Some of you have read my other threads, but to summarize quickly I have a 20 gallon long. It has two UTH's, one covers most of the hot side kept at 90 degrees and one on the cool side which keeps the tank floor at 80 degrees. My room temp is 70 degrees and the ambient temps of my tank stay about 72 degrees. I added a very small "nano" CHE with a 40 watt element yesterday. I turned it on this morning and with it running full power the ambient temp is now at 78 degrees. I have a dimmer cord it is plugged into but have not dimmed it down any. I know people say the heat sources have to be regulated. I am curious since I have the small element, what is the necessity of the dimmer? I assume that having a 40 watt element running at full strength would be no different then someone with an 80 watt element running it on a dimmer at half power. I know everyone stresses the need for regulating heat sources, but in this case if the CHE running at full strength is the rite size to keep my tank temps where I need it in the winter months are there other concerns I am overlooking?
I was initially told that since the entire "floor" of the tank is 80 degrees or higher that the ambient temps in the tank were as important. I decided to try to bump it up a few degrees just to see how it works, thats why I added the CHE.
Reply With Quote