You need to make sure it will always be covered when doing water changes, that's the only thing. I like to have mine as centered as possible. I prefer mine to be horizontal just because I can hide it easier, especially behind nice plants and such.

 

i have it in and on and it's only maintaining it at like 74 degrees right now. that's not why i bought it. i wanted it to maintain 78 degrees. will it get warmer or no?

 

Tetra heaters are pretty crappy. Mine is a 50 watt and cant even heat up 3 gallons above 72-74 :evil: They are cheap but there is a reason for that. If you can, I would return it and look for something that is adjustable - they will do a better job heating up your tank. If you have a 5G or smaller - hagen Elite submersable heaters are nice as they are not so tall so they fit into a bowl or kritter keeper easily. I have only seen them for sale online and never in a local shop though.

 

preset heaters

First off, where is your thermometer in your tank relative to the heater?

Preset heaters generally won't raise the water temp more than 5 degrees or so above the air temp in the room. Adjustable heaters are much more effective -- and you can set them to the temp that works best for you. My heater is set to about 83 degrees and the thermometer in my tank reads right at 80 degrees. That sort of thing is fairly common. I have a Hydor Theo 25 watt in a 3 gallon, and it worked well in a 1-gallon with the temp turned down a bit.


Also, you need to think about the physics of this problem -- heat rises! If you put the heater at the bottom, heat from it will dissipate up through the water toward the surface, resulting in a fairly uniform temp. If you mount the heater sideways, however, heat will still rise up -- it won't go sideways through the water very much. That's also why it's better to have a heater near the bottom of the tank rather than at the top of the tank.

Are you using something to circulate the water in your tank? Aeration or filter system? That can also change things by moving the water around and allowing heat to be distributed more uniformly.

 

First off, where is your thermometer in your tank relative to the heater?

Preset heaters generally won't raise the water temp more than 5 degrees or so above the air temp in the room. Adjustable heaters are much more effective -- and you can set them to the temp that works best for you. My heater is set to about 83 degrees and the thermometer in my tank reads right at 80 degrees. That sort of thing is fairly common. I have a Hydor Theo 25 watt in a 3 gallon, and it worked well in a 1-gallon with the temp turned down a bit.


Also, you need to think about the physics of this problem -- heat rises! If you put the heater at the bottom, heat from it will dissipate up through the water toward the surface, resulting in a fairly uniform temp. If you mount the heater sideways, however, heat will still rise up -- it won't go sideways through the water very much. That's also why it's better to have a heater near the bottom of the tank rather than at the top of the tank.

Are you using something to circulate the water in your tank? Aeration or filter system? That can also change things by moving the water around and allowing heat to be distributed more uniformly.

I have two thermometers. One on both sides of the tank. One is an outside and one is an inside one. My heater is out in vertical and it at the rim of the water. There is only really one spot where it can go and that's where the filter that came with that tank is supposed to go. I don't have a filter as if right now. The one for the tank in using is waaay too strong and i got one of those stupid in the water ones with the bubbler and its dumb. I hate it. Right now I'm justbhaving the issue keeping the tank warm because its in the single digits around here. I'm taking the tetra one tomorrow and I'm gonna buy an adjustable one today. I hate that I can't keep the water warmer than 74degrees. It's really stressing me out and I never had this issue with my last betta, flame.

 

I have that heater and mine keeps it around 74-76 in the winter when it's cold in the house (heat turned back during the day while at work).

The fish seem totally fine.

 

heater

It sounds to me like you are using the AquaCulture (or Aquarius or KollerCraft, they are all made by Hawkeye anyway) 1 gallon tank, or perhaps the Petco 1 gallon. I think I know exactly the tank you are talking about. The filter is an undergravel filter (UGF), which is pretty easy to use and my favorite kind. I'll be happy to help you with it if you wish.

As for the heater, in a tank that small, heater position is a bit less important. It's not uncommon to have that problem with that heater, though. I'm guessing you bought it at Wal-Mart? That's where I've seen those heaters most often.

Keeping the tank at a steady 74 degrees is much better than having it rocket up and down. You may be able to return the heater since it is not performing as described on the box. There are better heaters to use that cost only a little bit more than that kind. Is this an option you want to pursue? Or do you want/need to make things work with what you have?

 

I bought this....

http://www.petco.com/product/102603/Aqueon-Submersible-Aquarium-Heaters.aspx

For my 10g. Holds at 80 real well. It was originally in the 20g but does fine in my 10.

 

I have the tetra also, mine keeps at 76-77. It is junk imo. I'm actually looking into this brand http://www.amazon.com/Aquatop-Aquar...dp/B006MMJ8EE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359158642&sr=8-1&keywords=aquarium+heater

 

I have that heater for my 10 gallon, only a lower watt. It is really reliable. I can't recommend it enough! Love the heater.

 

I have one in each of my two 2.5 gal tanks...I had purchased it because it came with a warranty; should have done my research.
Honestly I have had no problems with either of them and I've had them for a few months. Keeps my tank between 74-78 degrees without fail. I'll know not to get another in the future but so far so good.
I usually stand mine up vertical and try and get as much of it in the water as possible.

Here's a pic of the setup.

 

I'm not trying to hijack the thread at all, but I was thinking about buying the Tetra until I saw the thread. What do you guys think of the Hydor? I'm considering this

 

I have a Tetra heater and it stays at 78 degrees all the time, just like it says on the box. I only had problems with it when I first started using it, but once i let it run for about a week, it worked just fine. Swimmers seems happy with this water temp.