Which heater should I use?

[Kaiser]

I am new to discus and I just bought a 1.5m tank.
I want to know is a 200w heater enough or do I need a 300w one?
I have an old 1200l/h canister filter from previous tank. Is it big enough for the new tank??
Thanks

[kazkirk]

How many liters/gallons is your 1.5m tank, they can vary greatly. I have a 1.8m (6ft) 454 liter (120 gallon) tank, and I have 3 300watt heaters in there. Two are set at 30degrees, one is set at 28 as a backup in case one fails

I also have all ebo jagers that shut off automatically since I learnt the hard way what happens when regular 300w heaters land up high and dry...not a pretty sight (nor a pretty smell :) )

[kalebjarrod]

I have two heaters in my 1.8

and three in my 500 litre tank

you should consider a 300watt as well as your 200watt (use the 200watt as a backup)

your 200watt may heat the tank, but it will take much longer to heat and won't be off for any significant time period

the 300watt heaters come on, heat the water quickly then turn off

you will get a power saving from this :wink:

[glstine]

I was taught it is best to have more than one undersized heater than it is to have one that can heat the whole tank. The thought being if one goes whacko it doesn't boil your fish

[goldenpigeon]

i always say to use a 300W everytime. (unless ofcourse it is to big to fit in the tank) 300W heaters can save a fair bit on power and heat the water better ofcourse. if you use a 300W it will basically never be on unless it is a very large tank, because it heats the water so quickly that it might be on for about 5-10 minutes every hour or 2. i have a 6x2x2 tank with 2 300W heaters in it and i just about never see them on. i think it is bout 600 or so litres in there.

if you get a good heater with a good thermostat and BUY A RELIABLE BRAND then you shouldnt have a problem

HTH

[Davo]

You should have a look at the Hydor inline heaters. I have a 300w and the temp never varies and the great thing is that it is out of the tank.

Dave.

[revkev]

I have a HYDOR 300watt inline heater as well easy to install and use.
I have ordered another one for my other tank. see this site
http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/prod964.htm
Revkev

[DR.V]

1 heater for such big tank wont be enough

[Kaiser]

Thanks everyone.
I guess I need to get an extra 300W then.
My new bullet shape tank is gona be here after sunday.
So a tank, lights, canister filter, heater, pump and water test kit. Is there are anyother equipment I need to add into the tank before put getting my discus?
Thanks

[kalebjarrod]

Fish?

lol

try AOA for prices, there pretty good :wink:

[Dee]

G'day Kaiser,

I can highly recommend the Hydor range of heaters AOA stocks, I have 2 x 400w Hydors in my 4x2x2. If one goes down the other is very capable of maintaining 30c. The hydors arnt cheap, but when you put the cost up against the value of the fish it makes sense to spend a little extra .... Just my 2cents :)

Cheers,

Dee :)

[Kaiser]

Thanks boss.
By the way do I need to put bio balls in my canister filter or not?
I heard they said that unless its a upper filter, otherwise just place ceramic rings in the canister filter is good enough.
Should I leave the bio balls or remove them?

[Merrilyn]

Kaiser, I use ceramic noodles in all my filters. Bio balls seem to be mainly used for sump filters, but I guess it's just a matter of choice really. The idea is to provide a home for the bacteria in your filter. The greater the surface area, the more room for the colony to grow.

[okrazykat]

Note on heaters,
my 300watt heater's regulator shorted out and the thing kept on for days.
It happened between water changes and I didn't notice it until all the tetras died at once. I'm still trying to lower the phosphates after the wipe-out two months ago. The discus were fine. The temperature reached 99 deg F.
Now I'm more afraid of a heater regulator failure than the thing not working at all.

[mcloughlin2]

Fish?

lol

try AOA for prices, there pretty good

Wat is AOA an where is it located?? :ug

[ctvu]

Fish?

lol

try AOA for prices, there pretty good

Wat is AOA an where is it located?? :ug

Hi

AOA = Age Of Aquarium that is one of our sponsors
Here is the link

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au

HTH

ctvu