Water Temp Question

[paulatseattle]

I have a 55 gal BB tank. I am growing plants on top of one half of the tank. That half is open with a plastic grid - I am hoping the roots will grow down in the water. The problem is I am loosing a lot of heat - my water will not get past 82. I have turned up the heat as far as it can go. Can I add a second heater?

[ShinShin]

Yes you can.

Mat

[moik]

You can add an additonal heater or get a heater that is sized correctly for the tank.

[grandrapids9]

Hi, I use two Finnex Digital 500 watt heaters on my 90 gal, and keep it at at 86 on one and 85 on other, I have an average temp of 85.5 24 hrs a day. I am in Michigan and turn the house heat down to 58 at night and my tank does not drop. My average in house winter temp is 68 degrees. With one heater, it would never stay the same temp 24 hours a day. You should definitely go two heaters.

[Triadtropz]

I've always prefered 2 heaters ..if one goes down you have a back-up.:) and they seem to run less..

[hope]

I'm in New England where it's pretty cold right now. My discus breeder/mentor recommended using reflectix (I bought some at Home Depot) because I keep the house pretty cool to save on heating. I use it on 3 sides of the tank, held up with a couple small pieces of velcro (also bought at Home Depot). She recommended this to help with electric bill in winter, but I found I could get the temp up higher in the tank as well. At night, I wrap the tank (again, small piece of velcro), during day, I uncover the front, which I have sort of accordianed and stuck to the side. If I want in the warmer weather I can just store this and use it next winter.

I'm also very new to the discus hobby but I found this gets my tank over 81-82, in fact had to lower the heater a bit! I also have 2 heaters, "just in case". Considering the price of discus and the amount of time and care you give them, I also decided to buy good quality heaters. You probably know this, but being newer (in case you don't), you can find the volume of water that the heater supports on the packaging.

I hope this helps.:)

[Peachtree Discus]

...half is open...

i hope i am understanding you correctly....i have read that the additional evaporation (caused from an uncovered tank) can eventually lead to a mold issue...inside the ceiling and walls.

[paulatseattle]

Thank you all ~ such good answers:) I will get another heater first thing! They all seem happy at 82 (but eat a lot) I also have to consider my Sting Ray and its requirments. By the way a Ray makes a great compliment - what the Ray doesent eat from my "hommade frozen" - the Discus eat. Thanks DiscusMaker for reminding me about the Mold - i will be mindfull. I am trying to grow plants from top of the tank ,but seems that the plant roots are not liking the warm water:idea2:. I am going to try a Moss wall next.