Heater Question

[jabuc]

I am in the process of setting up my 125g for discus. It's currently my central american cichlid tank. My question is should I use 2 250w heaters one on each side or just use one 500w? My thinking with 2 is having a backup if one was to go out. Please advise!

Thanks

[rickztahone]

I am in the process of setting up my 125g for discus. It's currently my central american cichlid tank. My question is should I use 2 250w heaters one on each side or just use one 500w? My thinking with 2 is having a backup if one was to go out. Please advise!

Thanks

this is the advice i was given for my 125 which i am yet to setup. if you have one heater there is more potential of all your fish dying if that one malfunctions. they recommended two 300w heaters to me, if one would go out then the other should keep up to temp at least till you notice one has malfunctioned. keep us updated as to what you will decide in the end

[Hattawi]

Go with 2 heaters

[jabuc]

I think I am going to go with 2 250w...I live in Florida and my cichlid tank now with no heaters stays at 78, so I feel like 2 225w will give me good coverage....I also have 2 xp3 filters on on each side with the return spray bars a the surface to keep the water current under control.

Anyone using a bilge pump for pumping water change water from barrels or holding tanks? If so which one do you recommend?

[jabuc]

Should I do 6 or 8 discus in my 125g?

[GrillMaster]

I think I am going to go with 2 250w...I live in Florida and my cichlid tank now with no heaters stays at 78, so I feel like 2 225w will give me good coverage....I also have 2 xp3 filters on on each side with the return spray bars a the surface to keep the water current under control.

Sounds like a good plan. If this setup for whatever reason isn't keeping the temps the way you want. Look into these guys... http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3743+11369&pcatid=11369 They just keep the temp to whatever ya set it to. No more no less...


Anyone using a bilge pump for pumping water change water from barrels or holding tanks?

You a sub mariner?? ;) :D :D :D

[Patr1ck]

Go with 8 discus.
Also, go with 2 heaters its safer that way. If one malfunctions you have the other one still heating the tank. If it malfunctions the other way it wont be able to overheat the tank as fast.

P

[thebigone]

I have 11 discus in my 125 Gallon with one 400 watt theo heater and it keeps my temp. at 88 with no problem. All of my fish are very active with each other. I want to add one more to make it an even 12 but as of right now this is how I have my 125 set up.

Hope this helps.

[mlov1022]

I just installed 2 400w Hydor Theo heaters yesterday in my 150 gal. Set them to approx 84. Went to check the temp this morning and it was at 75.1. I am livid :confused::mad: Why is this?

[thebigone]

mlov1022,

I have noticed that sometimes I will have to cut mine up depending on what my house temp. is, that will play a part in it as well. Are your heaters staying on? Also on those heaters the arrow for them is not on the front it is on the side. I only have one for a 125 and it does great. I know I should do two but why fix something that isn't broke? I have a back up just in case. Do you have the heaters in the same place or do you have them spread out ?

[DiscusOnly]

Marc,

What is the room temperature in your basement? You shouldn't have a problem keeping the temp over 80 with two 400watts heater. Are they brand new? Did you plug them in a switched outlet?

Van

[mlov1022]

Marc,

What is the room temperature in your basement? You shouldn't have a problem keeping the temp over 80 with two 400watts heater. Are they brand new? Did you plug them in a switched outlet?

VanHey Van,
The basement is about 68. They are brand new and they are plugged into powerstrips where everything else is plugged into


mlov1022,

I have noticed that sometimes I will have to cut mine up depending on what my house temp. is, that will play a part in it as well. Are your heaters staying on? Also on those heaters the arrow for them is not on the front it is on the side. I only have one for a 125 and it does great. I know I should do two but why fix something that isn't broke? I have a back up just in case. Do you have the heaters in the same place or do you have them spread out ? I have them set at the dash between 83 and 87 and they are spread out.... one towards the left of tank and the other towards the right side.

[cyang]

2 ebo jagers and a temp controller from jehmco.com

if one can afford a 125 g or more than 2 discus they should invest i a safe and accurate temp system!

hydors suck btw, they cant keep a temp within 5 degrees

[blkrob]

I have 2x 300w hydor inline with 2x Rena xp3 on a 135g and have never had an issue. The spray bars on opposite sides 1 vertical and the other horizontal. The temp stays at 84. My house actually won't heat up because the room temp stays to high. I think it will work perfectly. I have a heavily planted tank. Good luck either way you go.

