Do I need a heater to cycle the tank?

[ken1977]

I just started a new 8g nano last Wednesday, everything but the heater. Is this something I need to put it now or can that wait until I add a fish and coral?

 

[ken1977]

I just started a new 8g nano last Wednesday, everything but the heater. Is this something I need to put it now or can that wait until I add a fish and coral?

FYI My temp is around 75-79

 

[MondoBongo]

if your temp is in that range i would say you're alright for the time being.

you don't want the tank getting too cold, or too hot, but if it is staying in the goldilocks zone itself, you should be fine.

from what i understand you can cycle at cooler temperatures, but it will retard the growth rate of the bacteria. i'm not sure what the absolute lower bound is, but if you're staying within the normal parameters for reef tank tank temperatures, i would say you're fine.

 

[aqua tech]

get a heater it will cost pennies for tank that small.

 

[ken1977]

get a heater it will cost pennies for tank that small.

That's what I was thinking but I'm wondering if I can go with out and what the benefits are with using a heater?

 

[cloak]

I just started a new 8g nano last Wednesday, everything but the heater. Is this something I need to put it now or can that wait until I add a fish and coral?

If the ambient temperature is cool, (meaning tropical) then no. A heater is definitely a great too to have though. GL.

 

[James77]

That's what I was thinking but I'm wondering if I can go with out and what the benefits are with using a heater?

It has the benefit of getting all the equipment dialed in and being sure it works consistently.

 

[ken1977]

I went to the local Petco and bought the heater in the picture. It should do the job.

 

[dana_ag]

you don't need a heater to cycle a tank, if you have just lr in there, it'll cycle itself. If you let your temperature drop in your tank (unless you're doing a coldwater setup) then your fish and coral will die because they were used to tropical waters which is warm. Putting them in below temperature water will shock them. It already stressed them enough when you bring them home from the store or when they're shipped.

 

[Reef Frog]

I've used that heater in 50w version on a 10g & 5g QT tank. It's nice bc you don't have to set temp as it will come on & stay on until a tank reaches ~79F. It's been quite accurate for me which is surprising.

But I would never trust any heater long term as I fear the probably inevitable "stuck on" scenario without a safeguard of some kind.