# Help/heaters



## shef (Oct 3, 2004)

Is there any way to tell how many watts a heater is if it is not written on the heater? I have one I purchased a while back and I can't recall if it is a 150W or a 200w. It's been working fine but I've recently bumped the temp in the tank up from 78 to 86 (for discus) and the heater seems to be on a lot and when it shuts off it's not for very long (like 10sec). I'm concerned about it having to work too hard and I'm thinking about adding another heater to help it out. But it would be helpful to know what the wattage is on this one. It is a submersible penn plax and is 12" long. Of course both the 150w and the 200w are the same length.
Any help would be great.


----------



## scuba20v (May 28, 2007)

check to see if there is a part number stamped on the heater anywhere. if there is, compare it to the part numbers of the 150w and 200w heaters online
good luck with that.
what size tank are you heating?


----------



## shef (Oct 3, 2004)

It's a 55g. And I'll check again, but last night I couldn't find any numbers at all. They really should just write the watts on the heater


----------



## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

shef said:


> It's a 55g. And I'll check again, but last night I couldn't find any numbers at all. They really should just write the watts on the heater


Regardless of the wattage though, it sounds like you might want a second heater. If it's only staying off for 10 seconds at a time does it really matter whether it's 150 or 200 watts?

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


----------



## shef (Oct 3, 2004)

That's true. I was thinking another heater would be ok. But I don't know what size to get. I don't want to get a really big one in case it sticks on and cooks my fish. I was thinking of getting another 100w but I don't know if that would be enough. Any suggestions as to what size to go with?


----------



## scuba20v (May 28, 2007)

the thing you pay for in a heater is the thermostat. so you get what you pay for in a heater. check to see what the range of temperatures in your tank is if it is fluctuating more than plus or minus (5,7)Degrees then you need a better heater. a 250 is good up 75gal according to http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... highlight=
this is a Stealth heater i have one heating a 50 gallon tote(grow out tank) and have had fluctuations of water temp +-2Degrees; if that. so i would think a 200/150 would be able to handle your 50gal. the 150 would have to work harder but I'm sure it would still do the job.


----------



## shef (Oct 3, 2004)

The temp is currently not fluctuating at all. It is staying steady at 86, but the light almost never shuts off. I don't want it to work so hard that it breaks down. It never had a problem maintaining the temp at 78 but now at 86 it seems to work more. I was thinking of adding a 100w one just to help take some of the load off.


----------



## scuba20v (May 28, 2007)

i put the wrong address in there for you.. im sorry for any confusion.
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/198344/product.web
18 bux. cant beat it


----------



## shef (Oct 3, 2004)

Good price too bad they don't ship to canada! :lol:


----------



## scuba20v (May 28, 2007)

wow whats the deal with that.
what about these guys
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=12060


----------

