Heater(s) choice

yevgenb · 03/07/2018, 10:59 PM

Today I found my heater behaved strange I decided it’s time to upgrade. Would be two 100w heaters proper choice for 43g rank? I think general idea is to set second heater couple degrees lower for redundancy.

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Frogmanx82 · 03/08/2018, 12:35 AM

Seems a little low to me as I have a couple 300 watt heaters on a 90. I know that a single 300 watt heater will not get me more than 10 degrees. Depends how much evaporation you get and how cold your house gets in the winter, but I would think a couple 150s would be safer. Also I'd set them at about the same temp to keep one from overworking and make sure you stay at the set point.

mcgyvr · 03/08/2018, 05:40 AM

2 x 100W should be ok for a 40G tank assuming that your ambient room temperature is no more than like 8 degrees cooler than the temperature you want to keep the tank at..
2 x 125W (or 150)would be better if you keep your room temp around 68-70..

And yes you set them at the same temp and I would recommend a controller like an inkbird blue.. Heaters are known to fail.. Having them run on a controller is a good way to help ensure that when the heater temperature controls fail it doesn't overheat your tank.

Inkbird blue is like $30 and you can plug 2 heaters right into it..
https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Tempe...aquarium&psc=1

yevgenb · 03/08/2018, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

2 x 100W should be ok for a 40G tank assuming that your ambient room temperature is no more than like 8 degrees cooler than the temperature you want to keep the tank at..
2 x 125W (or 150)would be better if you keep your room temp around 68-70..

And yes you set them at the same temp and I would recommend a controller like an inkbird blue.. Heaters are known to fail.. Having them run on a controller is a good way to help ensure that when the heater temperature controls fail it doesn't overheat your tank.

Inkbird blue is like $30 and you can plug 2 heaters right into it..
https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Tempe...aquarium&psc=1

I wonder what will happens when controller fails? Thats a single point of failure.

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Bent · 03/08/2018, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yevgenb

I wonder what will happens when controller fails? Thats a single point of failure.

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Not if your using heaters with internal thermostats.

mcgyvr · 03/08/2018, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yevgenb

I wonder what will happens when controller fails? Thats a single point of failure.

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If heaters thermostat fail controller shuts them off..
If controller fails.. heater thermostat shuts them off..

two points of failure would be required to cause problems..

Typically I recommend setting the heater thermostats just slightly higher than the controller.. First so that they don't shut off before the controller tells them too and second so that if you check and see that the temp is a bit higher than it should be you know the controller failed..

benjammin03 · 03/08/2018, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

If heaters thermostat fail controller shuts them off..
If controller fails.. heater thermostat shuts them off..

two points of failure would be required to cause problems..

Typically I recommend setting the heater thermostats just slightly higher than the controller.. First so that they don't shut off before the controller tells them too and second so that if you check and see that the temp is a bit higher than it should be you know the controller failed..

It's a single point of failure if the controller fails to turn on your heaters. You have much more time to save a cool tank than an overheated tank, but it's still a single point of failure. Having said that, I have no problem trusting the inkbird.

mcgyvr · 03/08/2018, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benjammin03

It's a single point of failure if the controller fails to turn on your heaters. You have much more time to save a cool tank than an overheated tank, but it's still a single point of failure. Having said that, I have no problem trusting the inkbird.

Yes.. failing to heat is not nearly as bad as failing to stop heating..

If one is overly cautious then running a controller for each heater would be the solution to eliminate single point failures across the board..

oh and make sure you feed each from a different electrical panel fed by a different utility company in a different world.

ca1ore · 03/08/2018, 03:59 PM

There is no way to entirely eliminate the possibility of failure. All you can do is to provide redundancy for the things most likely to fail. Heck, I run three independent switches for my ATO, yet I still had a problem once with the entire volume being dumped into the tank. Reason was almost unbelievable.

Nick30G · 03/09/2018, 06:51 AM

I have about 40g of water volume here and I have a inkbird controlling two Eheim Jager 100w heaters. I would say this is about the right size for my tank. However it can take a while to heat the tank back up. I would recommend two 125w heaters...

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gabe145 · 03/10/2018, 09:25 AM

I would use 2 125w or 3 100w I would also set them maybe 2 degrees apart so that it doesn't shock the system and the chances of all of them running at once are less likely unless needed during the coldest parts of the day.

