Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I have a 20 gallon tank and my friend has kindly given me a a 300 watt heater. Is this too much for my tank?
  
  
• What temperature should I maintain in my aquarium?
  
  
• I can't keep the temperature of my reef tank below 84 degrees Fahrenheit. What can I do?
  
  
• I don't have air conditioning in my apartment and my aquarium over-heats in the summer. What can I do?
  
  
• Do I need a heater in my tank? I have a 55 gallon salt water tank with two fish, a clownfish and a tang.
  
  
• I would appreciate any info on figuring heating costs (kw/h). I have several large tanks,(50 gal 100 gal 145 gal) where temp needs to be 84-86 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
  
• I know that it is recommended to have ~3-5 watts of heater for every gallon of water in your tank. However, what is the recommendation if the heaters are placed in a sump tank? Since a sump tank would have a constant flow going through it, can't I use a smaller heater?
  
  
• Hi, I have an aquarium but not sure what the size is, I think it is a 10 gallon tank. I used to have hermit crabs in it but they died so I decided I would put fish in there. Can I use an undertank heater to heat the water or do I need an aquarium heater?
  
  
• I am looking into starting up a 100 gal reef tank. I have had problems in the past keeping my tanks at the right temperture and I was looking into buying a chiller, what is the correct size for a 100 gal tank? Thanks
  
  
• What tempearture should I maintain in my freshwater aquarium be?
  
  

• I have a 20 gallon tank and my friend has kindly given me a a 300 watt heater. Is this too much for my tank?
  
  Actually, there is no harm at all in using a large heater in a small tank. Modern aquarium heaters are equipped with a thermostat which turns the heater on and off when the tank water varies from the desired temperature. Using a large heater will result in the heater coming on less often. That will be the only effect this will have.
  
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• What temperature should I maintain in my aquarium?
  
  Most tropical freshwater and marine aquariums do well at a constant temperature of 74 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Tropical live-reef marine aquariums and freshwater live-plant aquariums tend to do better at the lower end of this scale, in the range of 74 to 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Freshwater live-plants can benefit greatly from a heat source below their root systems, such as an under-gravel cable heater. Temperate (cold-water) freshwater aquariums, such as those used for ornamental goldfish, may be kept at room temperatures ranging from 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Freshwater game-fish and temperate marine tanks may require even colder temperatures, making the purchase of an aquarium chiller necessary to maintain these specialized environments.
  
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• I can't keep the temperature of my reef tank below 84 degrees Fahrenheit. What can I do?
  
  Ahhh! The catch-twenty two of saltwater live-reef tanks. We need an excellent, high-powered lighting system and powerful pumps to simulate light conditions and the strong water currents found in tropical marine reef environments. Unfortunately, strong lighting and pumps will also generate a fair amount of heat. The heat produced by this equipment is transferred to the water, and therein lies your problem. Too often, we hear of new reef-hobbyists who have purchased all the right equipment for their tank, only to find that the water temperature in their tank is too warm to maintain a healthy living-reef!
  You can try using electric fans blowing across the top of the water's surface or your pumps to remove some of the heat, but the sure-fire solution to this problem is to equip your aquarium with an aquarium chiller. So why is it that some aquarium stores often sell reef-aquarium systems without including (and sometimes, without even mentioning) an aquarium chiller? Three reasons:
  1) Chillers are expensive. The cost of a chiller is often enough to make the price of a new reef aquarium prohibitive, making it easier for a store to sell a new reef aquarium without one. Of course, the store will have to address the temperature problem eventually, but by then, the hobbyist is in too deep to quit.
  2) Chillers are relatively large devices. They cannot be enclosed in most cabinet stands, unless the stand is large and well-ventilated. A chiller is actually a heat-transfer device, or "heat pump." In most models, warm water is pumped through the chiller, which transfers the heat to the air around the chiller. In order to operate correctly, the air around the chiller should be slightly cooler than the water passing through the chiller. This is called a temperature gradient. Chillers are controlled by a thermostat. When the water reaches a pre-set temperature, the chiller will turn off automatically. If the chiller is enclosed, the air around the chiller quickly heats up, the chiller will run continuously, and will not cool the water. Many aquarium owners want all of the aquarium equipment out-of-sight and inside the aquarium cabinetry. To these people, a chiller sitting next to the aquarium is unsightly. This is an issue that just might kill an aquarium sale.
  3) Although modern aquarium chillers have come a long way in terms of noise-production, they still emit a low-pitched hum when they're running. This may bother some people who are noise-sensitive. We have seen very few successful reef-aquariums that did not require a chiller. Planning ahead and doing some research may solve the issue of where to place a chiller. If you own your house or condominium, you may find a location for your aquarium that allows the filtration and/or chiller to be placed in a remote location, such as the basement or a ventilated closet near the tank. This, of course, involves cutting holes in your floor or walls for the filtration plumbing lines. If, however, you rent a house or apartment, cutting holes in the walls is usually not an option. You may want to order a cabinet stand for your aquarium that is well-ventilated and large enough to house a chiller, in addition to the filtration equipment. Careful selection of fan-cooled lighting equipment, and air-cooled pumps with a low heat-transfer rating, may allow you to keep a reef tank without having to invest in an aquarium chiller. The worst-case scenario is that you may have to settle for purchasing only those fish and invertebrates that inhabit very warm regions of tropical reefs, or have proved to be heat-tolerant in captivity. This means you will have to research each specimen carefully before you buy.
  
