Aquarium Co-Op 100 Watt Heater

[Anjum]

On 11/28/2022 at 5:01 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Question for everyone who has one of these. 

I had an old eheim jager and it got stuck in the "nope" mode and was very difficult to get to function correctly.  I generally try to get a heater with a certain wattage / precision, but I just don't trust a lot of the "made for a 5 gallon tank" style of heaters because of my experiences with them.

Here's my dilemma. I have a need for a QT tank and I need a heater that will keep it a certain degree above ambient. For most heaters, the range I need is slightly higher than the normal 10 degrees above ambient limit.  So I almost always upsize the heater.  Doing that, means it doesn't usually fit the 10G tank height too well and that leads to the constant "low flow" warning. 

I have purchased the 100W version and it's on its way.  I fully expect winter temps to get close to the low 50's/high 40's in the house (bad insulation, thin walls, really cold nights) and on my 29Gs I am running 200W heaters to try to keep those at 70-72 degrees. At the old house, I was running two 300W heaters on a 75G to keep those temps relatively stable without killing the heaters on full. (or a 200 and a 300)

Has anyone used the ACO heaters in such a situation and have an idea of how high above ambient the 100W heater can take a 10G tank?  I fully expect it to work, I just want to ask if anyone has run one in a similar situation.  Secondly, does anyone recall what the watt / gallon "rule" was when you were sizing heaters for a certain degree above ambient?

I would assume the 100w heater would be more than sufficient to raise a 10g as much as you wanted. I put 2× 100w ACO heaters on my 29g last year as I was needing to raise the temp 15-20°F over ambient temps. I probably only needed 150w worth of heating capacity, but the 50w wasn't available yet. Now that we have an adequate heating system, I only need to raise temps about 10° over ambient & one 100w would probably be fine. Once I have another tank to set up, I'll pull one & see how it goes. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/29/2022 at 9:52 AM, Anjum said:

I would assume the 100w heater would be more than sufficient to raise a 10g as much as you wanted. I put 2× 100w ACO heaters on my 29g last year as I was needing to raise the temp 15-20°F over ambient temps. I probably only needed 150w worth of heating capacity, but the 50w wasn't available yet. Now that we have an adequate heating system, I only need to raise temps about 10° over ambient & one 100w would probably be fine. Once I have another tank to set up, I'll pull one & see how it goes. 

Agreed. I think I need something like ~70 watts with good flow. The little 15W nano heaters didn't even go up one degree when I had one of those! 😂

Same as you, I was trying to sort out whether it's 3-5W per gallon based on what I was using previously. Either one of those scenarios I think is for 10 above ambient and would work for a 10G. I'll definitely feel a lot better with this shape of a heater compared to trying to get a giant one on its side next to a sponge filter.

[Anjum]

On 11/29/2022 at 9:59 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Agreed. I think I need something like ~70 watts with good flow. The little 15W nano heaters didn't even go up one degree when I had one of those! 😂

Same as you, I was trying to sort out whether it's 3-5W per gallon based on what I was using previously. Either one of those scenarios I think is for 10 above ambient and would work for a 10G. I'll definitely feel a lot better with this shape of a heater compared to trying to get a giant one on its side next to a sponge filter.

Yeah I forget the standard recommendation, but I believe it is only for 10° or less of temp raising. That was a learning curve I experienced. I was nervous at first to put way more heating capacity in the tank, but the more I looked into it, I understood that more is better than not enough, as then the heater won't have to work so hard vs having to work constantly.  

I also much prefer this heater's shape & size, much easier to place correctly in the tank than the long tube heaters. 

[Pepere]

I have 3 10 gallon quarantine tanks in my basement where temps are 62 degrees.

 

the 100 watt heater is perfect for them.  I recently had a batch come down with ich, and it heated tank to 84 degrees without a hitch.  I loved the digital readout, the clear indication if it was actively heating or not.  The ability to alter temp outside the tank to a clearly defined digital temp rather than those twist to an embossed number stick type heaters. The small height so I could keep it near the bottom of the tank and do a 30% water change without having to worry to shut it off first.  And a very reasonable price.

 

it is my hope that the digital electronic thermostat will prove more reliable than bimetalic spring thermostat with mechanical contacts….

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/29/2022 at 10:11 AM, Pepere said:

the 100 watt heater is perfect for them.  I recently had a batch come down with ich, and it heated tank to 84 degrees without a hitch.

That's awesome to hear!  The one time my tank had ich, I struggled so hard to get the temps above 78.  😞
 

On 11/29/2022 at 10:11 AM, Pepere said:

The small height so I could keep it near the bottom of the tank and do a 30% water change without having to worry to shut it off first.  And a very reasonable price.

Oooooh.  Awesome tip.

On 11/29/2022 at 10:07 AM, Anjum said:

Yeah I forget the standard recommendation, but I believe it is only for 10° or less of temp raising. That was a learning curve I experienced. I was nervous at first to put way more heating capacity in the tank, but the more I looked into it, I understood that more is better than not enough, as then the heater won't have to work so hard vs having to work constantly.

Yeah, 100%.  From my experiences learning some of the EE side of things in college, it's likely just the exact same thing but thicker gauge wire.  Slightly modified circuitry but that's how you would, theoretically) get the heat up easily.

More heat, more flow, but beyond that.... less on/off and current knob turned to 11.

[Katherine]

@nabokovfan87 I have used it in a 10g to keep it 15 degrees above ambient at night and 7 above during the day. No issues so far, though we haven't been hitting that low at night for very long.

[nabokovfan87]

I found this, relevant to the question I had.  I would enjoy setting this test up or understanding the science (math) behind it.  Super interesting engineering problem so to speak.  Especially if the target was 20C over ambient!

[Pepere]

On 11/30/2022 at 10:41 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

or understanding the science (math) behind it. 

Simple heat loss calculation.  Factors include surface area in question, ie tank surface area, insulative value of surface, ie glass is an abysmal insulator, and temperature difference…

 

a 100 watt heater can put out roughly 350 btu per hour.  A btu, is the amount of heat needed to raise 1 pound of water 1 degree Farenheit.  And, a pint is a pound the whole world round….  Ie,very roughly 8 pounds per gallon of water.. specifically refers to distilled water,  dissolved solids increase the weight…

 

and drafts across the tank increases the heat loss.

the colder the room, the more heat required to raise tank temp.

In my 62 degree basement, a 50 watt heater can not raise tank temp in my 10 gallon tank much over 78.  A 100 watt heater can easily raise it to reccomended temps for Ich treatment.

alternatively, foam panels bonded to the tank would lower the heat loss.

this web site goes in to more detail.

 

https://www.toppr.com/guides/physics-formulas/heat-loss-formula/