Salty Waffles · 03/10/2018, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ca1ore

There is no way to entirely eliminate the possibility of failure. All you can do is to provide redundancy for the things most likely to fail. Heck, I run three independent switches for my ATO, yet I still had a problem once with the entire volume being dumped into the tank. Reason was almost unbelievable.

I'm curious. What was the reason?

Dave_Buffalo · 11/17/2019, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

2 x 100W should be ok for a 40G tank assuming that your ambient room temperature is no more than like 8 degrees cooler than the temperature you want to keep the tank at..
2 x 125W (or 150)would be better if you keep your room temp around 68-70..

And yes you set them at the same temp and I would recommend a controller like an inkbird blue.. Heaters are known to fail.. Having them run on a controller is a good way to help ensure that when the heater temperature controls fail it doesn't overheat your tank.

Inkbird blue is like $30 and you can plug 2 heaters right into it..
https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Tempe...aquarium&psc=1

I am searching for solutions to my thermostat(s) being unreliable, resulting in Temp. fluctuation in the tank. I like the idea of the CONTROLLER that can take 2 heater inputs, but if I'm going to invest in a controller, might as well have one with an alarm.

DOES ANYONE know of a good Temp. controller, takes 2 heater inputs, and has an alarm?

mcgyvr · 11/18/2019, 05:42 AM

The inkbird I linked to works with 2 heaters and has an audible over temp alarm.
It works just fine.. But if you are having issues with your heaters there is only so much a controller can do as the internal heaters tstat is still required to function (or at least force it on all the time)
(replied to your other post about this too)

03/07/2018, 10:59 PM	#1
yevgenb Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 54	Heater(s) choice Today I found my heater behaved strange I decided it’s time to upgrade. Would be two 100w heaters proper choice for 43g rank? I think general idea is to set second heater couple degrees lower for redundancy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

03/08/2018, 12:35 AM	#2
Frogmanx82 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,515	Seems a little low to me as I have a couple 300 watt heaters on a 90. I know that a single 300 watt heater will not get me more than 10 degrees. Depends how much evaporation you get and how cold your house gets in the winter, but I would think a couple 150s would be safer. Also I'd set them at about the same temp to keep one from overworking and make sure you stay at the set point. __________________ Exodus 8:2 Check my homepage for tank pics and details. Current Tank Info: 90 gallon, 2x maxspect R420R LED, 4 Ocellaris Clowns, Yellow Eye Kole Tang, Flame Angel, Foxface Rabbitfish, Banggai Cardinals, Azure Damsel, rock flower anemone, cleaner shrimp, serpent star

03/08/2018, 05:40 AM	#3
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	2 x 100W should be ok for a 40G tank assuming that your ambient room temperature is no more than like 8 degrees cooler than the temperature you want to keep the tank at.. 2 x 125W (or 150)would be better if you keep your room temp around 68-70.. And yes you set them at the same temp and I would recommend a controller like an inkbird blue.. Heaters are known to fail.. Having them run on a controller is a good way to help ensure that when the heater temperature controls fail it doesn't overheat your tank. Inkbird blue is like $30 and you can plug 2 heaters right into it.. https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Tempe...aquarium&psc=1 __________________ Who me?

03/08/2018, 03:59 PM	#9
ca1ore Grizzled & Cynical Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 17,319	There is no way to entirely eliminate the possibility of failure. All you can do is to provide redundancy for the things most likely to fail. Heck, I run three independent switches for my ATO, yet I still had a problem once with the entire volume being dumped into the tank. Reason was almost unbelievable. __________________ Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs

11/18/2019, 05:42 AM	#14
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	The inkbird I linked to works with 2 heaters and has an audible over temp alarm. It works just fine.. But if you are having issues with your heaters there is only so much a controller can do as the internal heaters tstat is still required to function (or at least force it on all the time) (replied to your other post about this too) __________________ Who me?

03/09/2018, 06:51 AM	#10
Nick30G Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 265	I have about 40g of water volume here and I have a inkbird controlling two Eheim Jager 100w heaters. I would say this is about the right size for my tank. However it can take a while to heat the tank back up. I would recommend two 125w heaters... Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

03/10/2018, 09:25 AM	#11
gabe145 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Key Largo, FL Posts: 50	I would use 2 125w or 3 100w I would also set them maybe 2 degrees apart so that it doesn't shock the system and the chances of all of them running at once are less likely unless needed during the coldest parts of the day.