heater(s) in a cold house question

dbk111 · 11/13/2015, 10:06 AM

Hi All,

I have a couple small tanks (1-10G & 1-26G) they are close to a window that I leave cracked a bit at night and I am not a fan of running the furnace at night so my place is frequently upper 50's. I currently have heaters that are a bit oversized for each tank but the water temp sometimes drop to the low 70's at night.

Would it work better to buy one even larger heater for each tank or should I add a second correctly sized heater to the tanks?

steallife904 · 11/13/2015, 12:30 PM

I think a problem with going with bigger heaters is going to be if you have the room in the tank for them. since its a 10 and a 26 gal tank I assume there is no sump on these? I think you would need multiple heaters that will fit but adding a bunch of heaters is going to pull a bunch of amps and they are going to be working overtime to keep the heat up.

ca1ore · 11/13/2015, 03:40 PM

As a general rule multiple, lower wattage heaters are better than one 'behemoth'. For obvious reasons.

cougareyes · 11/15/2015, 01:41 PM

My house gets into the upper 50s early morning, I have a 14g, 29g, and 30g; all topless. I run 2 oversized heaters in them; 2 Aqueon Pro 100s in the 14g, 200s in the 29 and 30. I'm in Las Vegas so there are days when my tank need heating and cooling in the same day, I have my heaters and fans running through a temperature controller [URL="http://www.ebay.com/itm/281368781200?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT"]

Reef Frog · 11/15/2015, 03:51 PM

I would close the windows or maybe try a partial cover on the tank overnight? Donyounhave another room that stays warmer where you can move your tanks? There are plenty of reefers on RC that live in the desert and have stable tanks. Maybe an adjustment to your controller?

Another heater may be the answer but that's a lot of stuff in a small tank.

RxReefer · 11/15/2015, 10:50 PM

Multiple heaters is always optimal anyways just in case one fails. Also having your tank near a window is going to cause other problems like excess algae growth.

11/13/2015, 10:06 AM	#1
dbk111 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 70	heater(s) in a cold house question Hi All, I have a couple small tanks (1-10G & 1-26G) they are close to a window that I leave cracked a bit at night and I am not a fan of running the furnace at night so my place is frequently upper 50's. I currently have heaters that are a bit oversized for each tank but the water temp sometimes drop to the low 70's at night. Would it work better to buy one even larger heater for each tank or should I add a second correctly sized heater to the tanks?

11/13/2015, 03:40 PM	#3
ca1ore Grizzled & Cynical Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 17,319	As a general rule multiple, lower wattage heaters are better than one 'behemoth'. For obvious reasons. __________________ Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs

11/13/2015, 12:30 PM	#2
steallife904 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 944	I think a problem with going with bigger heaters is going to be if you have the room in the tank for them. since its a 10 and a 26 gal tank I assume there is no sump on these? I think you would need multiple heaters that will fit but adding a bunch of heaters is going to pull a bunch of amps and they are going to be working overtime to keep the heat up.

11/15/2015, 01:41 PM	#4
cougareyes Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 713	My house gets into the upper 50s early morning, I have a 14g, 29g, and 30g; all topless. I run 2 oversized heaters in them; 2 Aqueon Pro 100s in the 14g, 200s in the 29 and 30. I'm in Las Vegas so there are days when my tank need heating and cooling in the same day, I have my heaters and fans running through a temperature controller [URL="http://www.ebay.com/itm/281368781200?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT"]

11/15/2015, 03:51 PM	#5
Reef Frog Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,121	I would close the windows or maybe try a partial cover on the tank overnight? Donyounhave another room that stays warmer where you can move your tanks? There are plenty of reefers on RC that live in the desert and have stable tanks. Maybe an adjustment to your controller? Another heater may be the answer but that's a lot of stuff in a small tank.

11/15/2015, 10:50 PM	#6
RxReefer Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 51	Multiple heaters is always optimal anyways just in case one fails. Also having your tank near a window is going to cause other problems like excess algae growth.