My 200 watt heater for my 55 gal. tank is putting to much heat into my tank i have turned it all the way down but it still doesnt shut off i have to keep un plugging it any advice should i swap it or go with 150 watt
2007-08-14 06:17:45 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
I'd think that if your minimum setting for that heater is raising the water temps above what you need, you don't have much choice to be straight. The only other option that I can see is possible is to add a chiller to the tank, but it'd seem to me that an easier more sensible solution would be just replace the heater with a lower watt heater.
JV
2007-08-14 06:28:19 · answer #1 · answered by I am Legend 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
You want a heater to have roughly 5 watts per gallon of tank capacity, so if anything, you should have a larger heater (275-300 watts) or two heaters of the same wattage on opposite ends of the tank. If you need to raise the temperature more than 10 degrees above the room temperature at any time of the year, go up one wattage in size. If the heater you use is too small, it will have to work harder to heat the tank to the proper temperature, and it sounds like this may have happened with yours.
Since your heater is obviously an adjustable model, are you certain that the way you're adjusting it is turning the temperature down and not up? If so, the internal thermostat may be shot and it's time to get a new heater.
2007-08-14 13:27:17 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
All aquarium heaters have a built in themosat. At the lowest setting they should turn off if the water temp is 65 or higher.With bottom of the line heater the thermosat is the fist thing to go.This means the heater does not turn off and will overheat the water depending on the wattage of the heater and the size of the tank. It pays to buy atop of the line heater preferably a submersable . These will run about $20-$30 depending on the wattage vs a less well made one for $12 -$20
2007-08-14 14:15:41 · answer #3 · answered by bob m 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get a heater controller. You plug into the controller and set your heater to high. The controller has a sensor that monitors the temperature in the tank and will turn the heater on and off. This set up will bypass the heaters internal thermostat and keep your tank safe from a malfunctioning heater.
2007-08-14 13:50:25 · answer #4 · answered by spence1209 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
awww poor fishes bwahahahaha!
2007-08-14 13:22:28 · answer #5 · answered by Yvette 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