My tank is burning hot !

[92Miata]

Thanks but there aren’t anything alive in there now apart from 0.25 ppm ammonia

Don't worry about getting it down - just pull the heater out and send it back if you can.

 

[Emma_fish]

Don't worry about getting it down - just pull the heater out and send it back if you can.

Ok thank you will the temperatures kill the beneficial bacteria I have added

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Thanks but there aren’t anything alive in there now apart from 0.25 ppm ammonia

Sorry to hear that, what livestock was in the tank?

 

[92Miata]

Ok thank you will the temperatures kill the beneficial bacteria I have added

40c is high enough that i'd redose once It gets down to reasonable range. An $8 bottle of BioSpira is a lot cheaper IMO than finding out 2 weeks from now that you killed your bacteria. They might be ok, but bacteria is cheap.


As far as heater wattage, it's dependant on a lot of things - the temp of the room you keep the tank in, humidity, surface turbulence, tank size, etc.


I keep my house at 68 in the winter and 73 in the summer. One of my (40g)tanks is low turbulence, other high. Both have 50w heaters in them and keep 78 fine.

Prior to buying an inkbird, a heater failure drove tank to 82. That's what you want - failures to be noticible - but not kill the tank. Just enough heater to keep the tank up to temp on the coldest day - no more.

Too hot is way worse than too cold.

 

[Emma_fish]

Sorry to hear that, what livestock was in the tank?

Oh no sorry I should have sai it is new never had anything live in it before

 

[Wee Mad Arthur]

I’m reading some of these replies and feel I need to say something. Heaters with a thermostat cannot be too big for a tank. The thermostat turns the heater off when the temperature is reached. You could have a 1000w heater in a 20 gallon tank and it won’t make the water any hotter than a 100w heater if they are both set to the same temperature. I am really surprised people don’t know this.

Obviously if the 1000w got stuck on it would heat the water faster than the 100w so you might not notice in time but to say someones heater is too big and is the cause of the high temperature is wrong.

Yes you can buy heaters without a built in thermostat but they are designed to be connected to an external thermostat.

If the thermostat is set to the correct temperature but the heater is staying on then it’s a faulty heater. Simple as.
From what I can see the only other thing they are running is a small internal filter that is not going to be heating the water by any measurable amount.

Also their profile says they are in the U.K. and living there myself I know air temperature is not having an impact.

 

[Emma_fish]

I’m reading some of these replies and feel I need to say something. Heaters with a thermostat cannot be too big for a tank. The thermostat turns the heater off when the temperature is reached. You could have a 1000w heater in a 20 gallon tank and it won’t make the water any hotter than a 100w heater if they are both set to the same temperature. I am really surprised people don’t know this.

Obviously if the 1000w got stuck on it would heat the water faster than the 100w so you might not notice in time but to say someones heater is too big and is the cause of the high temperature is wrong.

Yes you can buy heaters without a built in thermostat but they are designed to be connected to an external thermostat.

If the thermostat is set to the correct temperature but the heater is staying on then it’s a faulty heater. Simple as.
From what I can see the only other thing they are running is a small internal filter that is not going to be heating the water by any measurable amount.

Also their profile says they are in the U.K. and living there myself I know air temperature is not having an impact.

I do have a smaller heater that I will try and see if that will work in my tank thanks for the help

 

[DonTavo27]

Looks like a Hydor 75-100 watt heater. I’m sure it’s just the fact that it’s too big of a heater. 50 watts should be enough. Hydor heaters are well built, have used them for years now, and replace them every two years, even if they’re still working.

 

[Dkeller_nc]

Wee Mad Arthur is correct. A properly functioning and properly set heater will not overheat a tank, especially not to 40 deg C (presuming a normal room temp of about 20 deg C this time of year).

What oversizing a heater WILL do is cause excessive swings in temperature above the set point because the additional thermal mass of the larger heater and the residual heat in the larger heating elements will continue to transfer heat to the tank water after the thermostat has turned the heating element off.

Emma - A bit of advice. If you can return the heater, do so. Stuck-on heaters are probably the number one killer of reef tanks after complete power failures. I've been keeping reefs for some 30 years now, and 45 years for fish tanks in general. I would personally purchase an Eheim-Jager. Of all the brands I've had over the years, these have easily been the most reliable.

That said, it's extremely good practice to use a temperature controller such as an Inkbird in addition to the thermostat on the heater. The temp controllers tend to fail "off", which is the opposite of heaters, at least those with mechanical switches, which tend to fail "on". If you plug a heater into an inkbird, and set the heater's thermostat a bit higher than the setpoint on the controller, it's pretty unlikely for you to have a failure that leaves the heater on and fries everything in the tank. If the controller fails "on", you still have the heater's internal thermostat as a back-up safety device.

