I’m hoping to get some opinions before buying a new heater(s), Right now we have 2 marineland 200w, had them since march, never seemed to work right, and these have a +/- 2 degree variance…its more like 4. i’ve seen them click on, hot day with tank at 81 (where the hell is a little degree symbol when typing???), then not come on when temp drops to 77. we went to the shore for two days and came home to a tank temp of 74.8. that was sunday night, we cranked up the heaters all the way, and two days later…its finally at 77.4, and thats probably mostly due to it being 82 in the house today (pos a/c unit). So whats everyone using, whose happy with their heater setup? or what will you do to improve your current.? since this will be my second heater purchase in 6 months, i want to get it right, cause spending money on heaters…wheres the fun in that !
I would really like to keep all heating in the sump, and it has a 9’’ water level where they go, the current heater sits on a 45angle to stay submerged. so hopefully there are shorter available in the wtts i need. i also like the idea of the ones w/ seperate temprobe and control, but never used that style.
So any and all input is apprecited, especially from those of you w/ 150 gallon + systems.
thanks!
125 mixed reef
30g sump
BTW, i did double check the thermometer!
Just to reiterate, if you are willing to spend the money, two inline hydor’s would treat you very well and never make you have to worry about heaters again from my experience Good luck trying to find heaters!
Thanks Jared, they do look like nice heaters, and i do like the idea of them being inline and out of the sump and d/t. I don’t really like the price, or the watts these style use compared to submersible’s. But mainly i’d like to find something that i could reach, and control. the inlines would be sweet, but outta reach. i could be controllers on those i know, but thats getting real expensive. i’m still reading reviews on line, and i’ll pop in DPA in a couple hours, maybe you can help me catalog hunt some more.
Imo,90% of heater issues are flow problems rather than the heater itself functioning improperly. If the water around the heater is warm, it will turn off and vice versa. So maybe try a different placement before investing in new heaters. I noticed a huge change in stability simply by movi.g the heaters on my tank into a higher flow area. I have always had pretty good results from the marineland heaters without spending 100 bux per heater.
Thanks BJ, but i already moved them several times, sump…d/t… near powerhead/away… horizontal,verical, 45angle…they just dont work right… and its two identical ones, bought at the same time, thats why i’ve messed with em so much, i just couldn’t believe both went bad, but i think its more like they were never right from the get go.
If u want stability use a ranco temp controller and an ebo jager 250watt heater or 2.Set properly -this combo has given me flawless operation for years…
Couple of questions.
What is the size of your return pump or return pumps?
Where is the temp probe located? (Sump, display, overflow, left of the heaters and the return pump is on the right?)
Why do you have your heaters at 45* why not just make them parallel to the ground?
Are the heaters next to each other?
As a sort of side or addition to what BJ said if your temp probe is in your tank and the heaters are in your sump and you only have a maxijet 400 pushing water up to your display then you’ll likely need to keep your sump at 95*F+ and really that wouldn’t be good either.
Actually have been having a similar issue myself, I added another tank to my main system and have my reactors running off of the return pump. While the sump is 82F the overflow box in my main tank is 78F. Water is just not moving to the display fast enough and things cool down by the time they go from the sump, through the display, and into the overflow.
I’ve used the marine land heaters for a long time and have them in just about everyone one of my tanks downstairs.
What are you pricing out with Jard? Heaters or controllers? Controllers price will depend on what it can do. Reefkeeper is cheap… because it’s cheap.(IMO, I am not too much of a fan anymore) There are also at least a couple of different devices made just to be thermostats and only turn a heater on or off.
[quote=“saltcreep, post:9, topic:3298”]
No controller, but i’ve been checking them out… can two heaters be run w/ one controller, i know i can just run a 2 to 1 outlet, whats you guys setup?[/quote]
Reefkeeper light comes with 4 outlet pc4, you can control any 4 devices. It works great in my system. Just dont upgrade to Reef2.0(beta).
Justkeep original sw untill all bugs worked out.
All the basics are covered john, tank/sump temps are within tenths of a degree, i’ve moved the heaters and temp probe all around with not much difference. i even tried one in my frag tank… still doesn’t work properly, but an old heater i have from 1989 is working perfect, these heaters thermostats / led lights are malfunctioning… i’ve spent a lot of time messing with these things, just looking for advice on what to replace them with.
Rosti, the reefkeeper looks ssweet, but i’m gonna hold off on a multi purpose controller until i have more things to control, when im ready i’ll pick your brain some more…lol john, i was trying to price out a heater(s) that i thought looked nice viaaqua titanium 300w…its short, and has separate temp probe, and wired control, which really appeals to me cause of where they go, i’d be able to dial them in from outside the stand, but jared didnt see any of DPA’s distrib’s carrying that brand. i also thought of trying a heater controller with these just cranked up, but i really don’t trust them at all, i actually want to see what the manufacturer would say about 6 mnth old heaters doing this. the only thing i can think of is a month ago we had a power surge that blew out the cable box and cordless phones, maybe the heaters got it? i may be reaching though. I’m still trying to figure it out, may try out the Via???
The ones i have had the most luck with over the years is the TRONIC. i think they used to be fluval bought by hagen. they have better micro processor temp sensing and control. old point/contact controls heatup locally in the tube and cycle off/on a lot. I second the good flow exposure. it keeps the heater from becoming a hot spot and cycling. but the older tronics have the sensor near the cool top end and will keep the heat on till the water hits the set temp. fast heating,and then stay in a close range. i did a quick search and see hagen/fluval have a couple models on the market. not sure about the newest, just the older TRONIC.
i have found it easier to pre set the temp on heaters in a bucket of water. drop it in with small power head or air stone to mix the water and use a digital thermometer to adjust the heater. it goes up and down faster in a 5 gallon bucket than the tank, with lights. when you get it stable holding your set point you are ready to go . i have one of those little radio shack indoor/outdoor thermometers with a remote probe on 6 feet of wire. like ten bucks. or an aquarium model from the store. about the same.
If you wanted to put the heaters on a controller (weather just a heater controller or a RKL), dont set them at their highest setting. Set one of them at 78F, one at 80F, and set the Controller at 79F. That way one “should” turn off on its own before the controller turns it off. One “should” always be on when the controller tells it to, but even if the controller doesn’t turn it off it “should” turn off one degree past where the controller tells it to. That way you have three levels of backup… the controller and both of the heaters.
I have to agree Bellamy. I know at least one person in the club that turns his heaters all the way up and lets the controller control them. “The controller is set to turn them off at 80*F, so they should turn off before they get higher” Yeah “should” and since when does any piece of equipment do specifically what it “should” do. Shouldn’t the heater work all by itself and not need a controller?
I hooked up a controller earlier this summer for someone with a temp probe. The temp probe itself would 0 out several times an hour. If a command was set on it then it would figure the temp was 0*F! Better turn on all the lights, turn off the fans, kill the chiller, and send off some e-mails! It’s a good thing I test things like crazy before counting on them for life support. I now use two temp proves with every set up and I am examining switching brands before spending any more money.
In this hobby, and in life there is one thing you count on. You can’t count on things working the way they are supposed to.
Good luck trying to find heaters!