Heaters

[sykomonkey]

Ok,

So I'm not new, but i'm definitely not an expert at this hobby, and i want to ensure that I'm giving my soon to be new fish the best environment.

I've received a used 55 gallon long tank from a friend, and its been thoroughly cleaned with vinegar, and then alcohol, and resealed.

I'm  now putting together the appropriate accessories to ensure that it's healthy for the fish, and wondering what number/wattage etc of heaters I should be obtain.

Thoughts?  Ideas?

[sykomonkey]

It should be noted, I'm doing a planted tropical, and aiming at a community based around angelfish.

[Malyon18]

You should be fine with a 200W heater, or maybe 2 100W heaters for redundancy.

[exv152]

I recommend the eheim jager heaters. From personal experience I've tried everything out there with the exception of inline heaters, and have found some of the other brands are known to cook fish from time to time, but I've never had any problems with this brand. In fact, if this brand breaks down it will usually just shots off. Two 100w heaters would be perfect for a 55 gal. Reason for two is just in case one breaks down the other can still carry the load until you're able to fix the issue.

eheim 100w

[Saltcreep]

I recommend the eheim jager heaters. From personal experience I've tried everything out there with the exception of inline heaters, and have found some of the other brands are known to cook fish from time to time, but I've never had any problems with this brand. In fact, if this brand breaks down it will usually just shots off. Two 100w heaters would be perfect for a 55 gal. Reason for two is just in case one breaks down the other can still carry the load until you're able to fix the issue.

eheim 100w

Hate to break the Eheim bubble but I've been down that road too and I can add Eheim to your list. In fact it was a Jaeger that exploded in a sump I was running not too long ago. Fully submerged, operating at 80F, and then, with an audible "pop", the glass tube just broke into pieces. I suspect it was moisture inside the tube but it's hard to be sure. It would nice if that was an isolated incident, but it isn't. I had another stick on which got the tank to 120F before I pulled the plug. Just a couple of cooked shrimp in that one. Definitely, as already suggested, go with at least two lower wattage units as opposed to one big one.

[FishBuddy]

Hate to break the Eheim bubble but I've been down that road too and I can add Eheim to your list. In fact it was a Jaeger that exploded in a sump I was running not too long ago. Fully submerged, operating at 80F, and then, with an audible "pop", the glass tube just broke into pieces. I suspect it was moisture inside the tube but it's hard to be sure. It would nice if that was an isolated incident, but it isn't. I had another stick on which got the tank to 120F before I pulled the plug. Just a couple of cooked shrimp in that one. Definitely, as already suggested, go with at least two lower wattage units as opposed to one big one.

I second Saltcreep on that...  I've had Eheim (hailed as the 'Holy Grail' of heaters at one time!) and they all broke on me.  Most of the problem is stuck thermostat so the water temperature rise to dangerous level.  Having to buy heaters from time to time, I've had enough of it and use titanium heaters now with an external controller.  No more stuck or broken heaters and no more sticking my hands into the water to adjust the temperature.   Price wise, titanium heaters are bit more pricey but it is well worth it in the long run...  Hey, Eheim (and other well known brands) heaters are *not* that cheap to begin with

[sykomonkey]

Thanks all for the feedback.