Prepping Tank for Betta
While the Betta may “look” good, its really impossible to tell how stressed it may be when the room temperature goes down to 66 o. Just because you do not see any signs of illness YET is no reason to believe the fish is doing “well,” and no reason to subject the fish to that extreme. BTW, unless you have a thermometer in the tank, you cannot know the temperature of the water — it usually is one or even two degrees lower that the ambient temperature due to processes such as the cooling effects of evaporation, etc.
If you want to be assured of not cooking the fish, use two heaters as has previously been mentioned. Two (2) Watts per gallon will raise that quantity of water 5 o above the ambient temperature of the tank. As such, 25 Watts has the capacity to raise your 10 gallon tank’s water to approximately 72.25 o (or 6.25 o above the room temperature), when your room is 66 o; actually slightly less than 72.25 o due to some evaporation cooling. Two similar heaters will ensure the temperature will never cool off to previous levels, yet you’ll be assured that any one of them cannot overheat the tank if something were to malfunction.
Under normal circumstances, 50 Watts (again, preferably 2 of them) as Steve has suggested and as I would normally recommend, would be safe except in the extreme temperatures of Summer (unless you A/C the room). This 12.5 degree potential (from one 50 Watt heater) of boosting your tank’s “normal ” (read; — otherwise unheated) temperature could possibly cook your fish if any one of the heaters stuck on when the room temperature got up to 84 o, which is not unheard of in the Summer in an un-air conditioned room. It would mean 96.5 o water. You are far safer with two 25 Watt heaters, which will maintain your tank at 80.5 o (at its maximum setting) at the average room temperature of 74 o, and can of course be adjusted lower to your desired setting. Ray
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
