Need 2 heaters?

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kdogg85

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Nov 26, 2009
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506
My 75g fowlr tank has a marineland stealth 250w heater. I have the setting on 80 deg, but the tank has not went above 76 deg, should I get another one of these to help or would it be too much heating ability for the tank? Also the tank has been running for a week.
 
maybe. where is the heater located and what temp is the room? also how are you testing the temp of the water?

i tend to run 2 heaters in my tanks. this way if one fails there still one in there going.
 
the heater is horizantally situated in the center of the tank
the room is about 75deg +/- 2
i am using 2 glass thermometers placed at either end of the tank
both have a reading of 76 deg
 
how close is it to the intake or output? does it have any flow going over it to move the heated water around the tank?
 
about 4 inches to the right is the output of the filter and about 4 inches to the left is the intake for the skimmer.

It's vertically positioned not horizontal sorry
 
if you can i would switch it to horizontally and move it one way or another so its closer to one of the intakes. that is unless you have power head going close to it. i would also unplug it for 30 mins let the internal temp controller reset. if it still doesnt heat up turn the temp up. you could also put some cold water in a smaller container and check to make sure its really working.
 
it's working, I can put my hand on it and it is hot
I don't know if it makes much difference but the top is a piece of eggcrate I cut so maybe there is a lot of heat escaping and the heater cannot catch up
 
I have 2 heaters in my 75, and it works out great! One is rated for 50G, and one is rated for 30G. I have them on each end of the tank.
 
I'm leaning towards another one, the one I have is rated for a 75 gallon(250 watts) should I get one about half the size or get one the same size, if I place them on either end of the tank there will be flow to push the heated water around
 
even so it should be able to raise the temp more then 1 degree. i would first move the heater to a better location. a lid would also help keep a lot of heat in.
 
A lid would trap in Co2 and lower your Ph. I would move the heater the way that mgamer stated and if that does not do it then I would get another 250w heater. dk's tank is a 75g...a question for dk...what temp do you keep your tank at?
 
the lid I have is a piece of eggcrate that looks like grating so it's not trapping in anything sorry if I was unclear about that. will try the horizontal approach for a day or two, if nothing happens then another heater I will get

when I first filled the tank and placed the heater in the tank. I let it set for over an hour and then turned it on
the thermos read 70deg when I first turned on the heater, it took about 2 days to reach 76deg and has constantly stayed there since.

one other thing, will this slow my cycle or kill it all together only being at 76 degrees
 
I would get another one rated the same or around one for 50G's. It won't overheat your tank if you get good ones, because they will just turn on and off less often because it regulates the heat better.
 
If the horizontal thing don't work I will. The marineland stealth I have has gotten very good reviews. What do you guys think about them?
 
I think I may have found the problem. The dial was on 80 and the tank temp was 76, cranked the dial up to 82 and now the tank is 78. And I turned the dial all the way and it went past 88 by an inch, I'm thinkin the dial is on incorrectly, if the tank holds for the next week, I'll know that was the problem
 
KDogg~ Mine are the same way. In the big tanks, I have to turn them up to 82* to keep them at 80*. The one on the 20G tall, it set at 79*, and keeps it at 80*. Two of my tanks have plastic coated wire tops, not the regular hoods.

ThinCat~ I keep my tanks around 78*-80*. Sorry, didn't see your question until now lol.
 
that's what I have is a drop ceiling light cover for a lid, looks like grating
 
Yeah, the holes in mine are about 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch. The only difference I see is evaporation. Other than that, they're just fine. For lighting, I bought a clip on desk light and used a plant light in it. Works great!
 
yep 1/2 in by 1/2 in. I got my light off ebay. It's a 2x54w 12000k t5ho with 2 03 actinic bulbs(don't know what the real description is, but that's what they say on the bulbs) and 4 led moonlights. Paid $100 shipped and haven't had a problem with it
 
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