100 watt Aquarium Coop Heater for 55 gallon

[Ohio FishPlant Dude]

Will one 100 Watt Aquarium COOP heater really be strong enough for my 55 gallon tank? 

Some customer reviews have stated that one will successfully heat up to a 75 gallon tank...I have an old 250 Watt tube heater that I would like to replace....Perhaps the AC 100 Watt will be more efficient and handle my tank with ease?

[Pepere]

I would not expect the co op heater to be any more efficient than any other heater.

100 watts is 100 watts. It puts out 350 btus per hour.

what will determine if 100 watts is enough is how many degrees above ambient temperature you need to raise the tank temperature, and what other heat source is in the tank. Lights and pumps consume energy and create heat in the process of using electricity.

personally, I would use 2 of them. 1 on either side of the tank. Better heat distribution, and better protection against a failed heater.  Ie if one fails to heat you still have some heat.  If one fails to shut off, less likely to overheat the tank as quickly.

[Ohio FishPlant Dude]

I just watched Corey's Live Stream from 4 days ago. He recommended using only 1 , 100 watt heater for a 75 gallon tank. 

His reasons were to save money, fish are quite tolerate of uneven temperatures...and if the heater malfunctions, 100 watts will take longer to overheat/ underheat...

My tank is covered with 2 hang on back filters and 1 powerhead which must help to generate some heat...I heat my room at  72 F or more depending on my comfort.

I'm going to start with 1 heater in my 55 gallon and see how it goes.  

[Andy's Fish Den]

It would depend on what the room temperature is in the room that the tank is sitting in, and what temperature that you want the tank to be. If you keep your house at 68* or the tank is in your unfinished basement, and you are wanting to have the water at 76-79* then it may struggle, and never shut off. But if your house is kept at 72* and you only want the tank temp to be 76* then it would be fine. 

[Lennie]

I keep my room at 22C and 42g tank at 27C. 

I use 2 heaters myself in that tank. The truth is, it also depends on what fish you keep. I have black rams in that tank. If you keep species that are more fragile and expect to have much higher temp than the room temp you keep your tank in, it won't be enough, and will be constantly on trying to heat the tank.

I'm not sure I can understand the electricity bill part in this regard. To  keep the tank temp stable, 2 heaters will be turning on or off based on the tank temp, or, one almost always constantly running on trying to heat the tank nonstop. I am confused.

Also if one breaks down, you will have no heater on hand.

 

Edited May 8 by Lennie

[redfish]

On 5/8/2023 at 5:38 AM, Andy's Fish Den said:

It would depend on what the room temperature is in the room that the tank is sitting in, and what temperature that you want the tank to be. If you keep your house at 68* or the tank is in your unfinished basement, and you are wanting to have the water at 76-79* then it may struggle, and never shut off. But if your house is kept at 72* and you only want the tank temp to be 76* then it would be fine. 

I agree with Andy.  I use one 100 watt ACO heater in my 55 gal and it works fine to hold the tank at 78 degrees.  I do keep the ambient temperature around the tank in the 70-76 degree range year round.