Aquarium Heater- one or two?

C

CoralFrida

New member
I Am setting up a new 100 gallon SW Aquarium and I have read that it's best to have 2 heaters instead of one in case one breaks down. Should both heaters have 100 gallon capacity or since there will be 2 is it ok to go with smaller 50-79 gallon capacity?

Thanks
 
I will add one more thing.. When asking about heaters its a good idea to provide information on the local room temperature and the desired tank temperature..

Depending on the difference between the 2 you may need more or less wattage

A tank in a 64degF basement with desired water temps of 81 will require more wattage than a tank in a 78degF room
 
I would also go with two heaters, each at half the total desired wattage. Be sure to calibrate the heater's thermometers with a trusted thermometer, the heater's thermometers are often off by several degrees.
 
I would go with 2 heaters as well, just had an eheim jager stick and try boil my tank last week.
 
somebloke said:
Don't read this as contentious because I'm truly just curious - to *exclusively* recommend two models seems odd. Would you do that for tanks, skimmers, return pumps, lighting, power heads, or anything else? Why heaters?

Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

This is based on me being on this forum for a long time and seeing many posts asking about which brands,etc...
The general consensus is that those 2 are the "least likely to fail"..
They all can/will but those 2 are the most commonly recommended brands on this forum..

Note I also recommended a temp controller to back them up as even the "best/most recommended,etc.." heaters can/do fail (evidence from the last poster who had one fail)..

I also personally believe that if you fully submerge the dial/control area that you are more likely to have a failure.. Even if the heater is advertised as fully submersible..

And I would do the same for tanks/powerheads,etc... I see lots of reviews..lots of issues,etc... and will recommend specific brands based on my findings,etc... We all have brands we trust and brands we dislike for one reason or another.. Opinions like that make us human..

want to know which series of Jebao powerheads are more likely to fail based on personal experience, problems posted here,etc... Sure.. Thats the WP series.. I'd avoid them like the plague.. but have no problem recommending a PP series powerhead
 
mcgyvr said:
I also personally believe that if you fully submerge the dial/control area that you are more likely to have a failure.. Even if the heater is advertised as fully submersible..
Click to expand...

I agree, that is one of the reasons I picked these:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/finnex-hmo-heater-w-digital-led-controller.html

OP: Always have redundant control. If you do not have an aquarium controller with temp probe than use something like the inkbird posted above. One of the top preventable reasons for tank crashes is a heater stuck on.
 
mcgyvr said:
This is based on me being on this forum for a long time and seeing many posts asking about which brands,etc...
The general consensus is that those 2 are the "least likely to fail"..
They all can/will but those 2 are the most commonly recommended brands on this forum..

Note I also recommended a temp controller to back them up as even the "best/most recommended,etc.." heaters can/do fail (evidence from the last poster who had one fail)..

I also personally believe that if you fully submerge the dial/control area that you are more likely to have a failure.. Even if the heater is advertised as fully submersible..

And I would do the same for tanks/powerheads,etc... I see lots of reviews..lots of issues,etc... and will recommend specific brands based on my findings,etc... We all have brands we trust and brands we dislike for one reason or another.. Opinions like that make us human..

want to know which series of Jebao powerheads are more likely to fail based on personal experience, problems posted here,etc... Sure.. Thats the WP series.. I'd avoid them like the plague.. but have no problem recommending a PP series powerhead
Click to expand...
That's fair. On the flip side, opinions are contagious in forums so I try to keep that in mind. Lore about a failure can persist long after the fact of a manufacturer having resolved a defect.

So on an Eheim Jager you keep everything submerged except the dial? That's a good idea and something I haven't tried. I can't stand the way they implement the dial, hate it. I was surprised when returning to the hobby after 20+ years that that design hadn't changed. But maybe I'll have to give it a shot - not only seems safer but also thing thing won't accumulate a coating that functions like a lubricant, lol

I've had good luck with Finnex.



Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk
 
mcgyvr said:
This is based on me being on this forum for a long time and seeing many posts asking about which brands,etc...
The general consensus is that those 2 are the "least likely to fail"..
They all can/will but those 2 are the most commonly recommended brands on this forum..

Note I also recommended a temp controller to back them up as even the "best/most recommended,etc.." heaters can/do fail (evidence from the last poster who had one fail)..

I also personally believe that if you fully submerge the dial/control area that you are more likely to have a failure.. Even if the heater is advertised as fully submersible..

And I would do the same for tanks/powerheads,etc... I see lots of reviews..lots of issues,etc... and will recommend specific brands based on my findings,etc... We all have brands we trust and brands we dislike for one reason or another.. Opinions like that make us human..

want to know which series of Jebao powerheads are more likely to fail based on personal experience, problems posted here,etc... Sure.. Thats the WP series.. I'd avoid them like the plague.. but have no problem recommending a PP series powerhead
Click to expand...
Oh, I can second your recommendation of the inkbird controller. It's relatively inexpensive and has worked great for me.

Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk
 
I'm going to simply second the majority here...

I have a 120 Gallon tank.

I have 2 heaters. Both set at 78 degrees.
I use a temperature controller that turns them on/off set at 77 degrees.

I use temperature probes that are both designed for a 120 gallon tank.

I recently had a heater stop turning on. I could see that it was not working because it started taking my controller twice as long to raise the temperature of the tank 1 degree.

