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Unread 12/17/2018, 09:28 PM   #1
ibryson
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Heating a large tank

What do you all recommend for heating a 180 gallon reef tank? BRS doesnt have many options, and the one 800watt heater I saw requires an extrenal controller. Im not opposed to this but would like to hear what everyone else is using? Also, which brands are most reliable in your experience? I was looking at finnex and Cobalt but the biggest cobalt is only rated up to 75 gallons so id need several of them.


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Unread 12/17/2018, 10:08 PM   #2
slief
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I would recommend 2 smaller heaters over one larger one as you are less likely to have a catostrophic failure from a smaller heater than a larger one. And I would definitely go with external controllers even if the heater has it’s own controller. When I use controllers like the Apex or Profilux, I always use a dedidcated heater controller and use the Apex/profilux as a fail safe because heater thermostats fail. Personally, I would choose any titanium heater and as for sizing, it really depends on what the ambient temps of your tank are without a heater. If I were going into it blindly without knowing what temps your tank runs at or what pumps you are running and other equipment that will transfer heat into the tank in addition to the room temps, I would say two 200 watt heaters or two 300 watt heaters,


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Unread 12/17/2018, 11:19 PM   #3
Seasidenj
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2 300 should be fine.Thats what I'm using and I had no problems


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Unread 12/19/2018, 01:28 AM   #4
candymancan
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I use a single 300w on my 135. But ny tank is in my bedroom on the 3rd floor so its warm up there..

If your tank is in the basement id use 2 300w heaters.. Also depends how thick the glass is if its glass. or if its acrylic each of these holds more heat or less heat.. acrylic would insulate better. In fact my 2nd 300w heater which i had on my 135 thinking i needed two.. zi put on my 60g hexagon.. and i had to unplugg it.. Acrylic i noticed held so mucj heat that my tank was always 78-80f so i dont even run a heater on that tank

As for brands Id get the Eheim Jager heaters. there very accurate and reliable...


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Unread 12/19/2018, 10:16 AM   #5
steallife904
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I also try to not let the room get to cold either. try to keep a fine balance of keeping the heater for the house running and the heater in the tank. I never let the heater for house under 69 or 70 in winter. I also live in FL so maybe easier said than done for me but in my case it hasn't caused my bill to run any higher.


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Unread 12/19/2018, 11:31 AM   #6
mcgyvr
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As stated multiple heaters are typically used/recommended.. Its kind of a failsafe in the event of one failing you don't loose all your heat.. or don't have enough power to cook the tank should one fail on..

Usually multiplying the tank size in gallons by 3-5 gives you an appropriate wattage..
So a 100G tank could use between 300-500 W of heaters... (lower will just run longer.. higher heats up quicker)..

Eheim Jager heaters are commonly recommended as some of the best..

Its highly recommended to not rely on the devices internal thermometers as they are known to fail (all brands) so many recommend something like a Ranco temp controller or one that comes with your reef controller,etc...

Its also highly recommended to never fully submerge the heater even if its rated for fully submersible.. Leave the controller top section above the water as that interface (glass to plastic or whatever) is what can/will fail and you get a leak,etc...

And always all line powered submerged equipment should (I say MUST) be on a GFCI circuit to save your life in the event of a fault with live high voltage accessible in the water.. You wouldn't take a bath with a toaster so don't run line powered equipment in your tank without the same GFCI protection..


I personally have stopped using heaters as I keep my house at 78 in the summer and 70 in the winter..
I have been testing those cooler temps this winter and so far the tank doesn't seem to have any problems running in the 70-72 deg F range..


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Unread 12/21/2018, 12:22 AM   #7
candymancan
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I will say 70-72 is pretty darn cold.. The oceon doesnt get that cold in tropical regions.. So i dunno, id be more concerned with colder temps then warmer temps.. If my reef got to 84-86f for example i wouldnt even care.. but 70f.. i dunno lol


Quote:
Originally Posted by steallife904 View Post
I also try to not let the room get to cold either. try to keep a fine balance of keeping the heater for the house running and the heater in the tank. I never let the heater for house under 69 or 70 in winter. I also live in FL so maybe easier said than done for me but in my case it hasn't caused my bill to run any higher.

