heater or not?

[gillianandjoe]

Someone told me that an aquarium heater would be pointless on my thirty gallon reef tank. Any truth to that? It has Power compacts, a HOB skimmer, and a HOB Filter?

 

[kaptken]

It is true that lights and submersible pumps heat the water. In the hot summer months i take my heaters out, since a low tank temp is not likely to occure. but about now as house temps start to cool, its time to put them back in. I like to set them at about 76 or 77 so that the night time temp with the lights off and a cold house wont chill the tank below that. if the water stays above 76 on its own, well, no problem, the heaters just wont go on and you save electricity. you can adjust to your particular environment.

 

[ungwhat]

i have a 29 gallon with power compacts and 3 powerheads and i still need a heater.but then again my tank is in the basement

 

[ronert]

depends on how hot you keep your house ...

if you crank the heat and keep it around 76 - 78 all winter, you can probably do away with a heater

if you keep the temp lower, you might want to reconsider taking it out. 30G doesn't provide a whole lot of thermal inertia.

- ted

 

[SerranidTerror]

Even if you do keep your house at 77 degrees or whatever it wouldnt be a bad idea to keep a heater around in case your heat goes out or something. Be prepared

 

[gillianandjoe]

Thank you all, I just put it in. Better safe than sorry.

 

[wds21921]

Good idea. Houses these days aren't exactly airtight in the winter (and they shouldn't be).
Historically December - March have been our coldest months and I'd hate to rely on my ambient room temperature to keep my tank warm enough. You may also want to consider having an extra heater on hand in case of a failure. Nothing worse than discovering your heater drowned or stuck (on) at night when you can't do anything.
Heating and water flow are the two most basic needs (mechanically). Lights are important as well but not nearly as much as those two.

 

[Shnabbles]

If the pumps and lights keep the tank warm enough your heater wont turn on anyway... just leave it in.