Heaters- are they necessary

[marino420td]

Do I really need a heater on my system? On my current system, the temp averages 81 degrees so the heater never turns on. I keep my house at 72-74 degrees year round.

It seems we are always trying to find ways to cool the tank down, so is a heater really needed?

[andiruleu]

not right now.. its getting really hot.. but during the winter time, you'll need one.

[fsn77]

Our house / tank is pretty much the same way. During the summer, our A/C is set on 77 (older home with some insulation issues) and our tank runs low to mid 80s without a fan blowing on the sump. With a fan, I can keep it steady in the low 80s. This winter, when our heat is set on 68, I'll probably need to run the heaters to keep the tank temp up. But, for now, the heaters are completely unplugged.

[keinreis]

Living in south florida keeps me from having to have a heater. i am glad that is just one less piece of equipment I have to buy.

[JeRmZ]

Same here ... don't run a Heater in my tank and have never seen a Temp. Fluctuation of more than 2 degrees.

[chucksta1]

If the heat load and evaporative cooling balance each other out, it's not needed. It's just back up. The one thing you can use a heater for under that situation is to stabilize the temp if there's too much of a swing. You can have the heater stop it from dropping below say, 80, and then have a fan and controler set to come on if the temp passes 82, thereby keeing the temp swing to a minimum. Other than that.......