Heaters

plobious

plobious

New Member
I am just starting a FOWLR... just starting, will be putting water in tank and cycling here in the next couple of weeks. I have a question. I read on here that it is always better to have 2 heaters than 1. Makes sense for a number of reasons pointed out in 101 tips. Question: Would it work to have something like a JBJ True Temp Titatinum heater with a digital read out and remote thermometer and then just something like a blue line. What I was thinking was that the JBJ would autoregulate itself independently from the cheapie, turning on and off accordingly. Would this work you think? Thank you for any input.
 
slice

slice

Active Member
I personally would not want a "cheapie" as my failsafe. I'd rather have 2 strong reliable units.
 
plobious

plobious

New Member
What would your recommendation be for (2) 300 watt heaters? I liked the idea of having something that is automated and something with a remote temp probe. Thanks again for any help!
P.S. Very new to the site and was doing a little site surfing and came across your post with your tank and all the work you have put in it....SICK!!! When I have some years of experience under my belt I would like to go reef.
 
slice

slice

Active Member
You can do some research on this site to see what others recommend on heater sizes. I think you will find most folks say to get heaters a bit more than what is recommended for your tank size...I could be wrong on that...look it up.
Thanks for the kind words.
 
tangs rule

tangs rule

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by PLOBIOUS http:///forum/thread/386954/heaters#post_3401293
What would your recommendation be for (2) 300 watt heaters? I liked the idea of having something that is automated and something with a remote temp probe. Thanks again for any help!
P.S. Very new to the site and was doing a little site surfing and came across your post with your tank and all the work you have put in it....SICK!!! When I have some years of experience under my belt I would like to go reef.
I wish Slice lived closer to me - I could sure use help with scaping and future specemin selection. His tank is so clean, and his pics of it are awesome!
As far as your setup - how big is your DT and are you planning a sump/fuge for it? I'm a fan of multiple but slightly small rated heaters, as a thermal runaway of a 1 really large heater can raise the tank temp so fast, you may not catch it before things start to die.
 
plobious

plobious

New Member
I have a 125g tank and with the helpful advice of lion_crazz he said a good way of calculating is to take tank size in gallons (125) and multiply it by 5 and that gives you the total wattage you would want. So that gives me 625 watts. With your advice I will probably purchase a 300 watt and a 400 watt heater to have more watts than not enough. What I was really looking for was a suggestion of brands from peoples personal experience with their heaters. I've researched online but it seems like every review has mixed reviews... some say something is great some say it breaks in 2 months. I'm just looking for something like you said... something reliable and accurate. What kind of heater do you have with your set up and has it been reliable for you?
 
slice

slice

Active Member
My Aqua Via Titanium heaters in both DT and QT have been rock solid for well over a year.
 
tangs rule

tangs rule

Active Member
I ran 3 DT's for several years (125g, 100g, 90g) and ran multiple units in their sumps. Only 2 systems had chillers. I think I ran twin 300w in the 125, dual 250 in the 100, and dual 200 in the 90......However since I got started in the hobby I've had 2-3 heaters (run away) and basically never shutoff suddenly one day - and luckly the chiller kept the reef from cooking off - cause I noticed the chiller was running ALOT during the winter - when it about never runs.....found the darn heater would just run - regardles of temp setting - as long as it was plugged in. I've used several brands of the generic heaters - (marineland, ebo-Jager, even cheep pecto brand for 20g qtine tanks) and over time - I think about any heater can "fail" in a constant "on or off" mode - or at minimum become unsteady over time.....The high dollar computer-controlled units am NOT familiar with, as I just replace my heater units about every 2-3 years anymore - regardless of how they are working....
In the 475g I run 3 300w units in the sump, but have not really seen how it'll perform when its "cold" in the house yet - cause I only got in running march of this year - so I may need to add a little more heat - BUT it has 2000 watts of MH & HQI lighting over it and THAT adds more heat to the tank than a couple heaters.
 
slice

slice

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by tangs rule http:///forum/thread/386954/heaters#post_3401311
I ran 3 DT's for several years (125g, 100g, 90g) and ran multiple units in their sumps. Only 2 systems had chillers. I think I ran twin 300w in the 125, dual 250 in the 100, and dual 200 in the 90......However since I got started in the hobby I've had 2-3 heaters (run away) and basically never shutoff suddenly one day - and luckly the chiller kept the reef from cooking off - cause I noticed the chiller was running ALOT during the winter - when it about never runs.....found the darn heater would just run - regardles of temp setting - as long as it was plugged in. I've used several brands of the generic heaters - (marineland, ebo-Jager, even cheep pecto brand for 20g qtine tanks) and over time - I think about any heater can "fail" in a constant "on or off" mode - or at minimum become unsteady over time.....The high dollar computer-controlled units am NOT familiar with, as I just replace my heater units about every 2-3 years anymore - regardless of how they are working....
In the 475g I run 3 300w units in the sump, but have not really seen how it'll perform when its "cold" in the house yet - cause I only got in running march of this year - so I may need to add a little more heat - BUT it has 2000 watts of MH & HQI lighting over it and THAT adds more heat to the tank than a couple heaters.
This scares the crap out of me; has for some time now. I think this alone warrants a controller that shuts off power to the heater when not called on for heat. I will justify (read: talk myself into) the expense of a controller someday soon.
 
tangs rule

tangs rule

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slice http:///forum/thread/386954/heaters#post_3401319
This scares the crap out of me; has for some time now. I think this alone warrants a controller that shuts off power to the heater when not called on for heat. I will justify (read: talk myself into) the expense of a controller someday soon.
Yup - I hate to buy one too - cause the one I want would really get some more NICE corals - but the thing is gonna get bought this year eventually. I'm talked into it - but then I go "looking" at corals and before you know it, fed ex shows up with a box (r 2) - and there's no controller in it....lol
 
slice

slice

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by tangs rule http:///forum/thread/386954/heaters#post_3401304
I wish Slice lived closer to me - I could sure use help with scaping and future specemin selection. His tank is so clean, and his pics of it are awesome!
Thanks again! Credit where credit is due, some many months ago Saxman posted some picture taking tips like using a tripod and timer, getting completely square to the glass, turning down the exposure, manipulating the auto focus, etc.
As for me living closer....you couldn't afford the beer...
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slice http:///forum/thread/386954/heaters#post_3401319
This scares the crap out of me; has for some time now. I think this alone warrants a controller that shuts off power to the heater when not called on for heat. I will justify (read: talk myself into) the expense of a controller someday soon.
I had a heater fail in the summer. It had only been in use for about 3 months, and most of the time it was off. Luckily, it came with an alarm and it went off when the temp reached 91. I was very lucky I was at home (I wasn't supposed to be).
 
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