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• I don't have air conditioning in my apartment and my aquarium over-heats in the summer. What can I do?
  
  We didn't get enough information from you to determine what type of aquarium you have or how warm the aquarium gets in the summer, but here are a few tips. If you have a live-reef aquarium, and the temperature reaches more than 82 degrees in the summer, you may have no choice but to invest in either an air conditioner for the room where your aquarium is located, or an aquarium chiller. If you have either a freshwater or marine fish-only aquarium, you can try some of these tips to keep it cool on exceptionally hot days:

Unless you have live plants or a live-reef aquarium, reduce the amount of light the aquarium receives each day. Lights generate heat.
Prop up the covers on the aquarium enough to allow heat to escape but not enough to (hopefully) allow fish to jump out, and direct the flow of air from a fan across the water's surface.
Float bags of ice in the aquarium or, if you have one, in the aquarium reservoir below the tank. Be careful not to drop the temperature too quickly. Never float ice cubes in the aquarium without enclosing them in plastic.
Unless you already own one, purchase a canister filter for your aquarium that has the pump mounted on the top of the filter. You can then submerge this filter half-way into a bucket of ice to create an inexpensive (but labor intensive) chiller.
Do not do a water change using colder water. The change in temperature will be too rapid for the fish and may result in an outbreak of disease. Always be careful to avoid sudden changes in the temperature of your aquarium.

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• Do I need a heater in my tank? I have a 55 gallon salt water tank with two fish, a clownfish and a tang.
  
  If the temperature is always the same, and is between 74 and 78 degrees F, then no, you do not need a heater. If however, the tank temperature fluctuates, or is below 74 degrees, then you do need a heater. Many diseases in fish are caused by stress due to low or fluctuating temperatures.
  
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• I would appreciate any info on figuring heating costs (kw/h). I have several large tanks,(50 gal 100 gal 145 gal) where temp needs to be 84-86 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
  We know a great web site that will allow you to calculate your energy cost for any appliance. Here's a link: http://www.enerseek.com/energyshop/tools/KW/
  
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• I know that it is recommended to have ~3-5 watts of heater for every gallon of water in your tank. However, what is the recommendation if the heaters are placed in a sump tank? Since a sump tank would have a constant flow going through it, can't I use a smaller heater?
  
  It makes no difference. The sump is part of your complete aquarium system, so you will still use the same rule. Putting a heater in the sump does not increase the efficiency of the heater. Using the rule of 3 to 5 watts per agllon is fine for glass aquariums. For acrylic aquariums, which insulate better than glass, a rule of 2 to 3 watts per gallon may be used.
  
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• Hi, I have an aquarium but not sure what the size is, I think it is a 10 gallon tank. I used to have hermit crabs in it but they died so I decided I would put fish in there. Can I use an undertank heater to heat the water or do I need an aquarium heater?
  
  No, you should not use an undertank heater with an aquarium. The weight of the water will crush the heater cord and that will present a safety hazard.
  
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• I am looking into starting up a 100 gal reef tank. I have had problems in the past keeping my tanks at the right temperture and I was looking into buying a chiller, what is the correct size for a 100 gal tank? Thanks
  
  Unless the room where the aquarium will be kept will be very warm, a 1/4 horsepower chiller should work fine.
  
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• What tempearture should I maintain in my freshwater aquarium be?
  
  If the tank will house tropical fish, you should keep it at 76 to 80 degrees F. If you will be keeping goldfish or other temperate species, you won't need a heater. In either case, the temperature should remain constant.
  
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