Regular Member us4298 Posted October 26, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 26, 2010 My friend offered to sell me his heater for 2 dollars for my 5 gallon tank but his heater is for a 10 gallon. Can I use it for my 5 gallon? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member number20121 Posted October 26, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 26, 2010 I don't think it is going to hurt. You set it for a certain temperature, and it heats the water to that temperature. The only difference is that a heater for a 5 gallon tank wouldn't be strong enough to heat a 10 gallon tank, a heater that can heat up to a 10 gallon tank won't have any difficulties warming a 5 gallon tank. Thing is though, are you using the 5 gallon tank for a goldfish? If so, this is way too small. A goldfish needs 10 gallons MINIMUM if it is a fancy one; single tails like comets and shubunkins need at least 20 gallons each. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blackteles Posted October 26, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 26, 2010 I have a heater for 10-20 gal that I use in my 5 gal QT tank. I've been using it for about six months and it works fine with no major temp fluctuations. I would just keep a close watch on it and always have a thermometer in the tank to be safe. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted October 26, 2010 Admin Share Posted October 26, 2010 My main thinking of heaters if it will fit, get a heater that is one size bigger than what you think. So if you have a 40 gal tank get one for a 50 gal tank, this way the heater wont burn out as fast 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member shellbell4ever Posted October 26, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 26, 2010 I agree with Koko when it comes to heaters better that they don't have to work to hard 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Choochoo Posted October 27, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 27, 2010 It actually works opposite folks The part of the heater that wears out is the contact switch , not the heating element ! Because a higher watt heater will heat the water quicker in the smaller tank , it turns on and off more times a minute than a lower wattage heater. The lower wattage heater stays on longer , because it takes longer to heat the same amount of water ,so it turns on and off less times a minute. As the heater turns on , the electrical contact switch creates an electrical arch, which over time , will burn away metal from the switch. So the higher watt heater's contact switch would be on and off more often and burn up sooner. If Anybody has a clear glass heater , take a look inside near the top ,and You will see a small copper contact switch that has burn marks on it. Dont let any of this scare You though, it is still OK to use the bigger wattage heater, it just wont last as long. I actually have a solution for this. I am going to wire up an external temp controller like used in commercial air conditioners to the 400 watt heater for My big tank.It should make that heater last forever. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted October 28, 2010 Admin Share Posted October 28, 2010 Well i have always bought a heater that is one size bigger than what it should be for my tanks, Most of my heaters will last 6-7 years before they die... So hummm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Choochoo Posted October 29, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 29, 2010 Well i have always bought a heater that is one size bigger than what it should be for my tanks, Most of my heaters will last 6-7 years before they die... So hummm I get 1 size bigger too even though they dont last as long , I would rather have more watts and I am OK with replacing them more often. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted October 30, 2010 Admin Share Posted October 30, 2010 Well look at that we agree 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CountryLovah Posted October 30, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 30, 2010 Im So Paranoid,My Quarantine Tank has a Quarantine Tank Not related to the topic but I think that is SO hilarious. I just noticed it for the first time.. lolol As for heaters this is interesting. I always did smaller heaters thinking that because they were goldies and I didn't need the temp as warm I could do hless watts. But that was just my thinking not because I knew for a fact what to use.. I feel like I found an article once saying so and went with that. I think my 55 gallon uses a 150 watt where if you look at this site: http://www.petsolutions.com/Marineland-Stealth-Pro-Heaters+I47490447.aspx It suggest a 200 watt for up to 55 gallons. I always did the opposite of what you guys did and went DOWN a size instead of up... So I guess according to the info thats good, but who knows.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member us4298 Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Thanks for the helps guys, and for one of the posts above, I am not keeping Goldfish anymore, as my last time died about a month ago. I am going to be keeping tropical fish. BTW, does anybody know any hardy Tropical fish that can bear with the Nitrogen Cycle? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member number20121 Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Post a new topic in the tropical fish section, so people will see your question I am sure someone will be able to help, unfortunately I have no real experience with tropicals. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted November 7, 2010 Admin Share Posted November 7, 2010 Thanks for the helps guys, and for one of the posts above, I am not keeping Goldfish anymore, as my last time died about a month ago. I am going to be keeping tropical fish. BTW, does anybody know any hardy Tropical fish that can bear with the Nitrogen Cycle? Guppies i know can take the cycling process 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CountryLovah Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Danios are supposed to be excellent fish for cycling... OR you could finish the cycling process with a fishless cycle using ammonia if you wanted! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member us4298 Posted November 8, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 8, 2010 IS it possible to use Gold Danios? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CountryLovah Posted November 8, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 8, 2010 I wanna say zebra danios are the ones used most frequently but danios in general are good fish to withstand cycling so gold should be fine. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member us4298 Posted November 8, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 8, 2010 Thanky you, I'll keep everyone updated. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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