i have a heater in a ten gallon tank and its not heating up very well. the water is still cold. i dont have a water pump or anything because its for a betta, its just a heater in there. would the heater work and how long would it take. i have a tetra one. u cant set the temperature, its suppose to "automatically warms water to the proper temperature for your fish(76 f to 80f) i totally regret not getting a thermometer, right now i just left the fish in the cup and put a lamp over it. right now its been in the tank for over an hour and the water still feels the same. is the heater broken or something?
2007-12-16 14:43:38 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
the light on the heater is on and its red. the instructiion says when its heating, its red and green when its paused. but its been red for over 2 hours.
2007-12-16 15:06:53 · update #1
You haven't waited long enough.
Generally, you have to wait overnight to see any change. Especially if there is nothing to stir the water around.
2007-12-16 15:10:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most heaters will take up to 24 hours to heat up your aquarium water. It has to heat it up slowly so that the fish will have time to adjust.
Did you make sure to put the heater in the water for 15 minutes BEFORE plugging the heater into the outlet? (Doing so allows the glass of the heater to get to the same temperature of the water, important if you don't want the heater to break) If you didn't do that, chances are the heater is busted.
2007-12-16 15:22:11 · answer #2 · answered by revernance 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would reccomend you take it back for one with a heat setting, and just pitch in the extra $5 for a thermometer. I have one with a heat setting and one in my 5 gallon that supposedly 'gets the right temperature' [both with bettas] but there is definitely a difference in them. Even if the water if a bit cold, the betta in a cup wiht a lamp over it doesn't sound safe, and it would be a better idea to just put him in the ten gallon and get the new heater soon. If it feels very cold, try adding some warm water.
Hope that helps.
2007-12-16 14:54:40 · answer #3 · answered by volleyballin♥ 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I agree with everyone basically that you should probably wait about a day, definately get a thermometer and you ARE supposed to put it in to aclimate before turning it on... however I have never had any problem with finiky heaters. One thing I wanted to add though is that if a tank is at 76deg it wont necissarily feel 'warm' to the touch. I would put the betta in the tank either way, a little cold wont hurt him until you find out what the problem is, if theres a problem at all.
2007-12-16 16:31:12 · answer #4 · answered by BriS 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It takes a long time for water to heat as the surface area of the heater is small compared to the water in a bowl or tank. As long as you don't subject your fish to rapid changes in temperatures (either hot or cold) often they will adapt to temps. surpriseling well.
Remember to size a heater correctly at 10 watts per gallon more or less.{10 gal tank=100 watt heater etc.}. Betta's are hardy fish that live in warm river streams and rains often bring cooler channels that they love to ride the edge of.
2007-12-16 16:02:05 · answer #5 · answered by National Oricle 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your heater is working,it will take 18 to 24 hours for the temperature to stabilize. I'll bet it says that in the instructions somewhere. There's not much point in having a heater if you don't have a thermometer to monitor the temp.
2007-12-16 15:20:29 · answer #6 · answered by PeeTee 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
isnt there a light that's supposed to go on when the heater's working(dont know what your heater looks like)? are you sure the heater's on? maybe the plug is loose. is it the right voltage?
dont you have any thermometer at all in the house? even one for humans will work. just dunk it in the tank
2007-12-16 15:01:04 · answer #7 · answered by maneatingcatfish 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
a heater is supposed to sit in the water for atleast 15 min to adjust to water temp, i've broke two getting into the fish hobby
2007-12-16 14:53:33 · answer #8 · answered by que a 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