Heater questions (1 Viewer)

[below radar]

Two questions;
1. What brand heaters do y'all run?
2. Is it better to get an oversized heater?

I have a 50w in my 10g QTs and in my 30g water tanks

 

[Diesel]

Don't about oversized as I run two 300W Jeagers.
Right now have them both turned off on the APEX.

 

[chris85]

Like diesel said run a couple undersize in case something happens.

 

[Andy]

Use 2 undersized in case one sticks in the ON position, that way it hopefully will not fry your tank

I use Eheim JAGER Aquarium heaters

 

[Mark L.]

Agree with everyone. 2 undersized in case of failure. I run the full titanium Finnex heaters. There are no controls on the heater to malfunction. It's a power cord going into a titanium heater element. I let my Apex do all the controlling and temp reading.

 

[RR-MAN]

If you are running eheim jäger remember to calibrate-mine was off by two degrees. I used a cheap glass thermometer and RKE controller to compare and calibrate.

 

[reeftopia]

Oh how many tanks have been fried by an oversized heater that sticks open

 

[below radar]

Agree with everyone. 2 undersized in case of failure. I run the full titanium Finnex heaters. There are no controls on the heater to malfunction. It's a power cord going into a titanium heater element. I let my Apex do all the controlling and temp reading.

Do you run 2 300s?

 

[Andy]

If you are running eheim jäger remember to calibrate-mine was off by two degrees. I used a cheap glass thermometer and RKE controller to compare and calibrate.

I run them both into apex. Even if apex fails and sticks on, the set point on heater is 78 ish and it will turn itself off.

If heater sticks on, apex turns it off. 2 items must fail to screw up.

 

[FarmerTy]

I'm a big fan of the titanium Finnex heaters. Just plug them into my Apex and done. It's been running strong for 3 years now with no issues.

 

[d2mini]

I do the exact same as MarkL.

 

[Tangs]

I am not too fussy about the heater quality but it is probably a good idea to get a good quality ones in the long run. I have a few heaters in my tank. Having a few is a good back up in case one fails to work. It will make you use less electricity compared to one big one cus you can shut off the small ones if you do not need much heat. If you have a big tank it might distribute the heat around better having a few small ones spread out the tank. I only have one big one I try to make sure is set properly to kick in when it gets cold out and I am away on a trip. In Canada we think 60 f is warm out lol

 

[GotFrogs]

I run them both into apex. Even if apex fails and sticks on, the set point on heater is 78 ish and it will turn itself off.

If heater sticks on, apex turns it off. 2 items must fail to screw up.

I would strongly recommend this approach. I do the same thing on both of my tanks. This requires two failures to have a catastrophic effect on your tank. People that use the heaters without a thermostat in then scare me. I have had an Apex temperature probes fail before which could be really bad if you don't have a backup thermostat in the actual heater.

 

[below radar]

Yes...definitely run the heaters through the APEX

 

[Reefahholic]

I need new heaters!

 

[Reefahholic]

So Mark, D2, and TXAcro....how do you guys feel about malfunction?

 

[freeswimmingfish]

I also use 2 of the titanium Finnex heaters, both are 300w. One is controlled by my Reefkeeper, the other is controlled by the heater stage of my chiller.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Reefahholic]

Ok, so now 4 of you. What about a fail safe?

 

[Reefahholic]

I would strongly recommend this approach. I do the same thing on both of my tanks. This requires two failures to have a catastrophic effect on your tank. People that use the heaters without a thermostat in then scare me. I have had an Apex temperature probes fail before which could be really bad if you don't have a backup thermostat in the actual heater.

I gotta side with Andy and Gotfrogs on this one.

I feel safer with 2 failsafes.

 

[reefling]

I agree with everyone else that suggested 2 smaller heaters. I personally do not run heaters. We are in Houston. I am fine with my temp hitting 76 degrees. If you cool your house to 70 or 72, you may want one. I dont have an AC vent blowing on my tank, so I go without the heater. It has been up for a year last October, and the fish have been fine.

If you use a heater, use two small ones and plug into the controller as an extra safeguard. Lots of things in this hobby happen that can create disasters. Many we cannot control, but in this case you can. Why not take advantage?