Robert

[Darrell Ward]

I just installed 2 400w Hydor Theo heaters yesterday in my 150 gal. Set them to approx 84. Went to check the temp this morning and it was at 75.1. I am livid :confused::mad: Why is this?

I have 2 of these exact heaters. Neither one works properly. The thermostats in these heaters (at least the ones I have) are garbage. The best heaters I have used are the titanium ones and Ranco controllers sold by JEHMCO. The Ebo heaters are also good.

[mlov1022]

I think i might be returning the heaters to petmountain. I had 3 stealth 250w and they didn't even work properly. Had to turn them up almost all the way to maintain 84. Heaters in general suck :mad:

[Darrell Ward]

For what it's worth, I have 2 125's that each run 1- 1000 watt heater on a controller in the sump. Maybe a bit of overkill, but I never have any problem maintaining any temp. I want. I also run 1000 watts on my 240 gal. without any problem. Stock# TSHTCE-1000S, $135, from www.jehmco.com .

[alpine]

Darrell ,
1000 watt heater-controller malfuntion = Cooked Discus
Hope you never experience something like that ...is not very pretty.

Roberto.

[Darrell Ward]

Darrell ,
1000 watt heater-controller malfuntion = Cooked Discus
Hope you never experience something like that ...is not very pretty.

Roberto.

Any wattage heater malfunction could result in "cooked discus", which is why I use the heavy duty Ranco controllers. They were originally designed to regulate temps. on commercial walk-in coolers, and much more reliable than ordinary aquarium type heaters or controllers. These controllers will not operate if it malfunctions and display an error message. This would prevent the heater from cooking fish. Never seen it though, I've used these for years without a single problem. I can't say the same for any other heating device I've used, and I've most of them out there. I feel it helps even the odds in my favor.

[Eddie]

I have 11 discus in my 125 Gallon with one 400 watt theo heater and it keeps my temp. at 88 with no problem. All of my fish are very active with each other. I want to add one more to make it an even 12 but as of right now this is how I have my 125 set up.

Hope this helps.

Hey Josh, I don't see 11 discus in there. The second picture just shows an empty tank. Was this picture taken before you got the fish? If you approached the tank with a camera, shouldn't they be all up in front begging for food. :o

Eddie

[Patr1ck]

Treat any heating system with care as there are no fool proof heaters. Any one of them can malfunction:(, even the ones that display error messages.

P

[Eddie]

Treat any heating system with care as there are no fool proof heaters. Any one of them can malfunction.

Yup P, still waiting for my Jagers to fail me. Been waiting 4 years ;)


Eddie

[Patr1ck]

Yup P, still waiting for my Jagers to fail me. Been waiting 4 years ;)


Eddie

Ive been using mine for 2 years without a malfunction also, but I wouldnt expect it to last forever. Someday it will fail.

P

[Eddie]

Ive been using mine for 2 years without a malfunction also, but I wouldnt expect it to last forever. Someday it will fail.

Hopefully just stops working and not the other way around because I keep 2 on every tank. ;)

Eddie

[Darrell Ward]

Hopefully just stops working and not the other way around because I keep 2 on every tank. ;)

Eddie

I think everyone would prefer it that way. :D

[wgtaylor]

I'm with Darrel, he is definitely offering good advice. Any heater with built in heater controller that sits in water will eventually malfunction. Electronics are not meant to run hot or get wet. If you look at your heaters at least half will have some moisture in the bottom of the glass. They will fail. They all seem to eventually lose the seal between the glass, steel and rubber cord, cte problem. The controllers from Jehmco remain cool and dry and will last almost indefinitely. They even have controllers that allow you to run multiple heaters and control them to come on at different times so they do not overload the circuit. The controllers can be mounted at eye level so easily visible to see if they are working and see the temperature of the water. They offer a professional solution to heater problems. Use this link, and scroll to the bottom of the page to get all the information on heaters and controllers. http://www.jehmco.com/html/temperature_controller.html

Bill

[Roxanne]

I have 2 thermometers in each tank...I am able to tell if the heater isn't running right from those...

[wgtaylor]

I have 2 thermometers in each tank...I am able to tell if the heater isn't running right from those...

