heater question

[daddyg70]

Hello :D

I have a 60g tank with a 200w ebo and the heater is staying on 24/7 (light is on all the time). Should I add another heater? I have a back up renacal 300w. Should I use that in addition or is that too much wattage? Should I by another 100-200w heater? Should the 5 watt/gal rule always be followed? I'm trying to keep the temp at 86 degrees. My electricity bill has been increasing since I got the ebo. Thanks.

Greg

[BlueTurquoise]

Hey Greg,

what is the current temp in your tank? ie. is the heater stuck on "on" or is is that there is too much volume of water to keep the tank at 86?

I would say a single 300W would be enough to heat the whole tank. Not sure about the brand of your 300W though so that could be an issue.

HTH
Chong

[jeep]

sounds under powered to me. But it depends on the heater.

I just got a new Pro Heat titanium and I love it. A 250 - 300 watt would probably be better for a 60 gallon tank, or 2 200's.

All of my other tank have 300 watt heaters. I know there's a risk if they lock on but I bought them before I knew of the risk. One 300 watt visi-therm just barely keeps my 29 gallon at 82 degrees.

[daddyg70]

My tank is at 86 degrees but I don't like the fact that the heater is always on to maintain it at that temp. I originally was using the rena cal 300w and decided to upgrade to a 200w ebo. Ebo states that 200w are good to 80 gal. Should I throw the 300w in? Thanks for the input.

[BlueTurquoise]

Then there would be 500W in total in the tank. I would throw in the 300W and remove the 200W. Then think about a permanent solution such as a good branded 300W...

Other issues effect tank temp such as ambient temperature and most importantly insulation. Try using various forms of insulation on the sides and back of the tank. Cheapest is foam, same stuff you put under the tank to level the tank on it's base. It's cheap and it works.

200W for 80gal counds liek a rating for tropical climates or soemthing ;)

Chong

[jeep]

I think 200 watts is not enough for a 60 gallon tank no matter what the manufacturer says. Only my opinion and may not be worth much. There's too many seasonal fluxuations. It might be fine in the summer but not nearly enough in the winter.

It may just depend on the particular heater also.

In your situation I would assume that there is a greater risk of your heater either locking on 24/7 and/or burning out completely. Heaters are not designed to last long when they're on 24/7.

The 300 watt in my 29g acted similar to yours. If I lowered the tank temp by 5 degrees during a water change, it takes 5 or 6 hours to re-heat the water. I don't like this for the same reason as what yours is doing so I moved it to my holding tank.

In your situation I would feel more comfortable with 2 - 250watt heaters than a 200w that may be malfunctioning, plus another 300 watts in there. Why did you feel you were up-grading when you switched a 300W rena to a 200W ebo? Name brand? Rena is actually a pretty good heater and if I were in your position I would use the rena INSTEAD of the ebo, not in addition to it.

As far as what Ebo states, ha :-X :-X :-X just do a search on this forum for ebo's and you'll have your answer.

IME, the Pro Heat works more efficiently than any heater I've had and I plan on replacing all of my heaters with them. They're no more expensive than glass heaters either...

Oops... I just saw Chongs reply to you. Sorry to be redundant...

[daddyg70]

Thanks for the input. I will throw the Rena back in and see what happens. I thought Ebos were better because I see them in all the aquariums and the majority of pictures of discus has an ebo in the background. I will throw the ebo 200 in a 29g tank when I buy one. If the Rena doesn't suffice, I will go titanium. Jeff sells them for about 20 dollars

[DIZ]

The EBO do not work very good Try a new heater
DIZ

[daddyg70]

Thanks for your replies. I put the 300w rena in with the 200w ebo and lowered the thermostat on it to 80 degrees. It turned off for a minute and then turned on and stayed on while the 300w turned off (set at 86 degrees). I think the ebo is stuck so I took it out. The next day, the temp was stable at 86 degrees. Im sticking with the rena

Greg

[jeep]

Greg,

I would not trust that Ebo even as a back-up. Throw it away. I'd hate to hear of some fish getting cooked alive.

Read this and good luck...

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=6538