heater issue?

[crustytheclown]

I have an IM 30L and I have 2 x 50 watt Ehiem Jager heaters running vertically in the center rear chamber close to the two return pumps. Since the weather has changed and fall chill is in the air my room temperature is staying steady at 67 degrees. In the warmer months my temp in the tank was staying between 78 and 80 degrees all summer but now it has dropped to around 75 - 77 degrees. Is this temperature ok for the winter months? Every time i check my heaters they are on so im wondering if i need to get higher wattage heaters for the winter to keep the temp at 78 - 80. Also ive heard that running heaters vertically can cause heating issues because the temp gadge is at the top and with heat rising it can turn off the heaters before they are thoroughly heating the tank. I dont know how to position them horizontally because the suction cup things they come with are a joke at keeping them in place. I was also thinking i could put a small powerhead in the chamber to move the water around them more. What are your thoughts? I could try many different things. Just not sure where the best place is to start.

 

[SynDen]

A higher wattage heater would work better and run less then those 2 tiny heaters which likely are barely keeping up.
And that seems a normal temp swing for the winter months, although generally dont want it to happen in such a short period, but unless you are keeping seahorses or something delicate like that, you should be just fine with that temp range.
I keep mine at 79 in the summer and then is drops down to 75 for the winter

 

[Cherub]

you shouldn't rely on the temp gauge on the actual heaters. They aren't know to be reliable, have you thought about a controller with temp controls? Even a RKL can do this for you. As Syn stated a higher wattage heater would do better, even if you do two. Is your 67 degrees from using the heater? It's going to get a lot colder

 

[crustytheclown]

you shouldn't rely on the temp gauge on the actual heaters. They aren't know to be reliable, have you thought about a controller with temp controls? Even a RKL can do this for you. As Syn stated a higher wattage heater would do better, even if you do two. Is your 67 degrees from using the heater? It's going to get a lot colder

the 67 temp is my room temperature.

 

[zombie]

You need more wattage. For a 30 gallon tank you need 136W to maintain temp with a difference in temperature of 10 degrees. and 175W for 15 degrees. I would use no less than 200W so that you don't crash your tank in the event your furnace fails for a short period of time.

 

[Cherub]

the 67 temp is my room temperature.

I understood that lol if it was your tank I would be very concerned. I'm guessing I wasn't clear in my post? np it was a response to this "Also ive heard that running heaters vertically can cause heating issues because the temp gadge is at the top and with heat rising it can turn off the heaters before they are thoroughly heating the tank."