Your lucky you live in a mild state, in Virginia we have identical humidty and 100-110f summers.. and in the winter it gets 10-20f sometimes colder for long periods. If i had my heat at 69-70f id have to run space heaters to not freeze lol


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Unread 12/21/2018, 12:38 AM   #8
tkeracer619
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Quote:
Originally Posted by candymancan View Post
I will say 70-72 is pretty darn cold.. The oceon doesnt get that cold in tropical regions.. So i dunno, id be more concerned with colder temps then warmer temps.. If my reef got to 84-86f for example i wouldnt even care.. but 70f.. i dunno lol

Heat in the house set to 70, not the reef. Also, dissolved oxygen starts to become a problem in our reefs at 85, I would worry at 85.


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Unread 12/21/2018, 05:50 AM   #9
mcgyvr
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tkeracer619 View Post
Heat in the house set to 70, not the reef. .
I think they may have put 70-72 from my post not the one they quoted..
I'm running my reef at 70-72 now as I'm not using heaters and house is set to 70..
I get some heat from the t5's during the day hence the above 70..


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Unread 12/21/2018, 06:54 AM   #10
pecan2phat
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IMO, the more a heater needs to cycle on and off, the greater the failure rate.
I had a 75g sump for a 1st floor 180g DT in a basement that would get to about 62º in the dead of winter. Used two 500w heaters and had to routinely change one of the two heaters every 12~24 months (1~2 heating seasons).
The 75g basement sump was broken down after 10 years and a small IceCap sump is now under the tank on the 1st floor and the room temperature only dips to 69º at night, 72º during the day.
Since bring the sump upstairs and to a warmer environment, I've downgraded to two 300w heaters and they heat the tank fine without the seasonal failures so far hence the reason why I believe the failure rate increases if increased cycling occurs.


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Unread 12/21/2018, 08:32 AM   #11
Dmorty217
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcgyvr View Post
I think they may have put 70-72 from my post not the one they quoted..
I'm running my reef at 70-72 now as I'm not using heaters and house is set to 70..
I get some heat from the t5's during the day hence the above 70..
I take it that your corals and fish don't seem to mind? I am thinking of running my tank at 70-72 so I don't have to use heaters.


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Unread 12/28/2018, 01:24 PM   #12
bplevy
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I am between tanks right now (waiting on a 150 I ordered), but in my last house I had 290 gal and 190 gal tanks (display volumes). I ended up not using any heaters. I found the pumps and MH lights kept the tanks more than warm enough. Yes, there was some slight temp variations between day and night, but I have done a lot of snorkeling and I have found the ocean is not a constant temperature either. For the risks of the heaters, I would try to run without first and see what type of temp variations you have. You might be able to get away without a heater like I did in the past.


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Unread 01/17/2019, 03:08 AM   #13
tkeracer619
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The biggest problem running a reef tank that low is that you are running so close to the minimum. 76 go 78 is a great temp because you're in the middle of the range. It simply takes longer to hit a damaging temp when somrthing goes wrong.


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Unread 01/17/2019, 05:05 AM   #14
Syntax1325
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I use a 800 watt finnex tube with a ranco controller plugged into an Apex.


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Unread 01/17/2019, 07:20 AM   #15
tom obrecht
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I just saw a recent video on the Aqualogic in line heaters. Maybe an option? I can not recommend them one way or another but maybe do a “look into”? I personally run Finnex titanium with external controller and have had the least amount of issues of any heater configuration I’ve used.


