If you want to keep tropical fish as apposed to cold water varieties then you will need a water heater. This is a cylindrical device that is submerged in the water and plugged into the mains. Some aquariums are designed so that the heater is housed within the filter, this is great as a heater can detract from the natural scenery within the aquarium. If this is not the case with your aquarium then the heater can be mounted to the side of the tank with suction pads.
The heater has a built in thermostat that will keep the water at the constant temperature that you set it to. Most tropical fish require a temperature of 24-26 degrees.
If you are attaching a heater with suction pads then you should put it in a central position within the tank, as apposed to in a corner. This way the water will be heated to the same temperature instead of one side of the tank being warmer than the other.
The power of the heater is measured in watts and the larger your tank the more powerful your heater will need to be. As a rule 45 litres of water (about 10 gallons) will need 10 watts of power to heat it.
It is important to buy a small adhesive thermometer strip to monitor the temperature within your tank.
© Fresh Water Fish Keeping.com 2006
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