getting colder...

so the temp has dropped quite a bit here, and the new heater for roscoes tank is only keeping his tank around 75-76
I don't know what to do other than buy a 10gal. so I can get an adjustable heater

any ideas? or should I just use this as an excuse to buy him a bigger tank

 

You definitely need to get him in a heated tank soon. Last year I was new to betta and kept my opaque betta Seth in a betta kit ( I feel horrible I ever bought one of those). Unheated and unfiltered. Needless to say he lasted a month when he got ich soo bad he looked like a snow ball. He was too far gone to even treat. I had him on a dark shelf where I couldn't tell if he had ich spots b/c he was white. I feel horrible about him...he died b/c I didn't research betta.
I would get a bigger tank...but why can't you put a heater in his 5g?

 

I do have a heater in there...its one of the un-adjustable ones...its supposed to keep the temp at 76-78...which is fine during the summer and spring, b/c his lighting heats the tank another 2-3 degrees
but right now the temp is around 74 during the day...and who knows where in the night
I might get one of those breeder nets and keep him in my 29 gal. until I can solve the prob.

 

I do have a heater in there...its one of the un-adjustable ones...its supposed to keep the temp at 76-78...which is fine during the summer and spring, b/c his lighting heats the tank another 2-3 degrees
but right now the temp is around 74 during the day...and who knows where in the night
I might get one of those breeder nets and keep him in my 29 gal. until I can solve the prob.

Ahh I see...you could put him in the breeder net until you can get a better heater.

 

the heater is only about 2 weeks old, I think its just not strong enuf
but, I don't want to get abigger heater b/c it might overheat the tank and kill roscoe

 

Those pre-set, 7.5 or 10 watt heaters are useless. They might raise the temp 2 degrees but that's it.

I have 25 watt heaters in my 2.5 ga aquariums and they work just perfectly. They will not cook your fish and you can set the temp.

Get a submersible one, like Hydor (Theo) or Visi-therm.

A good heater is one of the most important things in your aquarium.

 

mine is 25 watts
its a tetra submersible that I paid about $13 for
!!!everybody go to my poll and vote for a bigger tank!!!

 

my tank is getting cold...what should I do?

the temp in my area is dropping and the heater in rosecoes tank isn't keeping the tank around 78-80
its at about 74-75 during the day, and who knows where at night

what should I do?
1) get a 10 gal. and an adjustable heater
2) get another heater and have both of them shut off when it reaches a certain temp
3) other (please specify)

*I am doing this to prove to my parents that the best option is to get a new tank*
*I already have a heater from a couple yrs back, and a filter that is being used for my 29 gal. at the moment...so it shouldn't cost me more than $40*

 

I would buy a 25w heater for the 5 gallon tank. What type of heater do you have now? Is it just one of those types that raises the water temp by 4* degrees?
~ kate

 

its a 25 watt tetra submersible heater
the box say it will keep the temp between 75-78...which was fine for when I bought it, but in the last week or so the temp has dropped to around 70, and it hasnt been keeping it anywhere near 78-80

 

A 25w heater should keep your 5 gallon tank warm. I wonder if it is defective? Is your tank in a drafty place? By a window? You should be able to maintain a 78* tank temp with that heater.
~ kate

 

HI Kevin
you have started two threads on the same topic. I have been posting over at the other one.. and see you have this one here as well, pretty much the same question asked twice. It gets confusing, anyway to join these two threads?
~ kate

 

i'll get a moderator to delete this one...I didnt think about a poll when I first posted this one


MOD EDIT: I merged the two threads for you.

 

its right under my 29 gal. which is at a steady 76-77 degrees during the day
there aren't any drafts or anything that I can feel, its on the other side of the room from my window and the vent is right over the window and doesn't blow in the general direction of my tanks

 

an acrylic tank would keep the temp in better than glass, but either way i'd get a good heater with an adjustable temp that has no glass, like the visitherm stealth. or a space heater.. but i'd go with a visitherm stealth for the tank.

 

thanks for merging the two
as it turns out, my parents said that if I work really hard on schoolwork this week, they will let me get a 10 gal.

 

great!

thanks for merging the two
as it turns out, my parents said that if I work really hard on schoolwrok this week, they will let me get a 10 gal.