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Unread 01/22/2019, 05:08 PM   #16
tufkab
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ibryson View Post
What do you all recommend for heating a 180 gallon reef tank? BRS doesnt have many options, and the one 800watt heater I saw requires an extrenal controller. Im not opposed to this but would like to hear what everyone else is using? Also, which brands are most reliable in your experience? I was looking at finnex and Cobalt but the biggest cobalt is only rated up to 75 gallons so id need several of them.
Eheim Jager. Period. Still using the first one that I bought 12 years ago. You'll find amazon littered with reviews from people that have had them for longer than I have. I've seen countless forum threads about other brand heaters blowing up in a tank, but I've never heard of a Jager blowing up in a tank.

As was mentioned above me, use a pair of lower wattage heaters for redundancy and protection. Failure of one out of two properly sized heaters can neither cook your tank nor let it drop to dangerously low temps.


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Unread 01/28/2019, 10:15 PM   #17
ibryson
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Originally Posted by tufkab View Post
Eheim Jager. Period. Still using the first one that I bought 12 years ago. You'll find amazon littered with reviews from people that have had them for longer than I have. I've seen countless forum threads about other brand heaters blowing up in a tank, but I've never heard of a Jager blowing up in a tank.

As was mentioned above me, use a pair of lower wattage heaters for redundancy and protection. Failure of one out of two properly sized heaters can neither cook your tank nor let it drop to dangerously low temps.

Good news! I bought two Eheim Jager 300 watt heaters. However, I made a rookie mistake of assuming they would fit in my sump. Of course, they are too long. What do you think about putting 1 heater in each of my overflow boxes? My tank has two overflows on each side of the tank and thats the only area tall enough to house the heaters. Im worried there wont be enough water flow in that area...what do you think?


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Unread 01/28/2019, 11:33 PM   #18
tkeracer619
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Im worried there wont be enough water flow in that area...what do you think?
There is the same amount of water flow in the overflows as there is through your sump.

As long as there is no chance that water could drain below the minimum water level for the heater you are fine. If there is any possible chance water drains from the overflow box you can't put them there.


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Unread 01/28/2019, 11:50 PM   #19
tkeracer619
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Just please keep in mind when plugging a large heater load into a reef controller that the amperage ads up quickly. The Apex EB8 only has two outlets that can handle 800w of heaters and that takes up over half of the EB8's power capacity.

Also, consider when you start throwing that big of a load where that puts you on your electrical circuits. Heating big tanks can prove to be a challenge. I'm actually switching over to a gas heat loop from my hot water heater. My system is burning 800w 24/7 to keep the tank at 75deg during the winter. I could easily use an entire 15a circuit just to heat the system. 56 square feet of water surface evaps a lot of heat...


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Unread 01/30/2019, 09:55 PM   #20
d-man
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I have a 500w on my 960g DT/1209g TWV. I do have 4 halides but the tank goes from 74.6-77. Heater is set for 75-76. Controlled by apex and the heater thermometer.

This is my first winter on this tank, I say winter cuz it did get to 38 for a few days at night but days were in the 60s. Which is winter in San Diego


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Unread 02/01/2019, 11:37 PM   #21
jtdesotel
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Originally Posted by d-man View Post
I have a 500w on my 960g DT/1209g TWV. I do have 4 halides but the tank goes from 74.6-77. Heater is set for 75-76. Controlled by apex and the heater thermometer.

This is my first winter on this tank, I say winter cuz it did get to 38 for a few days at night but days were in the 60s. Which is winter in San Diego
Is the heater on a lot more than it is off?


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Unread 02/02/2019, 04:45 PM   #22
Dmorty217
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I had 3 heaters on my 625g/825 TWV ranging from 3-500w and they ran all the time. I added 2 MH fixtures to the tank and now the heaters never run. Tank is in the basement and is constantly 76-77


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Unread 02/02/2019, 07:35 PM   #23
d-man
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Is the heater on a lot more than it is off?
Not too bad. Keeps the tank pretty stable except if it’s down in low 40s for a week or so straight


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Unread 02/02/2019, 08:33 PM   #24
pisces 12
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I always used Ehime Jagers heaters n ever had a problem, 350gal total water volume and i have 2 300 watt heaters going no controller and they have always served well temp is steady at 78 degrees


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