Big heater in small tank

[skymastre]

So here is the scenario

House temperature runs from 65-70 now that winter is upon us.

24 gallon aquapod currently has a marineland 100 W heater in it. Works fine at maintaining temperature at 78-80.

The problem is if I set my house thermostat to 55, the ambient temp is too low and the heater can't keep up. So, any time I travel the tank starts to drop in temp (caught it at 73 over the weekend when I was away-tank inhabitants are OK).

What do people think about throwing a 250W heater into the tank? Is there a problem with having a 'big heater' in a small tank?

 

[jef4y]

it's a bigger risk if the thing sticks on, but other than that it should work...

 

[enderg60]

add a second 100w heater and get yourself a controller

 

[acroholic]

EnderG60;581073 wrote: add a second 100w heater and get yourself a controller

Ender's solution would be the best, IMO, but a larger than needed heater is fine as long as it doesn't malfunction, like Jeff said.

 

[skymastre]

Acroholic;581075 wrote: Ender's solution would be the best, IMO, but a larger than needed heater is fine as long as it doesn't malfunction, like Jeff said.

Thanks guys.

The heater/temp thing is a constant PITA. I'll take correcting water quality issues over heater any day.

Any recs on controllers?

 

[acroholic]

skymastre;581081 wrote: Any recs on controllers?

I'm assuming you do not already have a controller like a Reefkeeper Lite or similar? If you do then you can control a heater off of it, as long as you have a temp probe.

If you want to buy a controller just for a heater, then I'd recommend a Ranco. I've been using them for years on my large FW tanks.

As long as you would drop $75 or so for a Ranco, you might consider an RKL. They cost a bit more, but can do so much for your tank. Just a thought.

 

[glxtrix]

A little big, but well worth the money....or as stated, you could get a RKL for a little more and have several things on the controller. IMO, 73 is not an issue, though I wouldn't go to far below that.

 

[mojo]

skymastre;581081 wrote: Thanks guys.

The heater/temp thing is a constant PITA. I'll take correcting water quality issues over heater any day.

Any recs on controllers?

Actually, heating is perhaps the easiest problem to solve in reef tanks, IMO. It's one of the few controls that can be turned on and off as much as needed, without fear of damaging the equipment. And you can keep the parameter as close to the ideal as you want. Compare this to chemicals, where it's easy to overshoot and/or affect the inhabitants, or chillers, which require minimum run periods, startup periods, etc. Give me heaters any day!

As for a controller, it can be something as simple as a Ranco (very reliable) or RKL or as complex as an Apex unit. It all comes down to your budget and other needs.

 

[glxtrix]

^ smarty pants

 

[acroholic]

glxtrix;581101 wrote: ^ smarty pants

Who elected him President? Oh yea.....I did.