Heater Sizing

[Craigdillman]

i got 2 250w in my set up probably 160ish gallons total

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Craigdillman

i got 2 250w in my set up probably 160ish gallons total

I would have thought that was enough. Maybe mine are just so old they don't heat anymore. Guess I can test. Tank is back up to 73.3 currently

[brotherd]

1000 watt Bluline titanium with controller.

[Doug]

Wow Brad. 400w should easily keep your 180 at a set temp. And to boot you have a top. Must be a heater not doing its job.

[gregzz4]

I like to stick with 3-5 watts/gallon
I have 3 x 200w in 110 gallons total
If 1 fails, 2 can still keep up

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Doug

Wow Brad. 400w should easily keep your 180 at a set temp. And to boot you have a top. Must be a heater not doing its job.

Well, the kid turned the heat off, so it was pretty cold in that room overnight. But ya, I would have thought they'd keep it at temp. Maybe time to replace heaters -lol
Oh, and no top, just open.

[MitchM]

I'm pretty happy with my hot water pex loop heating my tank.
I can't really say how many watts I would otherwise be using though.

[jorjef]

120 gallons 2 x300 watts.

[kacairns]

Different heater brands list different tank sizes based on wattage, guess it all boils down to efficiency and design/placement as well.

ie Aqueon 250w Pro heater is rated for aquariums upto 90g, where as Eheim Jager at 250w is rated for 106g - 159g

[hillegom]

my understanding is that you have to take the ambient room temp into consideration. Once you have the proper heaters for the size of aquarium, the heaters only increase the tank water, 10-15 degs above the ambient room temp.

I found a chart on line. Scroll down to bottom of page, under ambient temperature.

http://mayerspet.com/?p=1010