Heater Questions

Aveadonat · Dec 6, 2022

Setting up a WB20 cube and I'm in the process of buying all the parts. I must not have realized it, but I just checked the heater, a Cobalt Neo-Therm Pro, and realized I got the 25w version when I meant to get the 100w version. I plan on stocking the tank with fish and coral, and I'm not sure if this heater will be powerful enough to heat this tank up at 25w. Living in MD the temps get pretty cold, however, the temp of my house usually is between 70-80 degrees. Thanks!

thatmanMIKEson · Dec 6, 2022

Aveadonat said:
Setting up a WB20 cube and I'm in the process of buying all the parts. I must not have realized it, but I just checked the heater, a Cobalt Neo-Therm Pro, and realized I got the 25w version when I meant to get the 100w version. I plan on stocking the tank with fish and coral, and I'm not sure if this heater will be powerful enough to heat this tank up at 25w. Living in MD the temps get pretty cold, however, the temp of my house usually is between 70-80 degrees. Thanks!

Idk what the manufacturer recommends, but their recommended wattage is probably all you need, I use multiple heaters on some sort of controller on every tank just incase, temperature to me is important and although the wattage of one may be enough, when it's really cold one may stay on all the time rather than cycle on and off, another reason to have two.

What size aquarium does the manufacturer rate that heater for?

nuxx · Dec 6, 2022

No matter the size of the tank... get two heaters...

Also I'd suggest getting some sort of controller to stop the heaters if they get stuck.

dwest · Dec 6, 2022

Aveadonat said:
Setting up a WB20 cube and I'm in the process of buying all the parts. I must not have realized it, but I just checked the heater, a Cobalt Neo-Therm Pro, and realized I got the 25w version when I meant to get the 100w version. I plan on stocking the tank with fish and coral, and I'm not sure if this heater will be powerful enough to heat this tank up at 25w. Living in MD the temps get pretty cold, however, the temp of my house usually is between 70-80 degrees. Thanks!

I usually use about 1-2 watts per gallon and my house stays about the same temps as yours. I would try it.

Also agree with controllers very important.

mdb_talon · Dec 6, 2022

If you keep a top on the tank then it may be enough. Without a top I doubt it. 10g is about max for a 25w heater if air temps getting down to 70. I would get a 50w to go along with it and an external controller personally to manage both.

SantaMonica · Dec 6, 2022

Redundant heaters are great for not having an overheat... one bad heater can only over heat so much.

Aveadonat · Dec 7, 2022

dwest said:
I usually use about 1-2 watts per gallon and my house stays about the same temps as yours. I would try it.

Also agree with controllers very important.

What controller do you suggest?
I heard a lot about controllers but when I looked in depth I didn't find much so I figured I'd be fine without one, but now you've peaked my interest

thatmanMIKEson · Dec 7, 2022

Aveadonat said:
What controller do you suggest?
I heard a lot about controllers but when I looked in depth I didn't find much so I figured I'd be fine without one, but now you've peaked my interest

Look on line for aquarium heater controller, there's allot of fan favorites and diffrent options with larger brand controllers like apex, allot of people get by with a finnex heater controller some use an inkbird, there's tons of options out there, the more you look at what's out there you may be able to make a decision of what will work best for you in your situation, who ever you ask will have their opinions, but ultimately you need an aquarium heater controller then adjust for price and needs.

dwest · Dec 7, 2022

Aveadonat said:
What controller do you suggest?
I heard a lot about controllers but when I looked in depth I didn't find much so I figured I'd be fine without one, but now you've peaked my interest

I use my apex but others do like inkbird.

RocketEngineer · Dec 7, 2022

I’m also in MD. I have a slightly different take on heaters: They are disposable. Now, hear me out. I have two EHEIM heaters on my 100g display. They cost ~$35 each so say $70 for the pair. Here’s why they are “disposable”: How many cycles does a heater go through in a day/month/year? 10 thousand? 100 thousand? I’m betting it’s a lot more than most folks realize. So, I can either replace the heater when the warranty expires, OR spend $290 on a new energy bar because the relay went bad. For my setup, the heater does the on/off and the controller is the backup kill switch that sets off an alarm. JMO