Is 250watt steath heater too much for a 40 gallon tank?

Question

hi, i have a dliema. my visi deluxe broke the other day and i need to get another heater.

i've decided to go for the visi stealth since its plastic and has great reviews.

i went to petsmart today and they only have the 50, 100, and 250 watts avilable.

now, my tank is 40 gallons with about 25 gallons water filled up.
the 100 watt heater is for 30 gallons and 250 is for 55.....

if i get the 100 watt, is that too little, if i get the 250 watt, is that too much?

i wanna get the 200 but they dont have it in stock and i would like to get it quick.

what do you think? thank you.

ps. i also asked if they could match online prices because the store prices are so much more expensive! i think it is ridiculous becuase the store price for 100 watt one is $31.99!!!!!, while on petsmart.com the same 100 watt is 17.99.
they said yes as long as i print it out and bring it. and tahts what im gonna do.

thank you for your time

oops, correction, 250 watt is for 75 gallons.

this is answer to answer 1:

my tank is only filled up to 25 gals b/c this is a tank for 2 turtles, not fish.
and with petco, i went there first and was disappointed to find out they didnt even carry the visi stealth! so you're right
petsmart is not that bad, but the store/online prices are pretty off.

i can't fill the water too much up because i have a basking place and if the water is too high the turtles will easily climb out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7890408@N04/464742950/

here check it out as you can see i cant have the water too high!

Answer 1

first off why is your water only up to half the actual limit. fill it up all the way leaving only an inch from the top, second the heater will be fine i have a very large one for my 30 gallon as long as you maintain water temperature. And never buy anything at petco or petsmart I WORK AT PETCO and i say dont come here

Answer 2

Unless your house is cold where you keep the tank, and you need to raise the water temperature more than 10 degrees, figure 3-5 watts per gallon of water. You'll probably want the temperature around 75o. Do you have an overhead basking light that will also help warm the water? Seems like a 100-200 should be about the right range. Do you actually have 25 gallons, or is part of this volume rock?

ADDITION - I see from your photo no rock - only the volume of the filter.

Answer 3

The best way to answer is ... you can't really have too much wattage for heating. I have the Stealth 250 in my 55 gal. I plan on purchasing a second 250 to even out the heating and have a back up if one goes out. If you ever have to treat for ich, it is much easier to raise and maintain 88F with extra wattage, than just enough.

I also agree that the price difference is crazy. You can buy a Emperor 400 and get a 300W visi deluxe for the price of the emporer online ... If it was the 250 stealth, I would get it for a second Emperor instead of the Aqua-Tech (Wal-Mart version of of Penguin 330 w/o bio-wheel), since the Emp I have works great. Also the API test kit is about half the price online. But they have the best selection in my town, even beating out the local fish store.

So ... the turtle tank cannot hold full water? I would look into a fish tank if you could. 29 gal tanks aren't too bad. PetSupermarket had a 55 gal for under 100.

I bought the 250W Stealth in the store, no print out, for less than 40. your store seems a bit steep.

Again, the 250 would be great for you.

Answer 4

250 is fine since most have a little thing called a knob that regulates the heat. you can turn it down and grow into a larger tank.

Added:

250 is pushing the 75 tank limit but it will work. Two heaters are better than one depending on your tank and the circulation in it. 200 is too small. guess for around 3-5 watts per gallon.

Answer 5

Why is everyone saying 100 watts? Apparently they cant read. For 40 gallons you should get a 200 watt heater. The eheim jager heaters are the best hands down.

Answer 6

If you are only running 25 gallons of water, I would go with the 100 watt, it will readily handle heating that amount of water.

MM

Answer 7

100 watts should be fine, unless the ambient room temperature is really cold. Use the smallest heater you can get away with because sooner or later they ALWAYS fail, and when they fail, they stick ON not off.

Answer 8

Why do you only have 25 gallons of water? Fill it up to the top...

if you fill it up to the top with 40 gallons of water, get the 250watt, and if you don't fill it up to the top, get the 100watt...


I have a 200watt in a 40gal. and it just heats it up quickly.

Answer 9

get 2 100 watt, then if one stops working your fish will be okay awhile.