Fish Tank Heaters

The aquarium instills the beauty of nature in your home and it’s even more satisfying when you can cultivate a home for your pets.

Although it’s a self-contained environment for them, you can still find efforts to keep it clean.

When you own an aquarium, there are a set of questions you need to answer first: Will it be a safer environment for my pet?

What are the best products to keep them? How will you maintain a clean aquarium?

How can we monitor the water temperature and how to keep it consistently?

You don’t have to worry about it anymore because there are a lot of aquarium heaters available in the market.

What you need to consider is the specifications of the product that you are about to buy.

The Importance Of A Fish Tank Heater

Fish, juke like us, have their own special needs and they would like to be in an environment within their comfortable temperature.

Fish, as they are mostly cold-blooded, like to lie around 73 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

Before you thought of setting up a fish tank heater, you still have to choose what kind of plants, gravel, filter, and lighting are you going to use because these elements can also affect the water’s temperature.

Stability is the reason why a fish tank heater is important. Simply because it maintains the temperature of the water when necessary.

There are three types of tank heaters: Submersible Heaters, Hanging Heaters, and External Heaters.

Submersible Heaters

This kind of heater is submersible below the water level of your tank and positioned beneath the aquarium’s filter output.

Submersible heaters have the risk of getting damaged if they don’t stay submerged.

When using this tank heater, it will steady the circulated heated water’s temperature in the tank.

Hanging Heaters

Hanging Heaters, on the other hand, are designed to be hanged over on the side tank. They are most accessible and they control the temperature.

External Heaters

External Heaters, or commonly known as Inline Heaters, are positioned outside the aquarium and this is most effective when you have a lot of plants inside the aquarium.

It would somehow harm some fish outside, not because of its temperature control, but because fish tends to nip at it when it is inside the aquarium.

Among the three heaters, external heaters are the most accurate and efficient in keeping your water at the same level of temperature.

Top Picks For The Aquarium Tank Heater

Aqueon Submersible Aquarium Heater

If you’re looking for something easy to install and cost-friendly at the same time, then Aqueon Submersible Aquarium Heater may be the best choice for you.

This heater has a precise 1-degree temperature adjustment and can carry a 55-gallon (or below) tank.

It has a LED indicator light just in case the water temperature drops off.

Other features include overheating protection and shatter-resistant construction for even distribution of heat.

Zacro Submersible Aquarium Heater

This aquarium heater is most likely best to use under 20-gallon tanks.

But what made this stand out is because of its external features. This is primarily waterproof and covered with a plastic protective case to avoid scalding.

This Zacro Submersible Aquarium Heater is very easy to install and its temperature ranges 65 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit.

Eheim Jager Aquarium Thermostat Heater

If you are looking for a visually indestructible heater, then this would be a great option too.

It has some myriad safety features, ranging from 25 to 300 watts so it can hold up to more than 150-gallon tanks.

There’s a Thermo Safety Control specification to automatically turn on and off the heater once there are water temperature changes.

As a side note for this product, there are reports for overheating because of it can carry high wattages.

However, if you wish to pursue this product, then always make it sure that you have properly installed it and never overuse it.

Marineland Precision Heater

The Marineland Precision Heater is a portable device and doesn’t occupy a lot of space in the aquarium.

There are 8 sizes available, from 50 to 400 watts, and can carry tanks up to 125 gallons.

This is so affordable than the rest of the mentioned heaters that you can buy two of them for 1 tank.

It features a Thermal Switch that automatically turns off when it reached the ideal temperature is attained and automatically turns on again when the temperature starts to drop.

You might consider the disadvantage too, the thermostat is not always accurate and the glass is not shatterproof.

But overall, this is listed as one of the most recommended products on the internet so you’d know that this is worth its product.

Tetra HT Submersible Aquarium Heater

One of the most in-demand aquarium heaters is the Tetra HT Submersible Aquarium Heater with Electronic Thermostat, but it’s meant for smaller aquariums with not less than 30 gallons of water.

This aquarium is also a submersible heater and can be placed in any position, whichever is most convenient and it also doesn’t take a lot of space.

This tank can maintain a temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit. I thas a built-in thermostat and a red/green light indicator.

Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Aquarium Heater

Elegantly styled and impressively created for smaller aquariums.

Its features include an awesome temperature control system and an easy-to-use controller. It can maintain a temperature from 66 – 96 degrees Fahrenheit, with size, ranges from 50 – 100 watts.

Although this is as impressive as the Tetra HT they certainly have something in common when it comes to the disadvantages especially that they are both not meant for bigger aquariums and the digital temperature is not accurate.

How To Set Up The Fish Tank Heater

The maintenance temperature is around 73 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit for the fish. Be sure to do some research first before setting up the ideal temperature for the aquarium.

