# Heating a 75 gallon tank



## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Wondering how long it takes for water in a 75 gallon tank to heat up with a heater for up to a 100 gallon tank. We set our heater to 79 after we filled the tank up. The water was at 74 last night and is still at 74 now and the heater only comes on for a few minutes at a time. Is this normal? I figure its gotta heat up slowly but this seems too slow. Is the heater malfunctioned? Its a Pen-Plax Cascade heat


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

NewFishFiend said:


> Wondering how long it takes for water in a 75 gallon tank to heat up with a heater for up to a 100 gallon tank. We set our heater to 79 after we filled the tank up. The water was at 74 last night and is still at 74 now and the heater only comes on for a few minutes at a time. Is this normal? I figure its gotta heat up slowly but this seems too slow. Is the heater malfunctioned? Its a Pen-Plax Cascade heat


 
their might be a problem with the thermostat inside the heater, is ur heater placed vertically liek up and down or horizontally left to right? do you have water movement to circulate the water around the tank? i know my hob is on one side and i have a smaller circulation pump on the other side to make sure the water is evenly heated. i use the stealth line and have trouble keeping my water cool enough.


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

MoneyMitch said:


> their might be a problem with the thermostat inside the heater, is ur heater placed vertically liek up and down or horizontally left to right? do you have water movement to circulate the water around the tank? i know my hob is on one side and i have a smaller circulation pump on the other side to make sure the water is evenly heated. i use the stealth line and have trouble keeping my water cool enough.


Its vertical and near the HOB filter. The tank was just set up yesterday. It is a 300w heater. I'm wondering how good of a product Penn Plax makes.


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

The temperature settings on most heaters are relative but not absolute. I would increase the setting slightly, waiting several hours in between adjustments until the desired temperature is reached. My Aqueon Pro heaters are set around 80 to deliver 77F.
Also, I use two heaters in my 60g (200w and 250w) to ensure consistent operation.


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

+1 on the two heater option. I've got one at each end of my 75 gallon and it works like a charm.


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## ZivaD (Jan 26, 2013)

Romad said:


> +1 on the two heater option. I've got one at each end of my 75 gallon and it works like a charm.


Yep - +1
Also, what is the actual wattage rating for the heater, the "up to" guidelines can vary from company to company, so knowing the actual rating can help.


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

ZivaD said:


> Yep - +1
> Also, what is the actual wattage rating for the heater, the "up to" guidelines can vary from company to company, so knowing the actual rating can help.


The OP indicated it's a 300w heater which should be fine assuming avg room temperature. (Basically need 3-4 watts per gallon at room [72F] temperature.)


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Well it took it awhile and i had to turn it to 86 but it finally got to 80. I ordered a marineland heater yesterday too so i will install that too when i get it
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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Now that the tank is warm...does it need to be this high? No mention is made of fish species, and 79/80F is pretty warm for many of them.

And BTW, welcome to Tropical Fish Keeping forum.:-D

Byron.


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Well we havent stocked it yet but the ones we know for certain will be our black neon tetras and our 2 angelfish
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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Another question kind of offtopic, my male tiger barb chases my 2 females to the point of exhaustion. They will be breathing sooooo fast. I feel sorry for them. Is this aggression on his part, an attempt at mating, or abnormal?
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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

NewFishFiend said:


> Another question kind of offtopic, my male tiger barb chases my 2 females to the point of exhaustion. They will be breathing sooooo fast. I feel sorry for them. Is this aggression on his part, an attempt at mating, or abnormal?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


tiger barbs are very notorius for fin nipping or "aggression" them breathing fast is them showing signs of stress. stress leads fish to illness. so something is going to have to give either rehome him or them it will be a ongoing cycle and eventually they will get stressed to the point of disease. i think if you have 5 of so tigerbarbs their aggression tones down a bit but is still a issue in some tanks.


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

I had read they were aggressive. They r in the 30 gallon alone. Just the 3 of them. I had to get them away from my angels and tetras. Yet another fault of the petsmart fish people....
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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

We got the 75g planted. Fish suggestions to go with my 4 black neon tetras and 2 angelfish?


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Pic of it


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

NewFishFiend said:


> I had read they were aggressive. They r in the 30 gallon alone. Just the 3 of them. I had to get them away from my angels and tetras. Yet another fault of the petsmart fish people....
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Are you familiar with our fish profiles section? Second heading from the left in the blue bar across the top of the page. Each species has information on numbers required of that species, minimum tank sizes, etc. If the name shades you can click it for the profile.

