Hello.

I have just set up a 1 gallon tank that I bought for my daughters, and was going to buy a Hydor mini aquarium heater (submersible) at the local Petco, but the packaging said it was for 2 to 5 gallon tanks. So I asked the salesperson why I couldn't use it in a 1 gallon tank. He told me that it would be too hot. I said "Well doesn't it have a thermostat? Wouldn't it just be on less frequently?" And the guy kind of shrugged his shoulders and said no, it would make the tank too hot.

I cannot see why this heater would not work in a 1 gallon tank, but clearly the manufacturer wants the lower limit to be 2 gallons.

Can someone enlighten me here and/or recommend a heater that is appropriate for such a tiny tank?

Thank you in advance!

TRoutMac

hey,

It will make life much easier if you get a bigger tank... There isnt much that can live in a 1gal tank. Maybe snails and shrimp..
The thing is with such a small tank the temperature is going to be constantly changing... on a warm day with a heater in it its going to be far too hot.. even a breeze from open window will change the temp.. this is very stressful for fish.

What are you planning on getting fish wise?

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211gal- 4 Clown loaches, 1 African butterfly fish,4 Dension barbs,2 Jewel cichlids,2 Firemouth's, Green Terror, sailfin pleco, L142, 2 cory's Candy striped pleco,4 Siamese algae eaters, 14 Black widow tetra's, Striped Anostomus, 3 Hoplosternum thoracatum, Fire Eel

Thank you for your reply. I understand that the size of the tank is, well, almost ludicrous. It was a garage sale item and about 25 years ago I had a few tanks and kept some fish and I figured this was an opportunity to get my daughters (5 and 7) involved. A larger tank is not an option right now, but I can see possibly getting a 10 to 20 gal tank later in the year. Possibly.

I also understand the temp fluctuation issue… or, rather, I understand how it can fluctuate at temperatures HIGHER than the heater would be set for, since if the heater is set for, say, 78F and the ambient air temp is 82, the air temp will drive the water temp to that level relatively quickly. I don't understand, however, how the temp would fluctuate BELOW the temp set by the heater. The heater would come on whenever the temp tried to dip below that level. That's how a thermostat works, is it not?

My main question is about that mini-tank heater being "too hot" for a 1 gallon tank. I don't understand, given that the heater has a thermostat, how this is possible.

I have water in the tank right now, obviously unheated, and the temp varies between 82F during the day to 74F at night. But of course this is summer. In the winter, the air temp in the house is not likely to exceed 68F. So between now and then I need to find a solution for heating this tank unless I end up getting a larger tank at some point.

As for fish, I'd appreciate your recommendations. I'm not particularly fond of goldfish, to put it mildly. 25 years ago I kept dwarf gouramis, opaline gouramis, paradise fish, a betta, angelfish, plecostomus and guppies in a couple of different tanks and I thought it was pretty neat.

Thanks much.

Im not 100% sure about the heater...

but i can suggest fish for small tanks... well nothing for 1gal.. why not get some small shrimp for the 1gal... cherry shrimp maybe.

In a 5gal you could keep a betta or a shoal of mircorasbora.

10gal- endlers, guppies, neons, kuhli loaches, dwarf puffers(species tank), African dwarf frogs, otto's Well there lots of small tetras to choose from...
Usually id only have 1 shoal of 6-8 small schooling fish in a 10gal then add a few botom dwellers.. some people add cory's but i think there better off in 15-20gal tanks. African dwarf frogs are great additions to small tanks.

As far as i know 5-10gals are pretty cheap... I think a 5gal with a betta would be a good option till you can afford a bigger tank...

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211gal- 4 Clown loaches, 1 African butterfly fish,4 Dension barbs,2 Jewel cichlids,2 Firemouth's, Green Terror, sailfin pleco, L142, 2 cory's Candy striped pleco,4 Siamese algae eaters, 14 Black widow tetra's, Striped Anostomus, 3 Hoplosternum thoracatum, Fire Eel

IMO...I don't see why it wouldn't work especially if it is thermostatically driven. The water volume of a 1g is so small that it will definately take on the aspects of the ambient temp in the room.

I would say if you want it, give it a try for a couple of days. If it's not up to snuff or too hot, return it. After you clean it of course. ;o)

well i cant suggest a heater due to never having smaller than a 30 gallon tank but i can suggest a full ulta omega easy to use deluxe(sorry i wanted to use awesome words) full 10 gallon kit that would allow for a betta or a nice school of tetras or some fancy guppies.

.AQUEON KIT DELUXE 10GAL

its $47 bucks, i mean hell if i didnt already have 2 tanks and soon to be a 3rd that is 150 gallons i would have gotten this for the kitchen of my house with some nice blacklight tetras.

check it out, it maybe something to work towards so your kids can really enjoy it.

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Bullheads represent the cookie monsters of the rivers around here...hungry, hungry, hungry

You could give the heater a try , as someone else stated , but there is not a fish out there that I would recommend for a 1 gal. tank . As someone else stated , you try some cherry shrimp or a snail .