How to Set a Fish Tank Heater

It's important to calibrate the temperature of your fish tank heater properly to maintain a healthy living space for your fish. If it's set too low your heater won't keep the tank warm enough and your fish could freeze to death. If it's set too high, it could boil the fish. It is also important to make sure the heater is plugged in and set up in the right place on your tank. If it isn't, it could damage the heater, render it ineffective, or even short out your electrical socket.

Instructions

1. Put the heater in the water at one corner of your tank, usually on the same side as your filter. The knob at the top of the heater, with the temperature numbers on it, should be well out of the water.

2. Fasten the heater into place with whatever the set came with, usually little suction cups.

3. Plug the heater into a wall socket, making sure that there is a loop in the cord. That is, the cord should go down below the socket before going back up to plug in. This ensures that any water coming off of the heater will drip off of the loop, instead of going into the electrical socket.

4. Set the temperature on the heater to a few degrees above the lowest temperature you want maintained. This will ensure that the heater turns on before the water gets too cold.

5. Watch the thermometer in the tank, and if it is lower or higher than you like, you can adjust the heater temperature appropriately to account for the temperature in your home.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy the right heater for the size tank you have. This information should be on its box.

• Be sure to look up the optimum temperature for the kind of fish you have.

Resources

• Additional tips on setting heaters