Confusing Heaters

I bought a 50 Watt heater from this offbrand called DATOO on Amazon and it says it will work for aquariums 2-10 gallon and I thought 25 watts would be for 5 and 50 was up to 20? Any insight or just stay away from off brands and just go with expensive heaters compared to cheap ones?

 

I always buy mine from authentic aquarium brands simply because I trust these brands more. I’d follow the manufacturer’s guidelines on heater compatibility though.

 

I neglected to tell you that the temp is 57 very low so I'm looking into buying a new heater

 

What temperature do you want to heat the tank to? How low does the room temperature get to at the coldest time? To raise the tank from 57°F to 80°F, you’d need a 150 watt heater. Heater wattage depends on the desired temperature too.

 

I want it to be around 78-80 and o have it on 86 on the knob. I thought the numbers were that actual temp

 

If you were to buy an aqueon heater (the brand I use and recommend), they recommend a 150 watt heater for a 20 gallon tank heated that much. What is your tank size? What is the lowest temperature your room can get to in the coldest part of the winter?

 

I have a 10 gallon tank room is about 60+65 o want it to be atleast 78 prefer 80

 

Then you would likely want a 100 watt heater. That explains why the 50 watt was struggling

 

@Blackhawks, yes the thermostat control on the heater is the temp setting, but it may still be off +/- a couple of degrees.

None of my heaters are super accurate, where if I dial in 78°F, I may not actually get that temp. I just use the numbers on the dial as a reference and bump up or down the setting according to the thermometer.

Also, like Jeremy Pearce advised, a 50w heater probably is not going to get your 10 gallon tank to 78f if the room is in the mid 50's.

In my opinion, saving a couple of $$ to buy a generic Chinese heater will cost you more money in the long run when it either stops working altogether or ends up frying your fish because it didnt cycle off.

Buy an Eheim Jager heater from PetSmart, online they are $18-$19 for 100w and 150w. The Eheim's are long, so it may have to be placed on the back wall diagonally.

Aqueon Pro heaters are good also. I've got one in our 75 gallon for past 2 years with no issues.

 

I generally try and do 4 watts per gallon. Any thing over 150 watts I just use a second heater . I second the Aqueon pro heaters as they are awesome and have a great warranty . I also try and stick to non glass heaters as I have been shocked a few times and have broken quite a few .