Struggling To Keep Heat Where It Should Be.

I have 6 tanks. Three 5.5 betta tanks, a 10 G puffer, a small snail 5 gallon feeder tank, and my 40G tank.

I am struggling to keep the heat where it needs to be. My 40G, other day did a water change and didn't turn off the heater, so water hit it and it broke, luckily I was able to pull it out of tank w/o it breaking into pieces in the tank, pulled out a brand new 100W one and it is struggling to keep it around 76, 77.

The 5 gallon feeder tank I cannot get above 74, ugh, I have tried 2 or 3 heaters I had in the closet. I have it on all the way up on the dial, and I woke up this morning and it was 69.

The puffers and bettas seem to stay around 80, maybe move a degree or 2 down.

I just ordered two 150 watt to keep in the closet and a bigger I think 300 W for the 40G.

Thing is, I like it chilly, plus I am going through mental-pause (yes, I know it is menopause), so I am always sweating and turning down the heat. My poor husband is claiming he is freezing too, but I cannot stand heat.

Anyway, I hope they all live till the 28th, when the new heaters are supposed to be here. Do you think they will be okay?

The 40G is a 100W and is as high as it goes.

 

I think it's fortunate that the tank with the non-functional heater, the one that got down to 69 degrees overnight, isn't one of the ones containing a betta. For snails, I doubt that it matters much.

If these tanks are all in the same room, maybe you should just consider closing the door and placing a small space/fan heater in there for the few days that it takes for your new heaters to arrive. Otherwise, I'm not sure what to suggest. Tanks as small as 5-gallons can experience wide temperature swings in a short period of time, and that's never a good thing for fish.

 

Perhaps the issue is that you need a higher wattage.

I have a small 10 gallon tank. In the winter the temperature in the room gets to 50F in the winter, this means I want to raise the temperature by almost 30F because I want to raise it to 80F. In which case, the normal size of heater recommended for my tank isn’t going to cut it (tried it once - my fish froze) I’m now using a 100 watt heater in a ten gallon. Never seen a temperature swing since. I also have back up heater in the tank just in case the 100 watt fails, but that’s just paranoia lol.

The link below has a chart you can look at to figure out what heater wattage you need depending on your room temperature and your desired temperature for your tank. You’ll have to scroll a bit.

What Wattage Heater Do I Need For My Fish Tank Aquarium

 

I like aqueon Pros .
They are pricey but good.
I always search around for best deal on these .
They have a chart for wattage and tank size depending on room temp ! Might help sizing other heaters also ?

 

I think it's fortunate that the tank with the non-functional heater, the one that got down to 69 degrees overnight, isn't one of the ones containing a betta. For snails, I doubt that it matters much.

If these tanks are all in the same room, maybe you should just consider closing the door and placing a small space/fan heater in there for the few days that it takes for your new heaters to arrive. Otherwise, I'm not sure what to suggest. Tanks as small as 5-gallons can experience wide temperature swings in a short period of time, and that's never a good thing for fish.

No, no bettas in this one tank, just pest snails and daphnia. So, not too worried. Been coooking all day so it is up now to 71.6 in the pest snail tank and 76.9 in the 40G. All these tanks are indeed in the same room, My room. It is like an office/bedroom, sleep in here, work in here, fishkeep in here, me and my Basset Hound. LOL.

I have a small heater under my desk that I put on when I get chilly but I would die if I kept that on all day. Maybe I will put it on at night until the new heaters come.

Perhaps the issue is that you need a higher wattage.

I have a small 10 gallon tank. In the winter the temperature in the room gets to 50F in the winter, this means I want to raise the temperature by almost 30F because I want to raise it to 80F. In which case, the normal size of heater recommended for my tank isn’t going to cut it (tried it once - my fish froze) I’m now using a 100 watt heater in a ten gallon. Never seen a temperature swing since. I also have back up heater in the tank just in case the 100 watt fails, but that’s just paranoia lol.

The link below has a chart you can look at to figure out what heater wattage you need depending on your room temperature and your desired temperature for your tank. You’ll have to scroll a bit.

What Wattage Heater Do I Need For My Fish Tank Aquarium

I looked at charts this morning, and it varies for a 40G, some say 100W, others say higher. What I did is ordered a 400W I believe for the 40G and some 150W for the small snail tank.

This is the filter I bought for the 40G and it is probably junk but I liked the digital readout. I have a hard time seeing the dials on them, so have to go grab my glasses and put the light on to see it.



Bought 2 of these, one for the small snail tank and one as an extra, say one of the others die on me.

I like aqueon Pros .
They are pricey but good.
I always search around for best deal on these .
They have a chart for wattage and tank size depending on room temp ! Might help sizing other heaters also ?

I have these in all my betta tanks and my puffer tank. All good to go within 1 or 2 degrees. bought them in the summer because I was struggling to keep the temp up with my old heaters when the AC was on and they are right by the AC.

Also ordered brand new thermometers on the off chance the thermometers are bad and/or the batteries are dying (since I cannot find the batteries I bought about 8 months ago when one of the thermometer batteries died).

 

I think it's fortunate that the tank with the non-functional heater, the one that got down to 69 degrees overnight, isn't one of the ones containing a betta. For snails, I doubt that it matters much.

If these tanks are all in the same room, maybe you should just consider closing the door and placing a small space/fan heater in there for the few days that it takes for your new heaters to arrive. Otherwise, I'm not sure what to suggest. Tanks as small as 5-gallons can experience wide temperature swings in a short period of time, and that's never a good thing for fish.

Small tanks lose heater after due to the fact there is less water volume to dtore heat My tanks are in the basementTo help conserve heat in the tanks I purchased reflective foil bubble wrap insulation at my local Menards I cut pieces to size ad tapr to the back if the tank Since I paint the backs of my tanks black I don't see the foil