tips and tricks of the trade
- Thread starter FishKeepA
- Start date
If you plan on doing a very simple community tank with danios and tetras, and maybe a few barbs, cories, you don't need a heater at all.
I've had my tropical fish survive temps as low as 68oF and be perfectly fine. My twenty gallon is still thriving after five years of no heater.
If you plan on more delicate fish, such as angels, discus, neons, livebearers, baby fry, and something that looks fancy, a heater might be a must. Some live plants also require more tropical temps for growth.
The trick is to keep the tank from changing temperatures too drastically. If a tank goes from say, 84oF to 76oF to 68oF over the course of a week, that's fine, the fish have time to acclimate to the decreasing temperature. If you were to go from 84oF to 68oF in a span of ten minutes, then yes, you can shock your fish to their death.
Non-heated tanks are likely to have only a 2o temp difference between night and day. This is fine.
Keep your tank away from windows or from A/C and heating vents. These things can make tank temperatures jump erractically.
These are the fish in my 20 gallon so as you have a guide:
4 green cories
3 blackskirt (black widow) tetras
2 bloodfin tetras
2 clown pleco
2 long fin blue danio
1 green tiger barb
1 rainbow shark
A plethora of mud snails.
My betta also does not have a heater.
~~Colesea
I've had my tropical fish survive temps as low as 68oF and be perfectly fine. My twenty gallon is still thriving after five years of no heater.
If you plan on more delicate fish, such as angels, discus, neons, livebearers, baby fry, and something that looks fancy, a heater might be a must. Some live plants also require more tropical temps for growth.
The trick is to keep the tank from changing temperatures too drastically. If a tank goes from say, 84oF to 76oF to 68oF over the course of a week, that's fine, the fish have time to acclimate to the decreasing temperature. If you were to go from 84oF to 68oF in a span of ten minutes, then yes, you can shock your fish to their death.
Non-heated tanks are likely to have only a 2o temp difference between night and day. This is fine.
Keep your tank away from windows or from A/C and heating vents. These things can make tank temperatures jump erractically.
These are the fish in my 20 gallon so as you have a guide:
4 green cories
3 blackskirt (black widow) tetras
2 bloodfin tetras
2 clown pleco
2 long fin blue danio
1 green tiger barb
1 rainbow shark
A plethora of mud snails.
My betta also does not have a heater.
~~Colesea
Thats true JKO.....wish i could do that. A lot of the times they will build a whole seperate room onto their house with its own Heating/Air unit and keep it at the desired temp. Breeders do this the most. Lost-O-$$$ but awsome.
Heaters won't run up the electricity bill THAT much, if thats what gets so $$$. Go with a heater.
Heaters won't run up the electricity bill THAT much, if thats what gets so $$$. Go with a heater.
I agree...the need for a heater depends greatly on the type of fish. I see you live in San Francisco, so I'm guessing the temperatures don't get TOO cold there. If you got the types of fish that Colsea suggested or white cloud minnows or some ghost shrimp, I think you'd have an interesting tank that was able to withstand cooler temperatures. Goldfish are also a cool water fish so you could get a goldfish 
A heater for a 10G tank is about 12 bucks...so when in doubt, I'd just get one.
A heater for a 10G tank is about 12 bucks...so when in doubt, I'd just get one.
a covered 10gal with a hood and incandescent lighting needs no heater when the light is on. maybe u could cover it with a black trash bag at night and leave the light on, but u run the risk of burning down your home. but if your budget is truly that tight where you can't afford a small heater for your tank, the only sensible answer is to sell your tank, and put the money in the bank!
good luck!
jon
good luck!
jon
the thing is, small tanks have a tendancy to fluctuate in temperature a lot more drastically than larger ones (which, as mentioned above, can shock and kill fish). A heater for a 10g would be no more than 15$ and if your place is warm (which I am guessing it is, seeing you are in SF) then it probably wouldn't come on very often... it would be just there if temps do take a dive.
I agree with mfj - fishkeeping isn't the cheapest hobby going, and when you have animals, IMO, you have to be able to afford to keep the as healthy as they could be, otherwise you shouldn't have them.
I agree with mfj - fishkeeping isn't the cheapest hobby going, and when you have animals, IMO, you have to be able to afford to keep the as healthy as they could be, otherwise you shouldn't have them.
if your setting up a new tank look at buying stuff online like from big al's you can get alot more there cheep and maybe can afford to buy the small things you want/need, i know the filters and such are way cheeper there, i bought a 50w submersable heater for my kids 10 gal turtle tank from big als for like 8 bucks, you can buy everything you need there and spend half of what you would at a LFS
then theres also walmart they has cheep prices on tank accessories too, just dont buy the fish from there!
then theres also walmart they has cheep prices on tank accessories too, just dont buy the fish from there!
Yes as mfj said a hood with an incandescent light will do the job for you. I never turned on the heaters in my two 10 gal tanks, but still the temp is like 76F - 80F.
Guess you live in SFO look in http://www.craigslist.org you can find some good deals for used equip. there, some free stuff too!!
I'll post the link if I find something, good luck!!
Guess you live in SFO look in http://www.craigslist.org you can find some good deals for used equip. there, some free stuff too!!
I'll post the link if I find something, good luck!!
I've had my 10 gal for about 7-8 years now, and I've never had a heater. In the summer the temperatures tend to be in the high 80s (although it goes up to about 100F outside - concrete and all). In the winter the tank is usually not lower than 65F, and the fish are fine. Of course if during the winter the temperature in your 50 gal would go below 60 without a heater, then getting one would be a good idea. They really aren't that expensive, a hater for a 10 gal can be $10 at the LFS, less at like Petco, I think.