We all have brands we like, but historically, most people have had good luck with the Eheim Jager . The heaters I'm using were given to me when I got the tank, but as they fail, I'll be replacing them with these. The tank hasn't even been up a year and I've already lost one heater.
 
somebloke said:
That's fair. On the flip side, opinions are contagious in forums so I try to keep that in mind. Lore about a failure can persist long after the fact of a manufacturer having resolved a defect.

So on an Eheim Jager you keep everything submerged except the dial?
Click to expand...

I FULLY agree with you and I try very hard to question statements when I know they might not be true or that I cannot find "facts" about them.. I try to avoid making such statements myself.. I try to get complete details out of people to avoid making assumptions and so many more things but there is only so much you can do.. I know heater failures can happen with any manufacturer.. But I use my personal experience (I've owned both brands/models any never had a failure) and have had others that have failed and I use my information from numerous posts here about recommendations to make that statement/believe that opinion myself..

And yes.. A difficult challenge that Engineers face and more so with "lower cost" consumer products is safe/consistent/long lasting seals between parts or areas that can be exposed to water/moisture and those that cannot.. and more specifically when movement needs to be transferred between the wetside and dry side of that seal.. (like a rotating knob)
Same goes for power cords going into pumps,etc... We all know (hopefully) that those seals are the most critical part of a pump/heater,etc... and that they can/do degrade over time..
Once that "seal" is compromised all bets are out the window.. They all state a minimum water level.. I ensure thats recommendation is followed and will not submerge anymore than that..

Also why one should be careful with exposure to cleaning chemicals and even vinegar baths with equipment.. While that vinegar is excellent at cleaning its also slowly degrading the seals..

So yes.. I NEVER submerge any portion of a heater (specifically the dial area or whatever) where I know a "seal" is.. Even if they are fully submersible I still know its better to not fully submerge it.. If the seal fails now water needs to get up/into there which is far less likely to happen if its not underwater already..
 
mcgyvr said:
I FULLY agree with you and I try very hard to question statements when I know they might not be true or that I cannot find "facts" about them.. I try to avoid making such statements myself.. I try to get complete details out of people to avoid making assumptions and so many more things but there is only so much you can do.. I know heater failures can happen with any manufacturer.. But I use my personal experience (I've owned both brands/models any never had a failure) and have had others that have failed and I use my information from numerous posts here about recommendations to make that statement/believe that opinion myself..

And yes.. A difficult challenge that Engineers face and more so with "lower cost" consumer products is safe/consistent/long lasting seals between parts or areas that can be exposed to water/moisture and those that cannot.. and more specifically when movement needs to be transferred between the wetside and dry side of that seal.. (like a rotating knob)
Same goes for power cords going into pumps,etc... We all know (hopefully) that those seals are the most critical part of a pump/heater,etc... and that they can/do degrade over time..
Once that "seal" is compromised all bets are out the window.. They all state a minimum water level.. I ensure thats recommendation is followed and will not submerge anymore than that..

Also why one should be careful with exposure to cleaning chemicals and even vinegar baths with equipment.. While that vinegar is excellent at cleaning its also slowly degrading the seals..

So yes.. I NEVER submerge any portion of a heater (specifically the dial area or whatever) where I know a "seal" is.. Even if they are fully submersible I still know its better to not fully submerge it.. If the seal fails now water needs to get up/into there which is far less likely to happen if its not underwater already..
Click to expand...
Hey, thanks for your thoughts - you've definitely brought to light a few things I hadn't considered.

Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk
 
And since I was talking about failed seals I cannot stress how important a GFCI type device is for any submerged line powered equipment..
That will ensure that in the event of a failed seal that any potentially exposed wire/electricity is safely stopped from shocking/killing you when you put your hands into the water..

Just a friendly public service reminder :)
GFCI or die (called RCD's in other countries besides the US)
 
mcgyvr said:
I FULLY agree with you and I try very hard to question statements when I know they might not be true or that I cannot find "facts" about them.. I try to avoid making such statements myself.. I try to get complete details out of people to avoid making assumptions and so many more things but there is only so much you can do.. I know heater failures can happen with any manufacturer.. But I use my personal experience (I've owned both brands/models any never had a failure) and have had others that have failed and I use my information from numerous posts here about recommendations to make that statement/believe that opinion myself..

And yes.. A difficult challenge that Engineers face and more so with "lower cost" consumer products is safe/consistent/long lasting seals between parts or areas that can be exposed to water/moisture and those that cannot.. and more specifically when movement needs to be transferred between the wetside and dry side of that seal.. (like a rotating knob)
Same goes for power cords going into pumps,etc... We all know (hopefully) that those seals are the most critical part of a pump/heater,etc... and that they can/do degrade over time..
Once that "seal" is compromised all bets are out the window.. They all state a minimum water level.. I ensure thats recommendation is followed and will not submerge anymore than that..

Also why one should be careful with exposure to cleaning chemicals and even vinegar baths with equipment.. While that vinegar is excellent at cleaning its also slowly degrading the seals..

So yes.. I NEVER submerge any portion of a heater (specifically the dial area or whatever) where I know a "seal" is.. Even if they are fully submersible I still know its better to not fully submerge it.. If the seal fails now water needs to get up/into there which is far less likely to happen if its not underwater already..
Click to expand...

And this is why I like and use the finnex titanium series with no temp controller. it's just a heating element. You have to hook it up to a controller, to control it.
 
FWIW, I run eheim jäger heaters exclusively (10 of them across multiple tanks) and none of the dials are submerged. Do note that there's a minimum level though. My preference is to run at least two heaters, neither of which on their own could cook the tank.
 
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