I want to throw it OUT the WINDOW!

[cjayBetta]

So my husband and I bought our daughters betta fist a 10g tank recently and needed a new heater so we picked up an adjustable heater - was between 10-20$ i dont really remember... Anyways I am having the HARDEST time keeping it at the same darn temp!!!! Is there a Trick or something to keeping it at the same temp?
It goes from like 78 down to 65 then i adjust it and it goes to 80 and then I get home from work and it was like 85 or something like that.... I have it sitting right now at roughly 77-79... My consern is that I am heading to France in about a week... I have someone coming here to feed them everyday but I am worried that if the temp does drop she wont notice or know how to fix it .... (also worried about the constant temp change for this poor old man fish, who I assume is about 2 years old, we have had him for a year.)

Any tips would be MUCH MUCH helpful and appreciated!

[Laki]

What brand is it?? I got mine at PetSmart (whatever their brand is) for 20$. It's a 25watt adjustable. It's in the kitchen window which has a slight draft and is able to keep my tank at a steady temp.
What is the wattage of the heater? For a 10g you might want to go above the suggested heater wattage (is it 50W per 10g?) so it doesn't have to work as hard.

It could be there's some malfunctioning hardware in the heater. I would return it and try another. If you have the same problem perhaps go up in wattage.

[styggian]

My 15gal sorority tank had bad fluctuations until I got a 75 or 100w heater. Now it stays at the same temp constantly regardless of room temp.

[cjayBetta]

Its a hagen elite heater... Im not 100% sure of the wattage...

[styggian]

My 15gal kit came with a heater rated for a 10gal and I couldn't keep the temp steady. Try to find out the wattage, it may just be too small for your tank.

[cjayBetta]

If Im not mistaken when we bought it it had 10-15g on it.

[Bombalurina]

Sometimes heaters are rated by the companies as being for bigger tanks than they can actually cope with. You won't know for sure unless you can find out the wattage.

[Laki]

Does it say the wattage on the actual heater? And is it new enough you can just replace it at the store for a larger wattage?