Ha ha, right you are Roxanne.:) After a while you can lift the lid and tell or dip your elbow in and guess the temp to a degree or so.:) What I ment about these controllers is they have a large LED display that you can read from across the room and tell in an instant how the tank is doing. Great for old eyes like mine.;) Bill

[thebigone]

Eddie,

They are all hiding in my pics. Don't know why but they like to hide alot but a few of them will come to the glass for food but the others are still shy. don't know why that is. I took all the plants out to try and get them out of the shyness but it helped some but not the way I want it too. It might also be because they are in my office and not in my living room. I am trying to talk my wife into a 150 of 200 gallon that will go in the living room and more them in there. Could that be why they are still shy? I have only had them for 2-2 1/2 months. I just added the 11th one this past weekend. What else could I do to help them come out more? When I fee them and walk away them come back you can see all of them eating real good and some pecking at each other over the food. I'm no expert at discus, and this is my fisrt tank but so far so good. I can see growth in alot of the smaller ones that I have. Some as much as 1-1 1/2 in. Is that good or should they be growing faster? Sorry to write a book but just had a few questions for Eddie.

Thanks in return!

[mlov1022]

I think i might be returning the heaters to petmountain. I had 3 stealth 250w and they didn't even work properly. Had to turn them up almost all the way to maintain 84. Heaters in general suck :mad:Just an update.....I called Hydor direct and the guy I spoke to was perplexed as to why 2 400w heaters would not achieve 84 degrees in a 150 gal. He is shipping me 2 new heaters right away.

[Patr1ck]

Just an update.....I called Hydor direct and the guy I spoke to was perplexed as to why 2 400w heaters would not achieve 84 degrees in a 150 gal. He is shipping me 2 new heaters right away.

Thats really good customer service.:)

P

[Eddie]

Just an update.....I called Hydor direct and the guy I spoke to was perplexed as to why 2 400w heaters would not achieve 84 degrees in a 150 gal. He is shipping me 2 new heaters right away.

Hey, that is excellent customer service but I'd still go for some new jagers ;)

[jabuc]

Yeah...I think I am going with 2 Jagers...I've used them in the past and they have never failed me. I feel they make a quality product. You think 2 250w jagers would be ok in the 125g? Remember I live in Florida and my house temp stays a warm 76 to 78 most of the time.

[Darrell Ward]

Yeah...I think I am going with 2 Jagers...I've used them in the past and they have never failed me. I feel they make a quality product. You think 2 250w jagers would be ok in the 125g? Remember I live in Florida and my house temp stays a warm 76 to 78 most of the time.

If your house stays that warm, I don't see why it wouldn't.

[Eddie]

Yeah...I think I am going with 2 Jagers...I've used them in the past and they have never failed me. I feel they make a quality product. You think 2 250w jagers would be ok in the 125g? Remember I live in Florida and my house temp stays a warm 76 to 78 most of the time.

Easy ;)

[cyril]

Yep Jagers were made good ,the green ones they made many years ago were the best..I lost some fish last year using one of the newer ones. I don't think highly of them no more

[Eddie]

Yep Jagers were made good ,the green ones they made many years ago were the best..I lost some fish last year using one of the newer ones. I don't think highly of them no more

Really! Thats the first bad thing I have heard EVER about the new jagers. What happend? Stopped working or kept working (Cooked)?

Eddie

[jabuc]

Not wanting to change my thread to much BUT were did you all get your discus? I live in Tampa, Florida...I am going to drive down to Jack Wattley's and pick mine up! I prefer the 5 hour drive over shipping. :D

[Triadtropz]

Should I do 6 or 8 discus in my 125g?

you could do 10

[jabuc]

I am sure I could do 10, my thinking is if I do just 6 my fish load and waste will be a lot less with 6 then 8 or 10. I can't do every day water changes so I would rather have a small fish load. They should be fine in a group of 6 right??

[Darrell Ward]

I had 6 in a 125 gal. I added 6 more, and the change in their behavior was remarkable. They are like different fish. The bigger the group, the better they like it.

[thebigone]

I am sure I could do 10, my thinking is if I do just 6 my fish load and waste will be a lot less with 6 then 8 or 10. I can't do every day water changes so I would rather have a small fish load. They should be fine in a group of 6 right??

I have 11 discus in my 125 and they are growing and eating like crazy. I do W/C every other day to every 3 to 4 days depending on my work schedule. I like to do 20% every other day though. The more fish you have I think the better it is to watch them as they will become more active.
Take care.

[Darrell Ward]

I have 11 discus in my 125 and they are growing and eating like crazy. I do W/C every other day to every 3 to 4 days depending on my work schedule. I like to do 20% every other day though. The more fish you have I think the better it is to watch them as they will become more active.
Take care.

Very true. In another 125, I have 15, but they are small, and some will be removed as they pair off. Younger fish in a small group, will often huddle together in a large tank. Not much of a display. Make the group much larger, and they will become very active. Much healthier for the fish, IMO.