Heaters are one of the important accessories that one should always add when raising freshwater fish. As you may know, most of the freshwater fish that are available to aquarists are native to tropical waters, and for us people in the colder region of the world, trying to raise them in a regular aquarium can be potentially lethal without the use of heaters to regulate the freshwater aquarium temperature.
Relative Temperature for Tank Size
Raising the temperature of the water in your aquarium is not enough for fish to survive: one must also know that it is necessary to maintain this temperature over certain levels in order for the fish to get used to their artificial habitat. But techniques for maintaining the temperature of the water in an aquarium vary greatly depending on the size, because heat diffuses on a larger molecular area.
Take heat as an additive coloring for example: when it is dropped on a liquid of a smaller volume, it diffuses only on a limited region, making it more concentrated. But drop the exact same amount on a larger area, and you’ll notice that the additive is actually diluted and is dispersed in the liquid farther. The exact same principle works with heat, so if you need to apply heat to a larger area, you’ll have to raise the temperature of the heater by increasing its technical power or wattage to fulfill the heat requirements of a certain amount of water.
Knowing the Average Temperature Needed
Now let’s do a little math. Okay, so we know that heat diffuses all over the area, and this does not only limit itself to the water in your aquarium, because the heat all around the room where the aquarium is also scatters around all the articles in the room. Now, add this fact to the heat regulation in your aquarium, and we now have a problem. No matter how much the heater works continuously to keep the aquarium warm, the temperature still drops at a considerable degree below the required temperature, because the heat diffuses from the water and out to the air around the room.
So, what do we do to adjust the temperature then? Find the room’s average temperature first. Then, subtract the average temperature (because this would usually be the lower one) to the desired temperature. This is now your net temperature. After that, try tweaking with the temperature by adding the net temperature to the desired temperature, and then try observing it for about an hour (yes, and I mean observing it from time to time for an hour). If the temperature doesn’t reach the desired level, try tweaking again, this time by adding a little more heat, until the desired freshwater aquarium temperature is achieved. For fish tanks that can hold 50 or more gallons of water, you may have to use two heaters to achieve the desired temperature.
Sandra Gaffney is a freshwater aquarium expert. For more great tips on Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/knowing-freshwater-aquarium-temperature-in-proportion-to-size-1589093.html
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