heaters

[Angryeric116]

should i have any specifcations of what type of heater to buy?
i have a 20 gallon high that i plan to keep aprox 75F

 

[Lotus]

The usual guideline is to have 5-10 watts per gallon. As you live in Wisconsin (brrrr), I would go towards the 10 watts... which gives you a 200 watt heater. Most people prefer the submersible kind, although they are more expensive.

 

[Angryeric116]

thanks lotus

 

[JWright]

Wow...IMO 200 Watts is a little much for a 20....I would go with a 100, and I live in Upstate NY ;p

 

[RussellEnglish]

If you have 2 x 200W submersible heaters, how do you set them up?

i mean, if you try & set both to 27degrees & one happens to be calibrated slightly on the low side then this one would be the first to come on & go off. meaning that the other would only come on if there was a sudden temperature drop.

Or am I just being paranoid & in reality the time taken for the heater to warm the surrounding water would mean that the second would cut in too?

Thanks,

Russ

 

[TurbineSurgeon]

Setting two (or more) heaters of this type is really pretty simple. I have 2 x 300 watt Rena electronic heaters in my 75 (US) gallon tank, and just set them to the same temperature on the dial (that's about the best you can do with this type of heater). I notice that the heater on the right side of my tank was coming on more often than the one on the left, but this could have been because the right side of the tank is by a window.

On older type mechanical heaters, there is a bimetalic strip that deflects one way or the other when heated or cooled. I find these to be easier to set exactly to one another. With one heater plugged in and set to the water temperature, place the other heater close by, but don't plug it in. Let the temperature stabilize for a few minutes (15-20 or so), then plug in the second heater. Adjust the thermostat until the indicator light blinks. They are now both set to the same temperature.

And yes, you might be a bit overly-concerned

 

[TurbineSurgeon]

btw, I went with 2 heaters because one couldn't quite keep up with the overnight cooling during the winter.