Let's talk heaters

[harleyguy]

I was going down the list of things I need to acquire for the new tank and up popped Heaters. The last time I even used a heater was in my nano, but with this tank, my fish room will be in the basement and I'm afraid that the temp might drop more than I would like. So here is what I want to know.

1. What heaters are you using and why?
2. How many watts on what size system?
3. IYO what are the best heaters on the market and why?
4. Where are your heaters within your system?

I'm sure there will be other questions as they come up, but this should get us started...

 

[FutureInterest]

1. I use ebo jagers cause I always have and always will until one craps out on me. Mine are greater than 6 years old and still working like a charm. I'm not exactly sure how old they are as I got them used...

2. The general rule is 3 watts per gallon.

3. A lot of people seem to recommend stealth heaters. I'm not sure why though.

4. In my overflow.

I also use a ranco controller for the heaters and the "chiller". I got it used several years ago and its a rock. I think its wise in general to have several safeguards when it comes to heaters.

 

[victor626nj]

FutureInterest;151403 wrote: 1. I use ebo jagers cause I always have and always will until one craps out on me. Mine are greater than 6 years old and still working like a charm. I'm not exactly sure how old they are as I got them used...

2. The general rule is 3 watts per gallon.

3. A lot of people seem to recommend stealth heaters. I'm not sure why though.

4. In my overflow.

I also use a ranco controller for the heaters and the "chiller". I got it used several years ago and its a rock. I think its wise in general to have several safeguards when it comes to heaters.

i like them as well but now they are made by a diffrent company and the thermometer in them take a **** and you can fry your tank sam discontiued them for this reason

 

[harleyguy]

What about the Aqua Medic Titanium heaters... I assume you don't have to use their controller. I would rather use my Aquacontroller III Pro.

 

[darren24]

I like the idea of using 2 smaller heaters versus 1 larger heater. That way if one fails nothing happens real fast.

 

[harleyguy]

I was thinking 3 1000W heaters

 

[schwaggs]

1. What heaters are you using and why?
Stealth heaters - unbreakable and cheap

2. How many watts on what size system?
I have 700W on my 500G system, works fine. My tank and sump are indoors ~62-65 degrees in the winter, you may need more if parts of your system are in unheated space.

3. IYO what are the best heaters on the market and why?
Not sure, I like the Steath heaters, they seem reliable so far...

4. Where are your heaters within your system?
1 in the sump, 1 in the fuge and 1 in one of my overflows. All three are controlled by X10 using my ACIII. I also have the built in thermostats in the heaters set to around 80 just in case my controller sticks on my tank won't fry (hasn't happened yet) .

 

[blind1993]

the stealths were what i was talking about not the visi therms, sorry.

 

[harleyguy]

I'll be honest... Heaters scare the **** out of me...

 

[harleyguy]

This is one place that I feel I need to buy the absolute best.

 

[blind1993]

Harleyguy;151425 wrote: This is one place that I feel I need to buy the absolute best.

lets see if you can get tunze to make heaters or deltech.

 

[schwaggs]

Harleyguy;151418 wrote: I was thinking 3 1000W heaters

If you are using an Aquacontroller to run them, you may want to limit your heaters to 250W each so they can be controlled by X10 lamp modules. The lamp modules are silent when turning on and off. If you have 1000W heaters, you will need appliance modules and they are loud when they switch on and off. If you need 3000W of heater, you will need a couple dedcated electical circuits just for them .

 

[harleyguy]

Schwaggs;151427 wrote: If you are using an Aquacontroller to run them, you may want to limit your heaters to 250W each so they can be controlled by X10 lamp modules. The lamp modules are silent when turning on and off. If you have 1000W heaters, you will need appliance modules and they are loud when they switch on and off. If you need 3000W of heater, you will need a couple dedcated electical circuits just for them .

I was thinking 1 DC4HD on a 20A circuit.

 

[blind1993]

look at this it is pretty cool.

if you have aton of wrasses this might do some good. http://www.desertcoralaquatics.com/heaters/tunze-substrate-heating-cable-80-watt/prod_1430.html">http://www.desertcoralaquatics.com/heaters/tunze-substrate-heating-cable-80-watt/prod_1430.html</a>


also this might help your decision [IMG]http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/toppicks/tp/TPheaters.htm">http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/toppicks/tp/TPheaters.htm</a>

 

[dannybradley]

The AquaMedic ones are just rebranded Won units. I've used both. I've had two Won D-58 controllers fail in the past 7 months that have been running a little over a year. They read a 78 degree tank at over 130 degrees.

I've had one Ebo Jager heater emit water and fail, but only one out of several. My favorite glass heater.

I would avoid Rena heaters like the plague. The one they sent to me to test while in retail emitted water and failed.

The Marineland Stealth heater is by far my favorite. They don't have the clout of a Ti heater, but I've only ever seen one fail, and I've sold over 100 and isntalled at least a dozen myself. The only way a Ti heater beats the stealth is the amount of heat they produce for the wattage consumed. I've run them as low as .75 watts per gallon and still maintained 78 degrees all winter.

The Stealths are nearly impossible to kill. They have a thermostat. They have auto shutoff in case of overheating. They have a lifetime warranty. The one I saw fail was replaced by the store and the store was reimbursed by Marineland.

I recommend 3-5 watts per gallon. The higher the watt the less work the heater has to do and the longer it will last. It will also keep the temperature more stable. It shouldn't really cost more to run a higher watt heater, as they do the job faster and are on less.

 

[skriz]

DON"T buy titanium heaters, they suck bigtime, especially Finnex. I have a couple of heaters and controllers in my garage that light up, but don't heat up.

I have the older ebo jagers; they'll last forever. I also have a stealth.

With the way my system is setup, I never need heaters; the tanks always stays warm. You'll probably have the same problem</em> unless your sump is in a significantly colder area.

 

[harleyguy]

I don't plan on buying heaters until after the system is up and running with lights. that way I can see how cold it gets at night. I'm certain that I will have to have heaters in the winter, my fish room is in my basement and it cold down there. I will look into heating the room, but it will likely be cheaper to heat the water.

 

[schwaggs]

Harleyguy;151429 wrote: I was thinking 1 DC4HD on a 20A circuit.

A DC4HD can only do 12-15 AMPs or around 1800 watts. Besides, it is a good idea to split your heaters across 2 separate circuits just in case one circuit trips, you still have 1/2 your heat...

 

[skriz]

Harleyguy;151452 wrote: I don't plan on buying heaters until after the system is up and running with lights. that way I can see how cold it gets at night. I'm certain that I will have to have heaters in the winter, my fish room is in my basement and it cold down there. I will look into heating the room, but it will likely be cheaper to heat the water.

You could just tee a vent into the fish room..A/C in the summer, heat in the winter, no extra expense...

 

[kwl1763]

Heaters are no doubt the worst peice of equip on our tanks.

I use Ebo's but also run them on my aquacontroller with their internal thermometer set at 82. Then at least 2 things have to go wrong at the same time. I also have 4 heaters 250W each spread over 3 circuits for a bit over 600G of water.