Choosing the right tank heater is getting difficult as you will be filled with a lot of choices.

Many products are emerging in the market and most of them are great products for aquarium keeping.

The most common kind of tank heater is the submersible water heater, as discussed above.

Even the market is tight with all those competitive products, the best thing to select is the convenience in installing it and the most appropriate heater according to the number of gallons the heater and the tank can hold.

Before you install the heater, make sure that the product you bought is intact and working properly, to be tested at the local store where you bought the product.

Then checked if there is a cracked casing because it is pretty dangerous to use in the water. Make sure that no electrical wirings are being leaked so it does not mix with the water.

Once you found out that the heater is in good shape, then you can process with the installation by looking for a suitable place to install it.

Most of the heater is small enough so it can give way for other equipment some spaces for them.

Attach the heater and use the suction cups in holding the heater and never put the heater nearer to the aquarium decorations because it might create some short circuit outbreak.

After installation, rest it for a while for about 20 minutes before turning it on. Again, double-checking everything before proceeding to the next step is the most important thing you can do.

After 20 minutes, you can check the glass casing if this can adjust to the water temperature change.

The last step is to finally turn on the heater and allow it to operate first for 24 hours while you time by time monitors the temperature.

When you have adjusted to the ideal temperature on the next day, then you can add the fish in the aquarium.

Tips In Choosing The Right Aquarium Heater

Fish are usually sensitive to temperature and would like to prefer a constant warm temperature than the cold one, that’s why most aquarium prefer to have a tropical setup because that’s the season where they are most active.

Tropical fish can be found everywhere, thus has a requirement of its own when it comes to their preferred places.

Most aquarium enthusiasts would prefer a submersible heater because this is the easiest to install and so far the most efficient heater, followed by the external heater.

External heater apparently can be a little bit more expensive than the other two types of heaters but the features it projects are worth the price.

But of course, the budget and the decisions would still depend on you.

If you are so insistent on keeping a healthier environment for your fish, then ask the local store and google everything on the internet about the best high-quality heater that you can afford and always take note of its pros and cons before buying one.

Sometimes, out of impulsiveness, we may have forgotten what exactly we need in a tank heater so, always take time to research what you needed.

Avoid putting the tank in direct sunlight because it will not help in maintaining the right temperature.

Your fish will not make it eventually when the temperature is too hot for them.

Also, if you placed the heater and tank in direct sunlight, this might cause an electrical shock because of the intense heat.

Clean the heater at least once a month to avoid algae accumulation.

Although some fish fed on algae, yet it can make the water dirtier. Also, one of the things that affect temperature is lighting since it can also unwanted heat.

If you have a metal halide light, then better buy an aquarium chiller or an auxiliary fan.

Some heaters may wear out after a year so consider listing in your budget a new one.

You might be getting a new technologically advanced heater in the next year and has better features than the old one.

Why Do You Have To Use An Aquarium Water Heater?

One of the most typically overlooked by fish owners is the use of an aquarium heater, which is quite as useful as the filters.

The heater is also a major component of a clean and healthy ecosystem for the fish.

Most aquarists owned a tropical fish that has a drastic reaction towards uneven temperature variation because it directly affects their health condition.

For example, if the water temperature drops a single degree Fahrenheit, this would dramatically make them more susceptible to diseases and their digestion will not cope up anymore with them.

When a fish dies out of a disease, the virus will transmit to the other fish until the whole tank population is wiped out.

Although this is just a plain example, still the thought of the possibility that this might happen to your fish is almost unacceptable.

As the winter approaches, it would make them very uncomfortable and distress because they are not used to having very cold temperatures.

If you leave them to their natural environment, they will only just hibernate.

The only tropical fish that can endure a stressful, cold season is the goldfish. Overheating could be another factor, too. Once the temperature goes up, the oxygen saturation will fall.

The best way to avoid such a dilemma is to have a reliable aquarium water heater.

It’s always safe to not buy the cheaper ones because they might easily malfunction and might cause you more money in the long run.

Choose a tank that can give you an accurate heat setting for water temperature maintenance.

Titanium heaters are the most recommended because they’re durable than the rest of the heaters and have an automatic shutting on and off system just in case the water temperature drops or increases.

Most heaters happened to break when this happens.

Titanium heaters are also resistant to corrosion, thus, helping your aquarium to become cleaner than ever.

Another piece of equipment that you needed to invest in is the digital thermometer so you can monitor the temperature daily. Install the thermometer outside the glass of the tank.

Conclusion

Finding the right product may not always be a convenient task to do because you have to be meticulous in any decision you make.

Invest in something durable and useful instead of finding cheaper ones.

Your fish has their needs too, so as an owner, it’s always better to find them all the things that they deserve the best.