Calling all Engineers.....heater question.

[Terri]

W/ old-style heaters, there was a;ways the worry of over-heating, especially as the heater got older & more worn, because the metal contacts used to determine when to turn the heat on & off would fuse together, thus leaving the heater in ON mode & resulting in fish soup. 2 heaters that added up to the recommended wattage for a given tank size would be less likely to make fish soup when 1 of them eventually went into fry-mode. If you have any of these old-style heaters that still use contacts to control temp, I highly recommend you upgrade them to something w/ digital chip. That said, even thought all my heaters are digital-style, I'm still in the habit of having 2/tank w/ a total wattage equal to or even a bit less than ( & NEVER over) the recommended wattage for a given size tank. I figure, better safe than sorry.

 

[YSS]

Over sized heater is not wasteful electricity-wise. As Drew said, larger heater will heat the water faster.

 

[CichlidAddict]

Even though larger heater won't waste energy, there is really no benefit to have a larger heater to raise the temperature faster unless your area has frequent power outage or you regularly fill your tank with cold water in WC. The danger of over shooting the temperature outweighs the occasional advantage of having to raise the temperature faster.

 

[ezrk]

Saltwater folks have a good guide for really detailed heater sizing if you are interested...

http://www.beananimal.com/articles/thermodynamics-for-the-aquarist.aspx

 

[frankoq]

Can one 300W heater be enough for a 180G?
Or should I have 2?

 

[Localzoo]

Most will say have two one as a backup if one fails etc...


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[cichlidaddicted]

3 watts will heat 1gal 12-14º above room temp. I have a 100w on a 68g tank and it sticks to 82º. A 300w may work as long as room temp is less ten degrees below desired temp. If it fails it won't be able to cook your fish either.

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[frankoq]

3 watts will heat 1gal 12-14º above room temp. I have a 100w on a 68g tank and it sticks to 82º. A 300w may work as long as room temp is less ten degrees below desired temp. If it fails it won't be able to cook your fish either.

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I currently have an Aqueon 300W. Room temp is kept at around 68, but I'll get another one for the backup factor.

 

[Finnegan@Large]

This is a great thread. Thanks for sharing