which heater 800w?

[dawgface]

Looking for a decent 800W heater for a 200 gallon tank, I don't need any bells or whistles as it will be ran with a controller. Any ideas?

 

[rbredding]

that is a CRAZY huge heater... (isn't it?)

I've got a 250 on my 130gal system and it's never on for more than 20 minutes..

 

[dawgface]

I have two 300w on my 72 (125 with sump) and both are dialed in at 87 to reach 79 in my house. From what I understand a 800w heater heats 175-250 gallon tanks... could be wrong?

 

[jbadd99]

According to every calculator I ran, 800w was what was recommended for my 120g set up with 40g breeder sump.

I've never checked to see how long it stays on, but I know it's not long.

I ended up with the JBJ titanium heater and controller.

 

[rbredding]

I would think that if you can increase the flow around your heater, it would function more efficiently (to a point, of course)..

mine is in the sump, at the bottom of the last bubble trap, all the water that runs through the sump, passes by the heater..

I think that it does a pretty good job where it is.. (obviously different than having it in an overflow or a corner of the tank that doesn't get much flow.)

sorry, just checked, I've got a 300W heater, not a 250..

 

[dawgface]

I tried one of my heaters in the sump and ended up removing it to the DT as I couldn't keep heat above 75. On the contrary however your not the only one I've seen or heard of using 300w for your size take and slightly above.

 

[gnashty]

I used a 200 watt on my 210 for a year...never paid attention to how long it was on but I imagine ALOT~

I now use a 400 and 500 on my 180 and they are not on very long at all. I put the 500w titanium on my brute to heat some water up quick. forgot about it and my WC water was 113 degrees! and rising....

 

[dawgface]

Any other large tankers with opinions here? What do you use?

 

[acroholic]

I use a single 500 watt titanium element controlled by a Ranco controller on my 210 freshwater tank with sump. I think most published guides for the amount of heat you need in a tank are way overestimated, particularly for reef tanks. We have so much in the way of heat producing peripheral equipment in our tanks that we need to take that into consideration as well, meaning pumps and powerheads. I would probably go with two 300 watt Ebo-jaegers in my 450 gallon net system if I were to hear the water separately. Right now I have a heater/chiller combo that works well.

 

[jonathan]

I agree with Acroholic. Go with 2 300w jagers and use a separate controller/thermostat to drive them. I personally don't trust any of the on-board thermostats and still use a Medusa for temp control.

Good Luck!

Jonathan

 

[dawgface]

What is the benifit in running two 300w and not one 500w or 800w?

 

[acroholic]

ja4207;621515 wrote: What is the benifit in running two 300w and not one 500w or 800w?

Here is the rationale: Most folks recommend using 2-3 smaller wattage heaters for the sake of redundancy, so if one should fail, you still have 1-2 others to heat the water until you notice one is gone.

Titanium heating elements with controller vs 2-3 smaller glass types with internal thermostat. A titanium heating element is just that, a heat element with a 3 prong plug attached. Plug it in and it heats. No control, so you need a controller (Ranco, RKE,Apex,Medusa) if you use that type. A ti element with a controller is one line of control and no redundancy.

2-3 smaller glass type heaters and a controller is one line of redundancy. The internal t'stat of the heater is there if the external controller fails (stuck on), and the external controller is there in case the internal t'stat of the glass type heater fails. With glass type heaters and external controllers, you set the internal t'stat a bit higher that the external controller, like have the external at 78 and the internal at 80. that way, the external does the controlling, but the internal is also there if the external sticks on. If the internal t'stat sticks on, the external keeps it from overheating the water.

 

[rbredding]

Acroholic;621529 wrote:
Titanium heating elements with controller vs 2-3 smaller glass types with internal thermostat. A titanium heating element is just that, a heat element with a 3 prong plug attached. Plug it in and it heats. No control, so you need a controller (Ranco, RKE,Apex,Medusa) if you use that type. A ti element with a controller is one line of control and no redundancy.

I use this kind..