Hey guys, so it's been really cold here lately, and it's supposed to get colder before it finally warms up. I'm worried about the temperature in my tank. Our house is never above 70 (unless it's in the summer and the ac is off), and the only way I keep myself warm in the winter is with my space heater. I heat my room to 75 or so, and finally can stop shivering. The problem with that is, I can't keep my space heater on constantly. I'm not used to it ever being this cold (although I suppose that makes sense, what with some areas experiencing the most snowfall in history this year). It gets very very cold at night, (expecially since my bedroom, where I keep my tank, is pretty much the coldest room in the house), and I am afraid the temperature drop will hurt Andrew. I have awakened some mornings shivering because it was only 56 degrees in my room (hence the space heater). Someone suggested wrapping the tank in a towel from the dryer to keep the temperature up at night. I am going to try that, but does anyone else have any other suggestions that might help? I have a heater in the tank, but it's a mini heater and can only heat it so much. Do I need to just break down and buy a bigger heater? I was afraid that a bigger one (the next size I saw at the store was 50 watts) might be too much for my 5 gallon tank. Any help would be great. =/
Ugh, cold....one of the many things I dislike about winter...>_<;
Luckily no snow for us over here though ;)
Yeah, those mini heaters don't work all too well in anything above a 2 gallon if your room drops bellow 70.....You'll definitely need a bigger, adjustable heater. Really there is no other way to keep your tank at a steady, warm temp other then having a heater or keeping your room REALLY warm ALL the time. If you can't find a 25 watt, the 50 would be fine for a 5 gallon. Just watch the temp carfully and adjust it accordingly. ;)
No way always go the next size up. For my 10 gallon i use a 100 watt. I dont blast it to full power but when its as cold as your saying its good to know the heater is capable of hitting those higher temps. I use the TopFin one from petsmart and its adjustable AND it turns off when it knows the water is warm enough and turns back on when its too cold. Its only 19 bucks too not bad at all.
OK, thanks for the tips. I will go out and get a better heater. I put a warm towel over his tank for the night, and it stayed at 78, but then the temperature started dropping again when I took the towel back off. Ugh. I hate the cold! I'm just glad we don't get snow here, either.
With heaters the general rule is to go DOWN, not up. A 25 watt malfuntioning heater will cause less damage than a 50 watt (so on and so forth). For a 5 gallon I would have a nice 25 watt (such as the visitherm ones) or a 50 watt at the most. I use a 50 watt in my 10 and a 25 in my 3 and 4 gallon tanks.
I went out to find a new heater, and ended up buying this 100-watt (because it was less expensive than the 50-watt, go figure) one that says it heats to 78 +/- 2 degrees. I put it in my tank and it doesn't even seem to be working unless I have my space heater on in my room. This is disappointing. =/ I can't leave my space heater on! That's not only just plain silly, but dangerous. The heater I bought is by Tetra, and it has a light that "assures you it is in heat mode," but the temperature doesn't stay up. I don't understand this heater, and why it just won't work. I've emailed the "support team" and they're supposed to answer within 24 hours, but it still does not offset the disappointment I've experienced with their product. My Petsmart does not have a good variety of options, and I've yet to find a pet store that offers better ones. =/
What are you guys talking about? 65 is the perfect weather! ;) You'd hate to live here then, lol.
Well, not to much for bettas...If your 100 watt heater isn't adjustable, I would keep a close eye on it. Do you have a thermometer for the tank? I suggest you get one so you can moniter the temp.
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