 

[Emma_fish]

Wee Mad Arthur is correct. A properly functioning and properly set heater will not overheat a tank, especially not to 40 deg C (presuming a normal room temp of about 20 deg C this time of year).

What oversizing a heater WILL do is cause excessive swings in temperature above the set point because the additional thermal mass of the larger heater and the residual heat in the larger heating elements will continue to transfer heat to the tank water after the thermostat has turned the heating element off.

Emma - A bit of advice. If you can return the heater, do so. Stuck-on heaters are probably the number one killer of reef tanks after complete power failures. I've been keeping reefs for some 30 years now, and 45 years for fish tanks in general. I would personally purchase an Eheim-Jager. Of all the brands I've had over the years, these have easily been the most reliable.

That said, it's extremely good practice to use a temperature controller such as an Inkbird in addition to the thermostat on the heater. The temp controllers tend to fail "off", which is the opposite of heaters, at least those with mechanical switches, which tend to fail "on". If you plug a heater into an inkbird, and set the heater's thermostat a bit higher than the setpoint on the controller, it's pretty unlikely for you to have a failure that leaves the heater on and fries everything in the tank. If the controller fails "on", you still have the heater's internal thermostat as a back-up safety device.

Thank you what wattage of new heater do you recommend ?

 

[Wee Mad Arthur]

The heater blurb will tell you what the manufacturer has them rated for but personally I have a 200w on my reef tank and a 100w on my freshwater, both are 24 gallons. The 200w is an external hydor and the lowest wattage they offer.

Incidentally, I see you say in another thread your tank is 85 litres, in US gallons which is what’s used on here that equates to 22 gallons or 22.4 if you want to be precise rather than the 20 you’ve been saying.

 

[Emma_fish]

The heater blurb will tell you what the manufacturer has them rated for but personally I have a 200w on my reef tank and a 100w on my freshwater, both are 24 gallons. The 200w is an external hydor and the lowest wattage they offer.

Incidentally, I see you say in another thread your tank is 85 litres, in US gallons which is what’s used on here that equates to 22 gallons or 22.4 if you want to be precise rather than the 20 you’ve been saying.

Oh ok thanks for telling me about the gallon conversion the heater I was thinking more 50w or even 25w isn’t 100w a lot ?

 

[Wee Mad Arthur]

I give up!

Help Guides

www.swelluk.com

 

[Emma_fish]

Is this a good choice for my heater ?

 

[WVNed]

Quick Compare - Eheim Jager TruTemp Aquarium Heaters
Model No.	Maximum Aquarium Size	Power Consumption	Length
3611	5-7 gallons	25W	9"
3612	7-16 gallons	50W	9"
3613	16-26 gallons	75W	10.2"
3614	26-40 gallons	100W	12.2"
3615	40-53 gallons	125W	12.2"
3616	53-79 gallons	150W	13.4"
3617	79-106 gallons	200W	15.7"
3618	106-159 gallons	250W	17.78"
3619	159-264 gallons	300W	19.6"

75 watts is what you need

 

[Dkeller_nc]

Is this a good choice for my heater ?

No. Buy an Eheim-Jager.

 

[LiamPM]

Is this a good choice for my heater ?

Yes, the lower wattage will help with temperature stability. As someone already pointed out, although larger heaters dont necessarily cause tanks to overheat as such they can make the water hotter than its set to, purtely because of the size of them and the cool down time is longer even when the elements are off.

But do yourself a big favour, before you buy another heater, get yourself a controller to go with it. The inkbirds are cheap enough and you shouldn't really run a tank without them. They are as important as the silicone holding your tank together.

 

[Emma_fish]

Model No.	Maximum Aquarium Size	Power Consumption	Length
Quick Compare - Eheim Jager TruTemp Aquarium Heaters
3611	5-7 gallons	25W	9"
3612	7-16 gallons	50W	9"
3613	16-26 gallons	75W	10.2"
3614	26-40 gallons	100W	12.2"
3615	40-53 gallons	125W	12.2"
3616	53-79 gallons	150W	13.4"
3617	79-106 gallons	200W	15.7"
3618	106-159 gallons	250W	17.78"
3619	159-264 gallons	300W	19.6"

75 watts is what you need

I can’t find a 75w heater

Yes, the lower wattage will help with temperature stability. As someone already pointed out, although larger heaters dont necessarily cause tanks to overheat as such they can make the water hotter than its set to, purtely because of the size of them and the cool down time is longer even when the elements are off.

But do yourself a big favour, before you buy another heater, get yourself a controller to go with it. The inkbirds are cheap enough and you shouldn't really run a tank without them. They are as important as the silicone holding your tank together.

low wattage ? Someone said I needed 75 w I though that was a little high ?