How to Use Water Heater in Aquarium?
Aquarium heater is crucial for the proper maintenance of the water temperature. The right temperature is essential for keeping your fish healthy.
The steady water temperature makes the fish grow and thrive properly. Tropical fish cannot live in cold water, and they need a stable water temperature for living.
So it is imperative to install a water heater in an aquarium for you are beloved tropical aquarium fish.
Using a water heater in an aquarium is really very easy. First of all, you should check the heater for any kind of fault. Then install it in your aquarium while it is off. Adjust the temperature knob and then switch it On. The modern heaters automatically trip when the desired temperature is achieved.
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How to Use Water Heater in Aquarium?
Today Whypetfish.com is going to teach you about using a water heater in your fish aquarium. So let me tell you that using this product is extremely simple and easy.
But definitely, you have to take precautions and must have know-how about using it. That is what I am going to teach you in detail.
Buy and Unbox the Heater
First of all, buy the correct heater for your aquarium. It should be of high quality and effectiveness. Most of all, it should be safe for use and environment-friendly.
Buy a heater at a reasonable price and unbox it. Make sure that the packaging is in a full seal. There should not be any broken or open packaging. You should know the cost of a fish tank heater and its watts.
Do a Complete Inspection
After you have done unboxing your product, do a complete inspection for any broken or damaged part, which is a must.
If there is some fault, return it to the manufacturer quickly as possible for refunding money or getting any new product. This step is crucial before installation so that any problem may not occur when it is in your aquarium.
Install Water Heater in Aquarium
After the thorough inspection, install the heater in your fish aquarium. Find a suitable place in your aquarium to fit the radiator.
Proceed with the suction cup on the heater to make it firm at its place inside water. If it is having any other grabbing aid, then use it for proper installation.
Make sure that the heater is unplugged when you are installing it. You also have to assure that the heater does not come in contact with tank plants, decorations, and other things in the fish tank.
You should not have any plastic decoration in your aquarium when you are using a heater because plastic releases harmful compounds when it gets some heat.
These compounds are dangerous for your fish life as well as plants. If there is any plastic decoration, take it out never use it again when you have to use a heater in a fish aquarium.
Allow it to Settle
You have to allow the new heater to settle in your aquarium before starting. The time allowed for this should be 20 minutes.
The goal is to make sure that the glass casing can adjust to the temperature change in water. It will help to prevent the case of getting damaged or break.
Use Heater Guard
Now go with your heater with a guard or protector in it. It can help to prevent any damage or break accident in your water heater.
Secondly, if you have any plastic or other vulnerable decoration in your aquarium, the guard will help not to make them melt, damage, or release harmful components in water.
Your heater will not come in direct contact with aquarium glass, fish, decorations, and everything in the tank.
The guard proves protective of your fish. So it is good to buy a heater guard whenever you buy a heater for your fish tank because protection is always a priority.
Most importantly, the glass heaters have an essential requirement of the guard so that they may not break while achieving the ideal temperature.
We also recommend this component when you were fish are highly active in your aquarium.
Turn it ON
Now it’s time to turn your submerse heater ON. Rotate the temperature knob to the ideal mark to adjust the best temperature for your aquarium.
Ask the heater that either it is working well or not. Check out that either it is helping in achieving the ideal temperature or not.
You can even adjust the temperature every 6 hours on the thermostat to keep the desired temperature at a maintenance level.
Now, water should be at the ideal temperature for your pet fish so that they can live comfortably in your aquarium.
You should put your fish in the aquarium after achieving the perfect temperature and do not use the water heater in aquarium water when you have fish in it.
Most of the heaters have an ideal temperature mark on their thermostat, which is a great convenience. You do not have to remember the perfect temperature ranges for your aquarium.
So, look, you can easily use a water heater in the aquarium. This installation process is not hard at all. Just follow the instructions and install the heater.
You can install a heater in your aquarium within just 10 to 15 minutes. Good luck.
Nine Best Things to Consider When Using Water Heater for Aquarium?
There are few things which are essential to consider when you are using a water heater in the aquarium. For example;
The Type of Your Fish
It depends much upon your fish type that either they are highly active or belong to those species which are not too much activity.
The fish which are highly active to swim on everything can hurt themselves by going very near to a heater. You should use a heater guard for such fish aquariums.
While there is no need for any protector when you have fish in an aquarium with calm behavior, another essential thing is that only a few fish species need steady water for their living.
For example, tropical fish like guppies, neon tetras, beta fish, angelfish, and others need toasty warm water to live in comfort.
