Tips on Choosing an Aquarium Heater

A submergible heater is usually placed flat along the bottom of the tank. The theory is that as the warm water rises it will cause a mild circulation within the tank, insuring a more even distribution of heat. Whether this particularly benefits the fish in most home aquaria is doubtful. However, with the heat source at the surface of a tall tank, and with no aeration or filtration, you will note a considerable disparity in temperature between the upper and lower strata of water. Whether the difference, except in an extreme case, is enough to discomfort the fishes is problematical. In nature, fishes swim with no apparent signs of discomfort between the sun-warmed surface and the cooler depths. They appear quite capable of adjusting to this type of change with no noticeable signs of stress.

By encasing the heater and thermostat in separate tubes, one is enabled to place the heater in one corner and the thermostat in another. This is supposed to insure a more even distribution of heat, since the heat must travel through the entire tank to reach the thermostat. In theory it is all right, but in actual practice it has hardly proven necessary. Water circulation itself distributes the heat readily enough.
For the advanced hobbyist who can afford it, the most practical method for heating all your fish tanks is a tank room. The temperature in the room can then be thermostatically controlled and heated by the use of a commercial space heater, either gas or electric. A small fan can be used to assure an even distribution of heat within the room.

If this method is impractical, you have your choice of either of two methods, or a combination of both. The simplest way is to get a combination heater and thermostat for each tank. There are a number of low-cost combination units on the market which will give very satisfactory service.

An alternative method is to get a high-capacity individual thermostat. This is placed in the smallest tank of the series to be controlled with the single setup. Heaters with wattages proportionate to the size of the tanks they are put into are connected in series with the thermostat. For the average home, allow 5 watts to the gallon. For a 5-gallon tank, use 25 watts; a 10-gallon tank, 50 watts, and so on.

For example: a hobbyist with four tanks, a 5-gallon, a 10-gallon, and two 20-gallon tanks would use the following: a 25-watt heater in the 5-gallon tank, a 50-wa heater in the 10-gallon, and a 100-watt in each of the 20’s The thermostat to which all the heaters are coupled placed in the smallest tank. Why? Because the smaller the amount of water in a tank, the more subject it is to fluctuation. Should the thermostat be placed in the largest tank, the smallest one might show a drop of as much as 5 to 6 degrees before the temperature of the large one would drop sufficiently to activate the thermostat.

What is a pump, a filter, an aerator for a tropical Fish Tank?

A pump is a mechanical apparatus which forces water or air through tubing or other equipment. It provides the flow that makes the filter and aerator operate.

Filters (except under gravel filters) are units containing (or being made of) a porous filter material such as activated charcoal or filter floss. There are a number of different filter types available, but the principle is basically the same in all except under gravel filters. Water from the aquarium is passed through the filter material and thereby cleaned.

An aerator is a unit that exposes water to, or mixes it with, air. As far as home aquaria are concerned, an aerator diffuser is usually a porous stone which is placed in the aquarium with connections so that a pump forces air through it. It serves the purpose of breaking the stream of air into small bubbles, thus increasing its effectiveness.

A water pump draws water from an aquarium through one tube and discharges it through another, the water circulating through the pump. Water pumps are usually employed only in larger indoor installations or in outdoor pools. They may be used to empty aquaria or to transfer water from one aquarium to another. They are also used when it is desirable to have the filter located some distance away from the water to be filtered. Another use, seldom encountered indoors, is to spray water for a fountain, or to raise water for a waterfall.

The filter material is the same as that in any other filter, charcoal, and/or sand, and/or glass wool. The filter is designed to be closed tightly when in use, provision being made to remove the filter material for replacement o cleaning. Circulation takes place through two nozzles. The water is sucked through a tube from the tank directly into the filter material. A perforated compartment receives the water after it has filtered through the matrix. A nozzle leading from this compartment directs the water through the pump and back into the aquarium.

This type of water pump usually provides faster and more efficient filtration than do the more conventional types of air-operated filtering systems. However, it does not agitate the water so efficiently as a good air stone; it is also quite cumbersome and usually more expensive to purchase than the ordinary setup.