General Care Discussion :: heater

[camb]

so i have a 250w heater for about 110 gallons of water and its keeping it at about 70-75 five degrees is this ok just for the winter?

[octpusgirl8]

It should be fine unless your turtle is a hatchling, in which case the water should be a little warmer.

[camb]

no she is probbly 3 years old.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Just watch out because when the temps drop outside, your indoor temps likely will drop, and you'll need more heat being put out. When my tank was running around 70 degrees, my turtle stopped eating at all, so you need to be ready to get another heater if needed.

You should have 3-5W per gallon of tank to maintain it, so for 110 gallons, you want 330-550W of heater. You would probably be best to get another 250W just in case. Heaters are cheap, generally $20-40 anyways.

[camb]

heaters are cheap, constantly running two 250w heaters is not cheap on the electric bill.

[octpusgirl8]

I understand your concerns, electricity is expensive! A cover for the tank (except for the area where the lights shine in) can greatly reduce heat loss. I'm going to make glass lids for my tanks once i'm done moving. You could even cover the whole tank at night when the lights aren't on to trap more heat in. Keeping drafts away from the tank will help too.

[camb]

unfortunately i have a home made pond in my basement that would be very hard to cover.

[octpusgirl8]

Ahh i see. You can still probably find ways to minimize drafts around it. A big sheet of plexiglass over part of it might help too, i don;t know whether that's possible for your pond or not. Duckweed might actually help a lot, by forming a dense mass at the water surface it would probably insulate the water quite a bit. In any case, keep a close watch on the temps and make sure they don't get below 70, then you'll definitely need to add another heater.

[camb]

i think i might be ok, but i defiantly keep a close watch on the temps and get another heater if needed.

[joeybsmooth]

You can always offset for our bill . Like with me, bc of the heater and stuff, I keep more lighter off.

[mikee]

cb -- I would be a little concerned about the 70 to 72 temp on a constant bases. I am sure they would be ok at that temp. but the metabolism at that temp is slow and needs to be a higher. I might suggest that a second heater and keep the temp at least 74 to 76. The amount of electricity would be very little. Good Luck! m.

[marisa]

Camb, how big is your home-made pond? I have a 150-gallon stock tank in the basement, and keep the water temp at 70F (heated by two 200-watt heaters). The basement temp is about 59F currently, and will go down when the temps outside do. I cover the tank at night with a big sheet of cardboard. During the day, a part of it is kept covered to help keep the heat in. Depending on the dimensions and depth of your pond, you probably could do the same.

[TupacTheTurle]

plywood with carpet on it?

[camb]

my basement is generally around 68 to 70 and my pond is 125 gallons and a 7-8 sq foot land area. and tupac, I'm a little confused, what are you assking?

[marisa]

The temp in your basement isn't bad (the temp on the first floor here is kept at 68F). If you wanted to keep your RES warmer, you could put some kind of "fence" around the pond and land area, or part of it, and cover it to help hold in the heat.