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Post by mndstevens on Mar 13, 2004 3:43:50 GMT -5
Hey All,
I have a question about heaters and acrylic aquariums. A worker at a local petstore recently told me that I should never use a heater in an acrylic aquarium. He said that it could cause the acrylic to melt like it would do to plastic. I have never heard of this. If the heater were set on 76-77degrees I could not see it becoming hot enough to cause problems or damage the tank. What do you think? Also, does anyone out there use a heater in a plastic aquarium? Just wondering.
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Post by abm on Mar 13, 2004 8:49:48 GMT -5
Hi,
I have been keeping bettas for about a year and (due to ignorance and poor guidance) did not starting heating my tanks until about 6 months ago. However, all of my tanks are acrylic, all are heated, all are set at 78-80dF, and I experience no melting, warping, etc. I can see where this theory would generate, but it has not been an issue for me.
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Post by ACKislander on Mar 13, 2004 9:54:16 GMT -5
MNDstevens, To put your mind at ease, I'll tell you a bit about why acrylic is used in aquariums now days more then glass. Your local petstore guy was terribly misinformed. BTW, I'm an aquarium designer for large scale institutes. We hardly ever use glass anymore because acrylic is like a super material that is so strong and has so many benifits there is no need to back to glass. The temperature recommended on a daily basis for acrylic sheets is between -30F to 160F. It's melting point is 212F. The stucture isn't compromised by UV rays, so it can stay in the sun for years and never weaken. It isn't affected by salt and never corrodes. And the best part is, it weighs about half as much as glass. So, unless you keep the heater set at over 200F, you'll be just fine.  |
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Post by mndstevens on Mar 13, 2004 13:53:44 GMT -5
Thanks a bunch, I feel so much better. I had bought a 3 gallon Eclipse and I want to use a heater in it. I thought his advice was a little odd.
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Post by mermaid on Mar 14, 2004 17:34:44 GMT -5
i have a 5 gal eclipse (acrylic) and i just the neptune 25 watt heater (from marineland BTW) and it works very well, its for aquariums UP TO 5 gallons, so that might be a good one to with, it fits well in my eclipse tank its not a hang on back, but the top of it does stick out of the water, you would understand if you saw it.
(and BTW marineland make a generic brand called "aqua-tech" and they make them for wal-mat only so instead of an eclipse 6 its a 5 gal, but my tank was $40 instead of $85!, its EXACTLY the same as the eclipse 6 minus 1 gallon, in case you wanted to go bigger)
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spiff
Junior Bubble Nester
Posts: 228
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Post by spiff on Mar 14, 2004 17:44:34 GMT -5
Like Mermaid, I also use Neptune heaters. I have on in a 2 gal tank and haven't had any problems with it, and it's been running like that since November. I have another one in a 5 gal tank, and once again, no probs there either! Both of these tanks are acrylic, btw.
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Post by mndstevens on Mar 14, 2004 18:30:45 GMT -5
Right now I have a 25 watt visi-therm in a 2.5 gallon. I will look at the Neptune heaters when I go shopping. I still need a heater for the 3 gallon. Anyone out there use a tronic heater? I hear they are excellent and they have no moving parts internally so there is less of a chance for over heating.  |
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Post by mermaid on Mar 16, 2004 15:16:34 GMT -5
Like Mermaid, I also use Neptune heaters. I have on in a 2 gal tank and haven't had any problems with it, and it's been running like that since November. I have another one in a 5 gal tank, and once again, no probs there either! Both of these tanks are acrylic, btw. im really glad to hear it! ive been thinking of getting another tank but possibly the 2.5 mini-bow (im VERY limited on space in my apt!) at least i know that a neptune heater would work well in a 2.5 gal. |
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Post by lihairden on Mar 18, 2004 3:56:48 GMT -5
I've got my guys in 1.17g tanks. They don't have heaters since the temp's 80. I've been thinking that I will have to get a couple heaters in the summer since we'll have the A/C on.
I was wondering if there any thermometers that stay in the tank since there aren't any holes in the tank for me to put thermometers in.
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Post by Jenny on Mar 18, 2004 11:14:36 GMT -5
You don't need holes in the tank for thermometers. You can either get ones that stick to the outside or ones that go inside and either float or are held with a suction cup to the side.
I don't think there are any heaters that can though. They all need power, and for this they need a power cord going to the outside of the tank. I might be wrong about this though, don't have much experience with heaters.
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Post by jedicat on Mar 20, 2004 3:14:13 GMT -5
I've never seen a heater that doesn't need to be powered by a cord, either. Which kinda makes me wonder if there are any battery-operated heaters...those would be wonderful in case of a power outtage...
Lilhairden: What is your tank hood made of? If it comes down to it, you could most likely cut some holes, if necessary, in the hood.
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