Does anybody on here have a broken titanium heater they are willing to give me? I want to try and make a variable power aquarium heater.
Sorry I don’t have a busted one. It seems like a neat project, hope to see the DIY build on here. Maybe you can explain the workings to me at the meeting. Not sure I have ever seen one.
You’ve never seen one before because they don’t exist. By variable power I mean continuously adjustable ie. 0-500W instead of 0 or 500W. Right now my heat cycle tracks a sine wave. At 77.9 my 300W heater kicks on and at 77.8 my 200W heater kicks on. Then my temp rises back up to 77.9 and my 200W heater turns off, but is still hot enough to (with the 300W heater) carry me back up to 78.0. This has been the pattern since I incorporated 2 heaters into the controller. I could have 10 50W heaters, but I would still be switching one of those on and off in the same manner. What I want to do is hack a titanium heater by controlling the amount of current I send it. This way I can have my heater set to the exact heat level my tank requires to maintain the set point (425.2W for example). This eliminates turning the heater on/off repeatedly thus extending it’s life and achieving my ultimate goal of hyper-stability (<.1deg change/day).
Speaking as someone that earns a living with precision control…Why??
That level of control is easy to achieve, just expensive. The power needed for that control will change through out the day, week, month. Some of the factors that will affect it are ambient temp. and lighting, and to also things like water additions and dosing reactions.
So it is possible just expensive, so I ask again why?? The real ocean changes much more then that over time, and I feel that change is good for our animals.
IME corals grow faster when conditions are kept stable. Yes, the ocean temperature varies throughout the day, month, year. However, this doesn’t mean that coral do better under these conditions. We keep our cal, alk, mag at elevated levels when compared to the ocean as well as providing much more powerful lighting. As a result our coral are more colorful and grow faster than their ocean dwelling counterparts. There is plenty of scientific data suggesting that coral grow better under stable conditions. I’m interested in taking that one step further to see if there is any improvement in a hyper-stable environment.
There is an argument to be made about the benefits of small fluctuations. When animals experience a changing environment, they must adapt or die. Thus corals that experience periodic stress are better to cope with stress than those that don’t. IME since adding my controller to my tank, the corals grow faster, but start to close up if the temperature increases 1 deg over the course of a day (something that didn’t happen when I was dealing with 3 deg temp swings in my 12g). Here is the most recent article I’ve come across on the subject:
To address the “Why?” question: to increase growth rate. This is only a hypothesis and would need experimental validation. However, if I am able to achieve hyper-stability, then I will be able to command a heat profile throughout the day. This would help the corals cope with environmental stress better if growth rate is unaffected.
Since this is would be a DIY project, cost will be minimal. I already have almost everything I need to complete it except the heating element. I need a high voltage/current power supply (computer power supply), circuity to pulse and filter the power (RC filter) and a temp sensor for the room ($3). I forgot to mention in my previous post that you will need to know environmental temperature as well in order to achieve the level of performance that I’m seeking.
OK, now I understand the reasoning behind the project it sounds like a interesting experiment. :
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The other question I have is why do you need to know room temp?? When I’m trying to maintain a 2000 gal tank temp., I don’t care about ambient temp. or even steam temp., just process fluid temp.
I also think an in-line heater on the return line, with the temp sensor down stream, would give you the best control but that is just my opinion.
Knowing the room temperature let you anticipate changes in the tank temperature. In my old apartment, the temp would spike every time I used the oven. I no longer have that problem in my new house bc the room is a lot bigger. However, you wouldn’t need the room temp if you had a large enough water volume bc the specific heat of water is so high. The room temperature was the driving force in my old 12g, but not so much for my 180g.
Placement of sensors and heaters is crucial. I saw a big increase in performance when I moved my temp probe. It used to be in the return pump chamber, but now it is ziptied to the returns.
[quote=“bnelson, post:7, topic:6828”]
Placement of sensors and heaters is crucial. I saw a big increase in performance when I moved my temp probe. It used to be in the return pump chamber, but now it is ziptied to the returns.[/quote]
Is the surface water temp higher since it is under the lights? Wouldn’t a black probe 2" from the surface be more susceptable to the lights heating it up? Or does the water movement dissipate heat enough that it is not an issue?
It does sound like a neat project and if sucessful possibly worth seeking a patent. Some people would buy this kind of thing just because they have the money to, not because they need it. You have potential in many of your ideas. But back to the point. How large does the tube have to be rated at to work for you? 500w? I will keep my eyes open for one.
Sorry, I should have been more specific. My temp probe is in the sump zip tied to the pipe from the overflows. The probe is the same $3 temp sensor that I got a bunch of siliconed into a piece of clear tubing.
Any size heater would be fine. That will at least get me started.