Logistics Fail

ucdcrew

New member
Problem: Tank not getting up to temperature. Its a 100g tank, with a 20g sump. I bought 2 eheim jager 125w heaters, both are in the sump. Site says they'r rated for aquariums up to 53g. They are both controlled by a RKL. Temp won't go above 72.

My guess - not enough power. The next size up is 13 inches. After hanging out with my buddy Pythagoras all morning, the longest heater I can fit in my sump would be approximately 13 inches, maybe 14 but that's pushing it.

Option A: order shorter, but possibly less reliable heaters.
Option B: rebuild current sump, (20gL) to make return section smaller 1 longer heater would fit in the fuge section.
Option C: Buy a new, larger aquarium for sump and rebuild while tank is cycling.
Option D: Buy a ready-made sump so I don't have to deal with it.

Opinions? Other options?
 
125 w are too small...

you could put them horizontally...

they dont need to be vertically installed

you need a tleast a 300W

I have a 150w for my 40 with 20 sump

plus i would keep one heater in the DT in case something happens to return pump. you wont lose heat

2 125W does not equal 1 250W since they are each battling atmospheric temperature constantly. and not combined.

would 1 500 horsepower race car lose to 500 1 horsepower engines side by side? never.
 
125 w are too small...

you could put them horizontally...

they dont need to be vertically installed

you need a tleast a 300W

I have a 150w for my 40 with 20 sump

plus i would keep one heater in the DT in case something happens to return pump. you wont lose heat

2 125W does not equal 1 250W since they are each battling atmospheric temperature constantly. and not combined.

would 1 500 horsepower race car lose to 500 1 horsepower engines side by side? never.
I'm not sure your analogy applies. We're talking about watts used to heat up a simple heating element, there is no energy lost, since creating heat is the goal here. I suspect 2 125watt heaters should be equivalent to 1 250watt heater.

As for installing them horizontally, I think that was his plan since he was using the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the hypotenuse of his sump (Now there's a bunch of words I haven't used or spelled in years.)
 
Yep - they are diagonal right now - tested on multiple different planes. I'm thinking I might actually need 2x200w, or maybe even 2x250. I don't get heat input from lights since I have LED, and I have a DC pump so that's not adding much heat either. I'm not too bent out of shape for it since I don't have heaters for my quarantine and hospital tank, so if I'm buying more heaters anyway, it would make sense to get the larger ones. I'm hemming and hawing about my skimmer size too, maybe it makes sense to get an appropriately sized sump for my tank, be it building or buying.

And yes...I <3 math.
 
And yes...I <3 math.

Once upon a time I did. Now I'm a graphic desiger. I make pretties for a living. Sometimes I'll have to multiply or divide, maybe even a little very simple geometry, but that's about it. Glad I wasted time with all those AP math classes in high school. haha

As for the sump, I'd definitely go bigger. As long and wide as you can get in the stand.
 
I have a ViaAqua 300w titanium heater placed horizontally in the skimmer chamber of my 20L sump along the short (outside) side. It's fairly compact and fits fine. I have an Apex for backup. My tank is smaller - about 80g total volume - but thought I'd offer it up as a possible solution. The 200s can't be any bigger.
 
I'm not sure your analogy applies. We're talking about watts used to heat up a simple heating element, there is no energy lost, since creating heat is the goal here. I suspect 2 125watt heaters should be equivalent to 1 250watt heater.

As for installing them horizontally, I think that was his plan since he was using the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the hypotenuse of his sump (Now there's a bunch of words I haven't used or spelled in years.)

LOL ok, i guess I am not that learned on heat dispersion and heat loss through water etc etc

LOL yea a lotta words from classes i used to cut/hookey from back in highschool LOL interesting i too am a graphic designer =P
 
17.5" front to back in the stand. Brilliant stand maker, brilliant.

O/T I got this in my email the other day: pretty much sums up what I do. I send you airtankers and fire engines and law enforcement. But not ambulances. I hate ambulances.

loadandreturn.jpg
 
17.5" front to back in the stand. Brilliant stand maker, brilliant.

Well, stands are usually only as deep as the tank they support unfortunately. I feel like even with my 125gal I'm getting ready to set up, I'm going to really struggle getting a decent sized sump in there, unless I disassemble the stand, put a sump in there, then reassemble.
 
What about in the bubble trap baffles at an angle?
I have (2) Jager 150 watt, 1 in each baffle. As long as there is 1.5" between each baffle and there is about 10.5-11" of water, they will be covered.
 
I had the heaters themselves set for 72. So the controller would tell them to come on, but the heaters would turn themselves off. We're at 74.1 and climbing. Still might not be enough wattage, we'll see.
 
How can you afford a reef tank then?! You must actually have a job! Wish I could say the same for my other designer friends, or as I like to call them, waiters and clerks.

HAHAHA

well its not the only thing I do.

I used to work as a nightlife promoter and building web sites and designing flyers on the weekly, then I grew up and started working as an internet marketing consultant.

I now work as a photographer and photo retouch artist for a product licensing company as well as lead project manager for web development projects.

but its just easier to tell people i'm a graphic designer haha
 
Update: I ended up ordering a 200w as well. The two 125's got it up to 76.5. New one gets it all the way up to 78 and probably higher. Right now its in my display since its pretty long, but I got a new 29g tank for a sump, and it is tall enough to fit the new heater.
 
Back
Top