# 1 or 2 heaters for a 120 Gallon Tank



## MarkyMark75 (Apr 24, 2012)

Hello,
I am new to the hobby and would like to have an African Cichlid tank.
I am looking at 120 gal 5' long aquarium.

Question on Heaters:
Is it better to have 2 heaters or 1.
If 2: is it better to have each heater below your gallon capacity in case the fuse breaks it can not overheat the tank and kill the fish?

I am looking at the Eheim Jagars or the Fluvals with the plastic guard.

Thank you.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

I would just use one 250w heater. I like my aqueon pro heaters. All black so they match the background and are composite instead of glass.

When adding more than one heater when one heater would suffice you double the risk of one sticking on. What I did was order two and keep one on my shelf as a spare.


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## Guest (May 6, 2012)

I too agree on the aqueon pro heater. I like how it's like "stealth mode" all black and it's awesome. I actually have the 300W pro and the regular sitting around as backup


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## cvilapla (Jun 17, 2008)

I would use 2 just in case if one goes down you still have the other one as a backup


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## Doc_Polit (Jul 22, 2003)

Consider Hydor In-Line heaters. You would only need one and Hydor customer service is second to none. :thumb:


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

The rationale for two undersized heaters instead of one full capacity is if one fails, in the on position which seems the norm, you don't cook your fish. You don't have to spend much time on forums to hear stories of boiled fish.


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## MarkyMark75 (Apr 24, 2012)

I looked at the in-line heaters, however, most of them are only good for less than 100 gallons.
Also, some don't fit on the canister filters, depending on which filter you buy.

I would be concerned about boiling fish, so perhaps 2 undersized heaters is the way to go!


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Aquarium heater manufacturer's spec their heaters for tank size usually based on an ambient room temperature of 70°F and an assumed tank temperature of up to 79°F, at least according to some heater literature that is usually packaged with the heater.

I have had great results using an in-line heater on my 75G (200W), 125G (300W), and 220G (300W) tanks. All my tanks have glass canopies and good water circulation so that helps to keep the temperature constant and keep the heat in the tank. My average room temperature during the colder months is 68°F and I have no trouble maintaining the tanks between 78°F and 84°F, if needed.

Since you are considering using a canister filter on this tank, you will just need to choose the proper heater based on the hose diameter of the canister you decide to use.


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## Mike_G (Nov 8, 2011)

phister said:


> I too agree on the aqueon pro heater. I like how it's like "stealth mode" all black and it's awesome. I actually have the 300W pro and the regular sitting around as backup


The highest wattage Aqueon *Pro* is 250W


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## MarkyMark75 (Apr 24, 2012)

Good point about the in-line heaters....apparently the Rena XP3 can be used with the Hydor in-line heaters.
I could buy 2 of them....one for each canister to heat the tank properly.


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