heating top off water?

[H22_TURBO]

For those who have a top off system, dyi,tunze,etc. do you heat the water? or just let it pump the water in cold? I've been heating mine since I started with saltwater but was thinking it's probably not necessary.

so what does eveyone else do? I think i'm going to ditch the heater but i'll wait to see what other people do.

[axe_man16]

I do not heat mine. Mine tops off severall times a day, and only spits out a little bit at a time. The small amount of water I add doesn't affect the temp at all. And I would assume that if you warm up your water there would be alot more evap, and you would have to fill the ato resevoir up more.

[abcha0s]

No need to heat top up water.

[Leah]

I have always heated mine too. But know lots of people who do not. So I am not sure why I do...just always done it.

[dsaundry]

I heat mine as well, just had an extra heater kicking around I guess.

[Ross]

Heating your top off water is a waste of electricity imo.

If you added 1 gallon of ice (-5°C) to 100 gallons of 28°C water
The temperature would only drop the temperature 0.3°C.

Adding room temperature water (21°C) will only drop the temp by 0.069°

I'm pretty sure that a change that small would be perrmissible and that your heater flucuates more than that during its cycling.

[someguy]

Agree that it seems like a waste of electricity. Also, all of the organisms in our tanks will experience occ slight variations in temp in the wild. A temp variation of a few tenths of degree is not going to do anyone any harm.

[H22_TURBO]

I just never put any thought into it till today. when I get home i'm ditching the heater.

thanks everyone

[es355lucille]

This is a great thread. Energy savings efforts for this week accomplished. I have never heated top off water....and I was not sure why you would. Apparently there are quite a few that do. Hmmm. Interesting.

I hope more people that do heat their water see this thread.



Bump for energy savings!!

[cale262]

I heat mine...If I don't, the goldfish get cold