heater suggestion and controller yet again

[Kalen]

Is it wise to use two heaters at the same wattage or split the wattage between two heaters?

 

[firebirdude]

Is it wise to use two heaters at the same wattage or split the wattage between two heaters?

Ehhh you'll probably hear people on both sides of this fence. On one side, two heaters of the same wattage. It one heater dies, the other is large enough to support the tank alone. However if that heater fails in the on position, it might cook the tank. On the other side of the fence, two smaller heaters. Vice versa. I'd probably sit on the center of the fence just to be safe. Example: rather than one 300W heater, I'd use two 200W.

 

[Kalen]

Thanks. I will be connecting my heaters to a ranco etc controller to prevent a heater from cooking my tank.

 

[firebirdude]

Yeah with a controller, I'd do two of the same higher wattage for sure. So if one dies in the on position, the controller will handle it. If one dies in the off position, the other can keep up with the tank.

 

[BillNye]

Thanks for all the advice from everyone so far ! it is appreciated . My main reason the apex jr is price but mainly i thought it was a contoller for a failsafe to protect your tank from overheating wasnt aware the apex could be used to control heater temp ! i just thought it was if your tank got too hot it would shut it off !

Like fire mentioned above, it doesn't exactly control the heater temp. For example, mine is set so that if the water reaches 80º it shuts the heater off. If it gets to 83º, it shuts off the lights. Once it reaches 79.5º or lower, it turns the heater on and stays on. So while it doesn't exactly control the temperature, it turns on/off when certain parameters are met.

As long as you have the regular or gold, you can program it to do pretty much anything. I purchased mine three years ago and while I started with just the heater and probes, I can now do auto water changes and feedings away from the tank.

 

[firebirdude]

Yeah the switch inputs for the ATO was one thing I didn't think about when I purchased the Reef Keeper. I bought it for other reasons. But it is so friggin nice. I used to have an external relay box to control the float switches/top off pump. Now it's all done through the ReefKeeper AND has an emergency shutoff timer in case a float switch sticks or something.

And having a display for everything is very useful. Just by walking past the tank, I can glance at tank temp/pH/etc. I think I'd be more likely to catch a problem with the number starring me in the face all the time on a display. OH! And you can set up alarms, both audible and visual. So if something happens, it will alert you. "HEY!!!! GTF OVER HERE! THE TANK IS OVERHEATING!!!"

lol

 

[saltwaternoobie]

Yeah the switch inputs for the ATO was one thing I didn't think about when I purchased the Reef Keeper. I bought it for other reasons. But it is so friggin nice. I used to have an external relay box to control the float switches/top off pump. Now it's all done through the ReefKeeper AND has an emergency shutoff timer in case a float switch sticks or something.

And having a display for everything is very useful. Just by walking past the tank, I can glance at tank temp/pH/etc. I think I'd be more likely to catch a problem with the number starring me in the face all the time on a display. OH! And you can set up alarms, both audible and visual. So if something happens, it will alert you. "HEY!!!! GTF OVER HERE! THE TANK IS OVERHEATING!!!"

lol

yes lol is right !

 

[ScienceRulez]

interesting diy project for a controller

I have 4 of these things now that I've made. I use one with my crock pot so it doubles as a hot water bath cooker, one is for my photo hobby (I develop my own film), and two are for my fish tanks. They work very well. They are accurate to plus or minus one degree. I even have one at work now to help get the living rock all set up and full of bacteria.

I'm not going to post any more on it here since this isn't the DIY forum. But it is a nice way to control the heaters for a tank.

 

[firebirdude]

For my freshwater tanks at home, I am using a basic digital temperature controller wired to an outlet in an electrical box. Something like this: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=337318#post4196885

If you wanted to have both heating and cooling capabilities you would need to get a STC-1000 and possibly wire it to two outlets, one for heating and one for cooling. The cheapest units are under $20 (mine cost $15), but one thing to be aware of is that if you go for the cheapest ones, the unit can only handle 5 amps. You can get stronger ones but of course they cost more.

The ones I am currently using had a total cost of ~$40, which includes wire, electrical box, outlet, and cover. If you opt for a GFCI outlet (I did), the cost will be a little higher.

Finally got a chance to read through that thread. day trippr sure is an oblivious arrogant ahole. LOL I actually have a homebrew account and wanted to post that in there, but no reason to bump an old thread with pot stirring.

But that's pretty sweet. Didn't realize they were that cheap. I guess my advice would then be for you heater controller guys to buy something like this at first. I wouldn't even do the whole electrical box and outlet. Just lop an extension cord in half and use it for now. Meanwhile, save up the money for the full blown $500 Apex system.

 

[3dees]

Are you just using one heater ?

yes just one. keeps my tank at 78-79 at all times. I have two Ehiems for emergency but never used them.