I need some suggestions!

[shelbybmc]

K well right now I got 4 baby peacock bass growing out in a 50 gallon all good right? Well I'm gonna need a huge tank obviously and my ideal place would be to put down in my basement! It's my hangout room summers it's all good BUT winter time it gets freezing down there I wouldn't doubt it if it hit 40 lol I need a badass heater to warm up a 180gallon possibly even larger! What do y'all think? Gonna be a sweet fish room if I can make it work.


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[poppalina]

Maybe you can add heat to the basement from another area of your house , insulate the basement and ad insulation on the back and two sides of your tank

 

[Deep Blue Sea]

Just put two heaters that're rated for more than the tank is, for example if you get a 180, get two filters rated for 250+ you shouldnt have a problem then

 

[shelbybmc]

Yeah the problem Is we rent so I cannot work on the basement so I guess ill just get a few high quality heaters and a real nice space heater to keep the basement warmer


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[Naos1984]

Yeah the problem Is we rent so I cannot work on the basement so I guess ill just get a few high quality heaters and a real nice space heater to keep the basement warmer


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This will work. 2 heaters in the aquarium itself to avoid any mishap and a space heater for when you visit the room will be very much appreciated by you and your fish.

 

[Rafini]

Ditch the Pbass they are ugly and boring and overall a waste of money.

You would be surprised how good a heater can be, My basement is also very cold right now And I have to Eheim Jager 300w in it. the tank has a 5x3 footprint so its really wide and I feel like I could technically maintain the heat with just One 300w. but I chose 2 to make sure I have a good distrubition of heat throughout the tank.

one 300w would work fine in a 180, or get 2 small ones

 

[shelbybmc]

This will work. 2 heaters in the aquarium itself to avoid any mishap and a space heater for when you visit the room will be very much appreciated by you and your fish.

That's about what I'm gonna do thanks!


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[shelbybmc]

Ditch the Pbass they are ugly and boring and overall a waste of money.

You would be surprised how good a heater can be, My basement is also very cold right now And I have to Eheim Jager 300w in it. the tank has a 5x3 footprint so its really wide and I feel like I could technically maintain the heat with just One 300w. but I chose 2 to make sure I have a good distrubition of heat throughout the tank.

one 300w would work fine in a 180, or get 2 small ones

Thanks man and I love my peacock bass lol


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[Naos1984]

That's about what I'm gonna do thanks!


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The basic rule is if the temperature in the said area is gonna fluctuate over 10C, use about 5W/gallon of water. Otherwise, 3W/gallon will do. Remember to always use more than one, as heaters are known to always stop working after some time. This will cause your tank temperatures to plummet drastically if there is not even one working. It is best to use temperature controllers with a pair or trio of heaters to prolong use and make the temperature more stable. Since I live in a sub-tropical area or if your are on a budget, you can also use timers. That way, you can prolong their use and save a little bit of electrical cost.

 

[Drstrangelove]

A lot of factors go into sizing the heater:

1) evaporation rate
2) insulation of the tank
3) added wattage from other equipment
4) air flow around the tank
5) actual tank dimensions
6) wall / stand thickness of tank
7) ambient temperature of the room

Assuming no evaporation, no insulation, no air flow, no added wattage, a standard 180 gallon, normal wall thickness and ambient temps of 40F, you are looking at more than 1,000 watts. Insulation will help some, but evaporation will hurt. I'd insulate as much of the tank as possible, cover any areas where evaporation will occur, and start at 750 watts. I think that will be low however and you face a serious problem if you lose power for even 6-12 hours.

I'm skeptical that the room gets to 40F. The upper surface of the earth is 56F, so unless you have an unheated partial basement with poorly set windows/doorways leaking heat, the temp is probably higher. (I lived near Chicago with an unheated partial basement that had a sump, a dozen windows and where outside temps went to -20F, and my basement was never that low.)

In that case, fix your windows and doorways. If your basement is a full basement, it's not 40F.