of water so that I don't have to worry about unplugging them while I do a PWC.

[phoenixkiller]

I will probably get the Aqueon Pro Heater 200w listed above. Any Ideas where I could get a black stand that has cabinets for cheap??

[blert]

Craigslist

[TankerJs]

Check out how to make your own. You could make a sturdy stand, paint it black and fashion your own cabinets with a circular saw, $20 bucks of wood and some spray paint and handles for the cabinets...haha IMO best choice! Plus you'll have bragging rights "i made that"
Here is a good place-- they have a video with the basics
http://tedsfishroom.com/

[boadams87]

Originally Posted by phoenixkiller

The title says it all. Tomorrow at 6:00 I shall have in my possession a 55 gallon tank with a Marineland BIO-Wheel, gravel, decor, and background. What is a heater with good ratings? I have searched online and found nothing with 5 star reviews. Any ideas?

Also, is there a pretty black wood-with-cabinets stand out there for 80 dollars or less?

I use aqueon pro 250. Its cheap on petsolutions.com. its completly submersible its plastic so they can't get burned and cuts off when the water gets low. Very nice