Keeping my tank warm!

[oneradtek202]

geesh it seems that i cannot keep my tanks temp above 77 the last week or so. i have multiple heaters on controllers and some lower wattage not on controllers. but anyway, im just concerned about the health of my corals during this time.... blah. i love stress

 

[Jstn]

I found placement mattered, when I had my sump inlet in the middle of the sump, only pushing water from the tank past "half" of the heater, my temp would drop to 76 at night. Despite the flow from my skimmer, upon moving my inlet to the side directly opposite of the return (full flow across heaters), the temperature was more stable. Also initially I had two heaters stacked on one side of the sump, this didn't keep it as consistent as when I moved them across from each other.

This was (is) two jager 150w in a 50 gal system.

 

[spinoleo]

are you just trusting the temp on a controller or did you ck with a thermometer

 

[oneradtek202]

Double check....both were same

 

[pascal32]

start by checking the lights on them to see if they turn on. what wattage are you at total? Basements get cold - your sump + frag tank could = more heaters needed.

I had some not turning on and needed more after the rebuild. at about 1200 watts right now, IMO due to the two frag tanks int he basement.

 

[oneradtek202]

yea im up there too, i have 3x200 watters and 1 150watter i think, but this is a new issue, all winter ive been steady like 78-80 range


i checked all lights and help heaters in my hand and they are all warm! i dont tknow whats up, but i added another 150 watter today

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Change in evap rate? Maybe due to drier air?

I only have 500w of heaters on my system! You guys are good evidence of the effect of a cool basement and lots of surface area (frag tanks).

 

[oneradtek202]

possibly, idk because all winter i havent had an issue until now!

 

[block head]

Friend rips through multiple 400 w heaters in his 180 basement tank. I had a200w heater in a10g. It barely kept up.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Brandon and Pascal, how much are you two evaporating daily? Ever thought about covering or insulating your basement tanks/sumps to cut heating costs?

 

[naprestsleep]

I use 2" pink foam around my basement tanks, never saw much of a difference in how often the heaters run. I tried to cover my refugium with plexi, but it warped to much due to heat of the lights so I gave up. I am also trying to figure out why 500w in 130 gallons can not keep my tanks warm anymore.

 

[pascal32]

Evap a lot. Never really spent time on thinking of insulation, probably should

 

[tmz]

FWIW,I do ok( 78 to 80) with 5 250w heaters for the 600gallons. They are in a high flow area of the sump which is on the basement floor. Basement air temp stays around 70. Pumps lights ,etc also add to the heat.

 

[Capt_Cully]

While you're at it, grab one for yourself. IT HAS SLEEVES!

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

FINALLY! I can stay warm and read a book AT THE SAME TIME!

IMHO this hobby spends too much time thinking about getting rid of heat to avoid chillers and not enough time thinking about retaining heat to avoid heaters. After seeing several threads in the big tank forum about people with large tanks who needed thousands of watts of heaters I decided to think carefully about thermal management on my system.