75 Watt Visi Therm Heater + 20 Gallon Tank = Weak Sauce

feederfish

feederfish

AC Members
Feb 7, 2009
72
0
0
Mobile, AL
I am currently cycling my tank, and trying to maintain 79 deg F during these cold days and nights. I have just a 20 gallon tank and a 75 W Visi Therm Stealth Heater. I have seen the temp as low as 71 deg F when the thermostat for the house was reading 64. I honestly forget how low my thermostat goes down when I am at work (programmable), maybe as low as 55.

I am planning to get another heater now, though I preferred to have just one heater since it is a small tank and rather not clutter it up, but now that I have the 75 W, it is kind of wasteful not to use it. The current heater is nicely hidden behind a fake plant.

My question is how big should I go for this 20 Gallon tank that may see ambient air temps 55 F or a tad lower if there is a slight draft? A setup with 1 heater? A setup with 2 heaters?

All I know is the 75 W can keep the 20 gallon tank at the set temperature. This will all change come spring, so may wait till next fall. Think I will need a chiller for a home that reaches 82 when I am at work? It may just pay to decrease my delta in the thermostat and lose my energy savings. I am sure there are people here that have been faced with this situation before.

Appreciate and help and insight.
 
I had a similar situation in that my tank is my basement here in MI. Ambient temp runs from about 55-60 degrees during the winter. I set it up a couple months ago and the 75watt heater that came with my kit just wasn't getting it done. So, I bought an over-sized heater (Stealth-200watts) and haven't had a problem keeping the temp at 78*. You could probably sell the old heater or just keep it as a backup. (that's what I did.)
 
Thanks Ryanmr! Appreciate the info. 200 watts sure is beefy in comparison, but best to go big or not at all, I guess. Especially, if I ever have to use the quarintine for elevated temperature to treat ich... Hopefully not, but I want to be prepared.
 
Insulation of the tank would save you some money. You wouldn't need to purchase a new heater, and you won't have to increase the temp of the home while you're away.

If that's not an option, then I would go with a 200W Stealth in addition to the 75W you have in there already. It doesn't make sense to purchase a 100W, or 150W, when they're only a few bucks difference. It'll take up the same amount of room in the tank anyway. If you're going to use the new heater for the winter months only, I would set it as the primary heater, and use the 75W as a fail-over. Set the 75 to your min level, so that it could maintain that temp if the 200W should fail cold. If it fail's hot, nothing you can do in that case but hope the fish don't become stew.
 
Thanks shaunhu, and thanks again ryanmr. Going to buy a 200 watt and use it as a main and hide my little 75 watt in there to come on at like 70 F.
 
Wise man say, "It is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." :D
 
I'd prefer to go with two smaller heaters than one oversized heater--that way if one gets stuck in the on position, the fish won't fry.
 
I over size all my heaters with no problems. My 20 gallon has a 200 watt stealth. All my tens have 100 watt stealths and my 55 has a 250 on it and a 100 set lower as a back up because this stuff is very important to me :)
 
I have 200w on 20g and I have to admit I was surprised. I expected this baby to keep water temperature stable, but it still fluctuates between 24C and 26C. I noticed its 24C when ambient temperature is around 16 and it goes to 26 when ambient temp is at 20. Looks like I will keep this 200w in this tank and not switch with a lower rated heater.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom