question about heaters

hey everybody, i have been trying to look at things and i have heard good things about the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals RENA SmartHeater 300 Watt for a heater, but i was wondering if i am getting a small tank to start and possibly upgrade as i get more familiar with everything, should i get a smaller watt heater? or is it ok to get the bigger one?

 

Some people recommend getting 2 small ones for redundancy.

 

The smaller the tank - the smaller the heater. You also don't want to rely on 1 big heater. If it locks up you could fry your tank. 2 smaller heaters are better than 1 bigger one.

 

ok well im looking at something between 20 and 55 for my tank so what size heaters would you guys say? thanks, karma

 

One 300 watt heater is the most you should need for a 55 gal.
One 150 watt is good for a 30 gal.
You should target ~5 watts per gallon for sizing a heater to your tank.
If you really want 2 heaters in your tank, then put them one on each side, not right next to each other. You can get 1x 100 watt and 1x 150 watt OR 2x 150 watt for a 55 gal.

With the small increase in cost to size of heaters, you'll probably be fine getting one heater the right size, and it will cost much less. You'll also have less of a mess of wires, plugs, etc tangled up behind your tank. Less to unplug and less electrical connections around water is always a good (safe) thing. With pumps, filter, lights, heater, you may run short on outlet space on your power strip as well.

 

The problem with adding only 1 big heater is that it can fail and stay on and fry your fish like glampka advised.

 

I run 2 350 watt on a 180 and on a 55 I'd use 2 100 or maybe 150/s One will do 99.9% of the work and the just in-case the home furnace goes down the second will back it up .. I would get a Titanium heater and a good controller

 

I have never had that happen in over 10 years of keeping tanks. Replace them every 3 years (for the glass ones), and you should be fine. I've had cheap petco/petsmart ($30) glass heaters last well over 5 years.

 

Thats what I have always read, and it makes sense to me. Lets say one heater fails at least one can keep your fish from freezing. In my tank I lean towards redundancy, so I always have a backup.

 

Just buy a good heater, eheim or a stealth heater...ive never had a problem with either one.