Heaters in Miami

[Jgoal55]

Maybe a very dumb question, but are they necessary all year? I imagine that because of the air conditioner you should have one but I was also thinking that with lights and equipment generating heat and the ambient temp being so warm down here, they might not be necessary till maybe winter?????

How about chillers? Are they very popular around these parts?

 

[brians4671]

i use my heater cause my ac is usually set low. you may need a chiller, depending on your lighting, i got away with no chiller on my 30 gallon with pc's. welcome to florida.

 

[lpsluver]

I've had tanks is north and south FL and found while in North FL that they were unnecessary with all of the equipment and lighting providing sufficient heat. I keep my house at 74 year around. I currently have 4 or 5 of them just sitting in boxes somewhere.

 

[nyvp]

the only time you use them is the 3 days a year that it goes to 40. That being said I keep them in there to keep the tank at a consistent number that's all its about. corals can handle most anything in the range from the lower 70's to lower 80's but they hate change. so what ever number you can keep consistent that's what you need to try and do.

 

[jeffbrig]

I have never needed a heater in my 250g, and we never turn on the heat in our house. Even leaving windows open on cool nights, temperatures in our house have dropped to 67 or 68, and the tank temperature has never falled significantly. Plenty of heat sources between pumps, lights, etc. to keep temps up.

 

[Jgoal55]

wow...not what I expected to hear...thanks for the answer guys...maybe it wasnt a dumb question after all.....

 

[ahoyhoy239]

no heater here, i have 2 or 3 laying around not doing anything. i have one that i used for one night and all it did was raise the temp up to like 83+ and i just threw it aside

 

[Jgoal55]

very interesting....for you non heater guys out there...are there any of you that monitor your temps with a controller or something so you can tell your variation throughout the day??

 

[ReefWreak]

I had a heater, it worked for a long time, and then broke before we had those few VERY cold days over this past winter. I found out when I heard my Medusa screaming the next morning (I was sleeping, my parents said they just let it scream since I would deal with it later) because the temps had gone down to the low 70s. I replaced the heater immediately after that, and have another backup one on my Aquatronica as well now.

 

[lpsluver]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12353327#post12353327 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jgoal55
very interesting....for you non heater guys out there...are there any of you that monitor your temps with a controller or something so you can tell your variation throughout the day??

Nope. But I hear my chillers cycling on and off throughout the night so my equipment is supplying plenty of heat.

 

[racermike27]

No heater here either. My tank is plenty hot enough as it is with all of the equipment. If anything I need a bigger chiller!

 

[Jgoal55]

so although not many heaters.....it sounds like chillers are popular....damn...i think i prefer heaters.