55 Gallon Tank: Two 150 Watt or Two 200 Watt Heaters

[kc27]

My 55 gallon freshwater tank is in a mostly unheated basement that can get down to around 50° F in the winter. I previously had a 300 watt Marineland Stealth Pro heater that Marineland recalled last year and replaced with a 300 watt Visi-Therm heater. The Visi-Therm heater just died (the indicator light is on but it never heats).

I'm thinking that keeping the tank at 76° F in a 50° F room was too much of a load for a single heater, so I'm going to get two heaters instead. Should they be 150 Watt or 200 watt heaters?

Thanks in advance for any ideas on this.

[Slade]

Go with two 200 watt heaters for the minimal price difference. The 150 watt heaters combined will handle your tank but the 200's won't work as hard. If one of them dies, the other will be able to handle the tank.

[didysis]

Just one 200 watt heater will be more than enough. Check amazon, you wont need more than one at all. That's a small tank, if you really want more get the 250 and you will be able to use it for anything up to 100 gallons.
Aqueon Pro 200 Submersible Aquarium Heater lifetime warranty, shatter proof, light showing they are on and different light showing when heating, great heater.

[Retired_AF]

I agree with Slade. While 1 may work, I am an avid supporter of redundancy in my systems. That way I still have something if one of them quits working. Also, by having 2, you can have more even heating in a longer tank.

[boadams87]

Originally Posted by didysis

Just one 200 watt heater will be more than enough. Check amazon, you wont need more than one at all. That's a small tank, if you really want more get the 250 and you will be able to use it for anything up to 100 gallons.
Aqueon Pro 200 Submersible Aquarium Heater lifetime warranty, shatter proof, light showing they are on and different light showing when heating, great heater.

I've got the 250 and love it but with the basement being that cold, id have 2 just incase one broke.

[kc27]

Thanks everyone. I am going to go with two 200 watt heaters, just for the redundancy that a few others mentioned. The tank has platys and danios in it, and they were in 60° F water for at least a day, maybe more.

I put a borrowed heater in the tank and let it bring the temp up to 74° - the fish seem OK. If the heater had failed a couple of months ago, the unheated water would have been a lot colder, and I'm guessing fatal to the fish. That's why I asked about going with the two heaters - I want something as a failsafe. It wasn't just based on tank size.

Thanks again for the advice.