While the cold water fish never need a heater in their aquarium even if it is the wintertime. Some of the fish species are tough and have enough immunity to bear the temperature changes like barbs and swordtail fish.
Position of Your Aquarium
The most important thing is the location where you have placed your aquarium. If you have your fish tank in the corridor, then definitely heater is not a sufficient thing to heat the tank.
The cooler air of the corridor will cool up the aquarium water. Keep it in a small room which stays at a warm temperature for a long time.
Big rooms quickly become cool within no time, even if the room heater is running. So it is advised to put your aquarium in a small place with a heater in aquarium water.
It will keep your aquarium at a warm temperature for an extended period. The small room will maintain a warm temperature.
It is also good to keep checking your aquarium temperature for keeping your fish alive in comfort. The water temperature should remain stable.
Aquarium Size
If your tank has the maximum large size, then install two standard size heaters. Because the water in a large tank becomes more relaxed soon than that of the container with a small scale.
Water is compact in a small aquarium, and evaporation of heat is less from the small surface area. That is why tank water remains warm for a more extended period.
Besides this, a big aquarium has a big surface area for water evaporation. Water gets evaporated from such a large surface, and water temperature begins to get lower.
Those fish who survive only in warm regions can’t live in colder water and become dead. You can use a tank cover to avoid the heat to get out of water.
But the cover should be slightly removed so that fish can get enough oxygen to breathe.
Heaters Quantity
Some of the pro aquarists recommend you for two heaters so that if one stops, the other one can be as a backup. It will maintain the level of warmness in aquarium water.
When you are using both, you are keeping your fish safe from shock conditions because of temperature transitions. In case if your heater fails, the water will become cold, and your fish will go into shock condition.
Shock can even lead your fish to death. The significant cause of the collapse is that some of the fish species are not resistant to the slight fluctuations in temperature because of their less immunity.
So it is essential to have two heaters in your fish tank. One will be the central heater, and you will be using the other one as a backup.
Also, because the fish aquarium becomes cold at night time, so, two heaters will help to maintain the temperature levels not only in the day but even during the night timings.
Heater Tube Length
Make sure that the heater’s length is equal to the height of your aquarium so that it can warm the entire tank water properly.
It should be covering the full length or depth of the aquarium because this thing depends a lot upon the proper temperature of aquarium water.
Aquarium Glass Thickness
The glass thickness of your aquarium also affects the temperature of water in it. If the walls are thick enough, they will lose less heat and keep the aquarium warm for a more extended time.
While the thin walls will lose heat earlier and make the water cold, this is how you can measure the thickness of the glass walls.
You do not have to just forget your heater after installing it in your aquarium. But you have to take care of the following things;
High-Quality
A high-quality counts in this equipment. Must ensure the best quality when you are spending your money on a product.
Make sure that your investment has brought the best results in the shape of an adequate water heater. It should have a user manual and instructions written over it.
You have to follow all those instructions for its best use after proper installation. There are different types of heaters, and the instructions are available on them.
Different kinds of heaters have different usage, various instructions, and precautions. So, you must follow all of them.
Prefer Heater with Temperature Controller
Many of the new and modern heaters have a temperature controller already available on them. But some of them do not have this feature.
If your heater does not have a temperature controller, then prefer to buy a controller first before the installation of the heater.
Because it can make the temperature levels safe for your fish; otherwise, your aquarium will be in trouble without this controller.
Some ideal heaters have an alarm or a color light notification in them notifying you about the achievement of perfect temperature and also the critical conditions when the heat is dropping.
So that you can turn ON the heater again quickly to achieve the proper temperature before fluctuations begin to start.
Thermometer Equipped Heater
You should regularly check the temperature of your aquarium water from a thermometer. Take a thermometer and set it along with your aquarium wall.
If your heater has a thermometer on it, then it is excellent. There is no need for any external thermometer. But if you don’t have it in your heater, then attach the thermometer manually.
So, keep checking the temperature and tell you about the dropping temperature before it gets ultimately drops. You can quickly turn on the heater to get the optimal temperature ranges.
It’s an essential part of keeping your fish healthy. Let your pet fish live in a comfortable environment without any stress and shock.
A thermometer is like a precaution here before the onset of issues. It keeps you updated about the temperature changes in your fish aquarium.
They are available at a meager price, and you can buy one very quickly. But it is preferable to buy the heater which already has a thermometer in it so that it can beep whenever the temperature levels are going to drop.
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