Who needs the heat?

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

A co-worker lost their fish and some corals this weekend because a faulty heater. I would like to hear what <u>risk management</u> you have in place to alleviate any failures from any faulty heaters. To you have a backup plan just in case .......

What brand of heaters are you using? Do you just change the old heater with a new one every year or so? Tell us you ideas about not being a statistic when it comes to heating your tank.

Wannabee

 

[myreefclub0070]

well, I have 3 heaters on my system, 500w reef octopus titanium heater with a remote controller which is my main heater, a 450w aqua top digital heater which is set to 1 degree lower than the main so if the main fails off for some reason the back up kicks in and last but not lease is an ehiem 300w which is set 1 degree less than the secondary so if the first 2 fails I'll be on the last reserve.
this set up in all incase these heaters fail in the off position, so what would happen if they fail in the on position you ask, well I'll tell you.....they are all plugged into the apex and set to turn off if the temp. goes above my set temp.

 

[shrimpy brains]

I didn't use heaters for a long time due to all the stories about heaters. Then someone posted about these $20 heater controllers(I think they are about $25 to $30 now) Anyway, I bought several a couple of years ago. They seem to work well.

 

[russ-iv]

i have a 265 with a 300w heater. i hit 81 just fine.

if somethng goes awry with my heater my 1/2 hp chiller will kick on

 

[hiimsean]

I have a single 200w I think on my 90g. I use my Apex to control it. In the summer it never kicks on but has done great. I probably should get another one on the chance it craps out. Now that I've said that it will probably happen...

 

[grouper therapy]

I use ranco temp controller. In 10 years I have never had mine fail.

 

[crew]

I use my apex - if the heat gets too high or too low i get a text. I have a 200w heater in my sump and another 200w heater in one of my overflows.

Redundancy is your friend.

 

[civics14]

I put a back up heater in over the weekend... A Fluval 100W in my sump, something happened, water got in the heater, killed off a large colony birdnest (size of a volleyball), half of some branching monty's, and several of my purple stylo's aren't looking so good, Duncan corals aren't doing so well, either. So pissed off...

 

[enderg60]

I use a 38,000 BTU gas heater and 2x1000w titaniums as backup.

 

[crew]

EnderG60;1071748 wrote: I use a 38,000 BTU gas heater and 2x1000w titaniums as backup.

Not all of us have swimming pools with fish in them...:lol2:

 

[snowmansnow]

I would contend that heaters are the number 1 cause of tank crashes


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

grouper therapy;1071715 wrote: I use ranco temp controller. In 10 years I have never had mine fail.

Do you have a website link to purchase the controller? Is there a particular setup I need for the saltwater environment, i.e. corrosion of the temp probe, etc. ?

Wannabee

 

[nickg]

Wannabe, the Ranco controllers are actually for refrigeration systems normally. They are EASY to get. And they are simple to wire in. If you just google Ranco Thermometer TONS of sites to buy pop up. They are normally around $50.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

Any chance of getting some photos of your current setup with the controller?

Wannabee

 

[grouper therapy]

 

[grouper therapy]

 

[morganatlanta]

Two 250W titanium heaters plugged into the Apex, with two temperature sensors.

 

[elfloyd]

I use two 500w Finnex Titanium heaters running each one on alternate days. They do not have thermostats and are totally controlled by the Apex. The Apex sends me emails if the tank temp is too high or two low.

 

[matt7]

I have 2 aqueon pro 400 watts. I have them hooked up to my apex. the 1 turns on if the temp goes below 78 and the other goes on if it goes below 77. I switch the plugs every 6 months or so to prevent the one being used all the time while the other is only used occasionally.

I've used the aqueon pros for years now. since freshwater and it's the only heater brand I'll buy. (I'll use others but if I were going to buy one, aqueon pro is the one I trust and I'll go with). in the 6ish years I've used the pros I've never had a single problem and I've had 250s, 50s, a 100, a 150. they've all worked flawless for me whether hooked up to a controller or just relying on the heaters individual thermometer.

 

[grouper therapy]

SnowManSnow;1071750 wrote: I would contend that heaters are the number 1 cause of tank crashes


So long, and thanks for all the fish.

I'll add that the aquarium controllers that cycle the heater on and off in .5 degree range is the number one cause of heater failure.