how big of a heater do i need

how big should i get for a 50 gallon tank. This Finnex Titanium heater says a 150w is for a tank 30-60 gallons. Some say 4w or 5w per gallon. Which do I trust?

 

In your area I'd get a 200 or 250 myself get one with a remote thermostat also. I run a 2 x 350's in a 90 now had a 500 and 350 in a 180

 

I dont know if I trust the manufactures standards..... people forgot to take into consideration who runs what kind of cooling/heating system in their home and how often. For me, I use a 150 Stealth heater in my 20 long and the temp doesnt fluctuate an entire degree. I used a single 300 watt stealth in my 75, but during the winter that thing was on 24 hours a day it seemed.....not healthy on the electric bill.

 

Also, that was probably the single main cause for me taking the 75 down........we figured it was costing between 50-70 a month just for the heater!

 

I used to live on Grand Island and power outages in winter were regular. Backup ideas for heating, like floating disposable handwarmers in tank etc., are important. Your home heating is a factor, too, and a bit of an increase in the Niagara Mohawk bill was normal for us. Now living in SW Fla, chillers are the expense!!

 

Haha yeah you never know what the weather will be like in WNY. But after some of these bad storms I did get a generator. It doesnt really have enough juice to keep the lights going but I hook everything else up to it when the power goes out. Never thought of disposable hand warmers tho