Heating a 5g

[awcrimety]

Hey,

The temp in my tank was dropping at night from 27 to 24, so I bought a 50 watt heater to correct this,...I read that somewhere on here. Anyway, I set the heater up, put it on the lowest setting, walk away,...and a few hours later the tanks temp is 82, and the heater is still coming on!?!

Is a 50 not the right heater? what is everyone else using? anyway to correct this problem?

Thanks

[TJ_Burton]

25watts is better~!

Although the heater should act as a thermostat and under no cercumstances let your tank get that hot! Unless you have a really cheap heater that dosn't have a temp presetting and you have to keep guessing to figure out the templ.

My suggestion is to spend the extra 20$ and get yourself a decent heater that you can "Set and Forget"

Besides My theory is a 30$ heater is better then a 10$ heater and 100$ in lost livestock!

The problem in having a heater with too high a wattage isn't that it will overheat your tank, the problem is just stressing out your heater. Its best to keep your wattage only what is neccesary for the tank!

[simoncoul]

what type of heater did u buy. I know I have a cheap 10 one from big al's in the instructions it says to make a hotter or cooler setting u need to put off the knob and then point the temp indicator at the other end and then reattach it. Cheap heaters will work well as long as u follow the instructions.

[KevinFJB]

Sounds like a heater thermostat problem.

A more powerfule heater with a properly functioning thermostat should only bring your tank up to the set temp faster.

The challenge for your 5 gallon is getting one to fit, and having said that, I would get the most powerful heater that will easily fit into your tank.

[ruuskystar]

I have a 5g nano and I use a heater that I got form Al's on boxing day that cost me 9.99. It's a 50 watter and I've had no probs whatsoever. It keeps it at a nice constant 79. Are you sure you set the heater on the lowest setting or was it the highest? Maybe you have a problem with your thermometer??

anyways...good luck

[psiico]

Is it a BA's brand heater? They have to be set. Read the instructions on the box. That said, those aren't very stable, I was using one on a nano and it swayed +/- 2 degrees at any given time. Now I have a Hagen something or other on there. I don't know what it is, got it used from a friend. It's short and very fat and at least 200 watts, it came off her 35g. Keeps the temp rock solid at 78 degrees, though. If it ever goes wonky it'll probably boil the tank though, lol.