If you check Tiger Barb you will see it recommends no fewer than 8 in the group. This may minimize internal fin nipping. The profile also gives a 30g tank as the minimum for a group of 8. So if you like the TB, get more of them and keep them in the 30g but on their own. The only other alternative is to re-home them back to the store or another aquarist. They must have a group before any other fish should be put with them, aside from tank space. And they should never be combined with sedate fish or those with long fins, like angelfish, but I realize you are aware of this.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

NewFishFiend said:


> We got the 75g planted. Fish suggestions to go with my 4 black neon tetras and 2 angelfish?


Back to the temperature question, with these fish you do not need it as warm as 79/80F. I mentioned the profiles in the previous post, and the temperature range for each species is included. Note that this is the range within which the fish will manage. The middle of the range is usually best on a permanent basis. The higher the temperature, the harder a fish has to work physically to "live" normally. They will be much healthier at lower rather than higher temperatures.

So for angelfish that are tank raised (which those you buy in most stores will be) a temp around 76-77F is OK. And most of the tetra will be better around this temp too; some even lower.

You asked about other fish; corys for the substrate would work (and they too prefer it cooler). The black neon tetra is a shoaling fish, so more here too. Linear tetra can sometimes become food for angelfish when mature, but as you have the 4 now you should get more, I would say for a total around 9+. This will also help to avoid fin nipping which can occur with any tetra in the presence of angels if the tetra are in too small a group.

Other suitable fish are the rounder tetra like the Rosy Tetra, Roberts Tetra, Bleeding Heart Tetra. These three will add some colour. Lemon Tetra and Flame Tetra are two more. With any of these, a decent sized group of 8 or more.

Byron.


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Will different types of tetras school together? I had planned to get 10 tetras for the new tank. As far as the barbs go, i like them okay but my male is mean amd i dont want just a 30 gallon of mean barbs lol.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

NewFishFiend said:


> Will different types of tetras school together? I had planned to get 10 tetras for the new tank. As far as the barbs go, i like them okay but my male is mean amd i dont want just a 30 gallon of mean barbs lol.


Shoaling fish live in large groups, and there must be a group of that species. Numbers depend upon many factors, but always the more the better. This means fish of that species. The fish has evolved to require this, or it will be stressed and in poor health, and frequently turns more aggressive than normal.

Depending upon the species, 10 different species of tetra would mean something around 7-8 of each species, resulting in 70-80 fish not counting the angelfish. I would consider 3, 4 or 5 species, with 8+ of each.

Which brings me to the barbs. They must have a group of 8, or this will only get worse. They are naturally nippy to begin with, but such fish when denied what nature programmed into them often become even worse. It is your choice, but if you want Tiger Barb then you should have 9 of them in the 30g.

Byron.


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Thank you all so much for the wonderful responses and information! Im not sure if one of my barbs is even going to make it through the night. She was looking pale and gasping when i left for work. Ugh, i could just beat that woman at petsmart that allowed this to happen. Poor fishies :/ i will not have a chance to get more barbs until atleast thursday. I hope they make it until then. It has gotten much worse since i removed the angels and tetras. I think the angels were keeping him in check lol.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

NewFishFiend said:


> Thank you all so much for the wonderful responses and information! Im not sure if one of my barbs is even going to make it through the night. She was looking pale and gasping when i left for work. Ugh, i could just beat that woman at petsmart that allowed this to happen. Poor fishies :/ i will not have a chance to get more barbs until atleast thursday. I hope they make it until then. It has gotten much worse since i removed the angels and tetras. I think the angels were keeping him in check lol.


That is a possibility in a round-about way. Other fish in the tank will obviously distract the barbs somewhat. But this is not a viable solution, because the barbs will overcome that and show their normal behaviours, as this one has done. They are the way they were made.

One caution, if you intend getting more barbs. The nasty one now might be a terror with even more. Once this aggressive behaviour sets in, when caused by stress as it was here, it is not reversible. If the store will do it, it would be good to return the two barb you have and buy 8 not including these two. Explain to the store that this is your attempt to avoid the increased aggression of the fish. If they want your continued business, they should understand.

Byron.


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Byron said:


> That is a possibility in a round-about way. Other fish in the tank will obviously distract the barbs somewhat. But this is not a viable solution, because the barbs will overcome that and show their normal behaviours, as this one has done. They are the way they were made.
> 
> One caution, if you intend getting more barbs. The nasty one now might be a terror with even more. Once this aggressive behaviour sets in, when caused by stress as it was here, it is not reversible. If the store will do it, it would be good to return the two barb you have and buy 8 not including these two. Explain to the store that this is your attempt to avoid the increased aggression of the fish. If they want your continued business, they should understand.
> 
> Byron.


Well petsmart has already lost my business. I will only be using my lfs from now on. I will be taking these 3 barbs to my lfs and donating them with the explanation of the aggressive behavior. Cant do it til tomorrow tho
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