# 65 gallon Aq. heater Selection



## Dirty_Pond (Apr 26, 2009)

HI Guys,

I am trying to decide on what type of heater to get for my aquarium. Its a 65 gallon 5 sided aquarium (http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/cleaning-aquarium-2244.html). I have been researching heaters and seems like the ubdergravel heaters mimic natural conditions better as they create a natural current and are a bit more efficient and consistent at heating. Ofcourse they are expensive. The

On the other hand the the regular bar type heater are cheaper and more popular.

I am trying to figure out what type of heater to get. Also, what size (wattage) heater.

Any pearls of wisdom.


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## Oldman (May 25, 2009)

The generally accepted value for a heater is about 4 or 5 watts of heat per gallon of water in a reasonable temperature room. For you that would mean about a 200W heater. I always thought the undergravel heaters were sold as an aid to promoting plant growth but I have no idea if their claims are actually supported by any evidence. Any heater will give decent heat input to the water and cause the water to circulate a little if it has a good temperature control on it. Most heaters that I have seen are cylindrical in shape and many of the more modern ones are also submersible and fairly high in quality. Regardless of the slight water flow created by natural convection, you will want to place any heater in a location that gets good water circulation so that the temperature in most of the tank is the same.


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