low powered heater recommendation

[venzi]

Hi.  I was doing some research into aquarium heaters and I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed with all the bad reviews.  Glass breaking or fish frying or electrical shock or heater breaking within days or weeks etc. 

My situation is that my room temps (during the evening/mornings) will likely dip into low 60s throughout the winter, but will prob average more closely to mid 60s during the evenings/mornings.  So I want a heater that can raise my temps to be above high 60s.  I plan to get platies so they might not even need a heater, but just wanted a little buffer in case the winter ends up being colder than planned.  I have a 20g tank and I read that roughly 1.5 watts per gallon will raise the water about 10 degrees.  So I'm looking at a 15w or 25w heater.

The aqueon flat heaters seems like they'll be the best bet b/c there doesn't appear to be glass that can break and it's flat so that I can have it sitting on top of the gravel or below some decoration so that I can easily hide it as well.  Any feedback to my thought process would be appreciated.

[TeeJay]

I personally like the hygger titanium heaters. As well the co op heater would be a good choice especially if you only looking for a couple degrees if heat.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi @venzi

As a low tech tank keeper I'm not a fan of heaters, I find them cumbersome, ugly and unreliable- so I get it. You will get mixed reviews no matter WHAT heater you mention. I picked fish that wouldn't need them UNTIL I got a betta. I keep him in a 10 gallon tank that runs pretty warm on its own (between 72-78)- but Bettas should have 80-82 degree water. So I'm using the Aqueon flat heater for the very reasons you are looking at it- less to really go wrong. Now the disadvantage is it can stop working and you may not know- or go wonky and overheat. In this case you can get something called a pymeter from somewhere like amazon- plug the heater in through that and it will turn the heater on and off within your temperature preferences!

I am not currently using my personal pymeter with my Betta tank since the tank doesn't get that cold and I monitor it that closely- the small flat heater from Aqueon keeps the tank at 80 for me. And that's in a 10 gallon!

[Chris]

If it were me, I'd just not worry about getting a heater for this tank. Variatus do better at cooler temps than platies, but I wouldn't worry about platies in the mid 60's, personally.

If you do choose to get a heater, I've actually had very good luck with the Tetra 50W presets. Yes, they're cheap and don't get reviewed well - but in my experience of owning over a dozen over the course of 10 years, they actually work very well IME. They're preset to 78, but each individual heater is usually a degree or two off. I've never had one stick on - always had them quietly die and turn off after years of service.

My room temp in my fishroom is between 70-72 right now, maybe the upper 60's overnight. I've got a single 50W Tetra preset in that tank (along with an AquaClear Filter) and it keeps it in the upper 70's consistently. More than enough for a 20.

[venzi]

On 10/3/2022 at 2:12 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Hi @venzi

As a low tech tank keeper I'm not a fan of heaters, I find them cumbersome, ugly and unreliable- so I get it. You will get mixed reviews no matter WHAT heater you mention. I picked fish that wouldn't need them UNTIL I got a betta. I keep him in a 10 gallon tank that runs pretty warm on its own (between 72-78)- but Bettas should have 80-82 degree water. So I'm using the Aqueon flat heater for the very reasons you are looking at it- less to really go wrong. Now the disadvantage is it can stop working and you may not know- or go wonky and overheat. In this case you can get something called a pymeter from somewhere like amazon- plug the heater in through that and it will turn the heater on and off within your temperature preferences!

I am not currently using my personal pymeter with my Betta tank since the tank doesn't get that cold and I monitor it that closely- the small flat heater from Aqueon keeps the tank at 80 for me. And that's in a 10 gallon!

Cool.  I didn't know about pymeters.  @xXInkedPhoenixX How are you placing the aqueon flat heater (on the glass using suction cup or flat on top of the substrate etc)?  
 

 

On 10/3/2022 at 3:53 PM, Chris said:

Variatus do better at cooler temps than platies, but I wouldn't worry about platies in the mid 60's, personally.

Yeah, I'm hoping to find some variatus platies at my LFS.  My local petco only carry regular platies (or they call them assorted I think so maybe they might be variatus).

On 10/3/2022 at 3:53 PM, Chris said:

I've actually had very good luck with the Tetra 50W presets.

Thanks!

[Chris]

On 10/4/2022 at 1:18 AM, venzi said:

Cool.  I didn't know about pymeters.  @xXInkedPhoenixX How are you placing the aqueon flat heater (on the glass using suction cup or flat on top of the substrate etc)?  
 

 

Yeah, I'm hoping to find some variatus platies at my LFS.  My local petco only carry regular platies (or they call them assorted I think so maybe they might be variatus).

Thanks!

When I managed a PetSmart we carried Variatus. I had to special order them off my list but they sold like crazy. If you have a decent PetSmart in the area, maybe check there for some! Or Aquabid.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@venzi I am only using the 5w model (I know, too small for a 10 gallon but since it only needs a 3 degree bump or so it seems to work well). and I just use the suction cup for it along the back wall- it seems to stick well. BTW I also have one in my Mum's ADF tank which is 5.5 gallons (more like 5 because of the substrate etc) and it works well there too. Her house is a lot chillier than mine. 

[venzi]

On 10/4/2022 at 6:20 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

ADF tank

What's ADF?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@venzi, sorry African Dwarf Frog