Eheim Pro III 2080 & Hydor In Line Heater

[TankWatcher]

Hi all

Currently I have a filter at each end of the 7ft tank (138G), with each filter having a hydor heater installed in line. I'm not happy with the water flow & a few other things with my current filter set up & I'm thinking of upgrading to a single Pro III 2080.

The 2080 has two intake hoses (one for each end) and the return hose goes in the middle - which is meant to make the flow great for a long tank.

The thing I'm wondering about is how the heaters would work. I'd only have the one return hose and one hydor heater won't be enough. Would installing the 2 hydor heaters in line, on the same return hose work ok?

Any thoughts would be appreciated

[erikc]

Robyn,

I don't think installing the two heaters in line willl work. The heat will not be evenly distributed throughout the tank and one of the heaters will probably not be in use at all.

The best would to be get another heater that you would install in the tank at the opposite from the outflow in order to ensure a more steady, gentle heat throughout the volume of your tank.

[TankWatcher]

Hi erick

I asked this question on BIDKA, and one of the admin there thought it would work, but that I'd have to have the second heater one or two degrees warmer than the first.

You don't think that would work?

I wonder how I can contact the manufactuer. Maybe I can ask them.

[Eddie]

Hi erick

I asked this question on BIDKA, and one of the admin there thought it would work, but that I'd have to have the second heater one or two degrees warmer than the first.

You don't think that would work?

I wonder how I can contact the manufactuer. Maybe I can ask them.

Robyn, you should be able to shoot them an email through their website.

http://www.hydor.com/main/contact


HTH

Eddie

[TankWatcher]

Thanks Eddie - I only just googled that site myself and have sent it. I hope they are better at replying to this sort of contact than Eheim are. I've tried asking them questions, using their very similar version of a "contact" system ..... never heard anything ..... guess I play a waiting game.

In the meantime - is there anyone here who has ever tried this?

[scottishbloke]

I am currently mass producing aquarium plants to trade to my LFS for a Pro III 2075 for my 90g. Robyn, have you seen the sheer size of the 2080? It's so big it apparently has little wheels on the bottom to help you maneuver it around! From what I've read it will do the job for your big tank though. You are aware the 2080 usually also does not come with filter media, yes? This site another forum member found has great deals on Substrat Pro:

http://wildlifesupplyclub.ipower.com/store/aquaria.html

I can't comment on the inline heater question, as I haven't tried them.

HTH,

Colin

[bs6749]

Why not put one on the intake line and one on the outlet line? It wouldn't hurt to put them one after the other on either line, but one will have greater wear on the thermocouple than the other. It seems more effective to place them further apart however.

Think about it this way. You set the heaters for both 28 degrees Celsius and you fill the tank with water initially that is 25C (no fish yet). The 25C water is cycling through your filter and comes to the start of the first heater. The first heater isn't going to instantly increase the temperature of the entering water to 28C, the water may exit the first heater at 25.05C at which point it enters the second heater and picks up another .05C and leaves the second heater at 25.1C (made up numbers). It will take time to get your tank up to 28C if the heaters are close together or far apart.

Now lets say that some time has gone by and your water is at 27.95C entering the first heater so it will leave at 28C, which means that the second heater has no need to turn on (assume both heaters are set to heat to the exact same temp). This means that your first heater will be working overtime. There will be some loss of heat from the outlet tube before the 28C water gets back into the tank, albeit a small amount. It seems from reasoning that you would be best to put the heaters as far apart on the filter as possible, so one in the beginning of the intake and one just before reaching the tank. That way the second heater is able to contribute it's share of work as well. Understand what I'm saying?

[Fraise]

If there are two intake tubes, why not put an inline heater on eat of them? assuming your water circulation is good you shouldnt have too much of a temperature difference in your tank from one side to the other, both heaters should come on around the same time.

i wouldnt try installing 2 heaters in the same line unles you can connect it to a multi-stage temperature controller

[akumastew]

Why not get the 2180 Pro III Thermocanister.

It has a 500 watt heater built in.

That's what I use on my 125 gallon.

It is huge, and does have wheels on the bottom.

- Stew

[discussmith]

You can split the return line with a "Y" or "T" fitting to two hydors and either keep them separate back into tank or "Y" or "T" them back together after the heaters for a single return. You don't want them in series as the first in line will do all the work.

[Eddie]

Why not get the 2180 Pro III Thermocanister.

It has a 500 watt heater built in.

That's what I use on my 125 gallon.

It is huge, and does have wheels on the bottom.

- Stew

This idea sounds best, built in heater, no messing around with the hydors.

[AngryBird]

Go for 2180 eheim pro. I have been using it for the last 3 years and it works great.

[erikc]

Why not get the 2180 Pro III Thermocanister.

It has a 500 watt heater built in.

That's what I use on my 125 gallon.

It is huge, and does have wheels on the bottom.

- Stew

Its probably your best bet (budget depending). Putting two heaters in line is really not the most efficent way and you will have one heater working full blast and the other will only be used for short perioids. It does not sound like an energy efficent way of doing things.

[TankWatcher]

Thanks all - you've all been a great help and it seems it would not be ideal to put the 2 inline, on the one hose.

Well, I have the hydor heaters already hooked up to the current setup and they are only around a month old. If only I knew one of my Pro II 2028's was going to play up, I wouldn't have bought them .... but I have them now, so will stick with them.

Anyway, like Colin said, the 2080 is huge. Measured up & I can't fit it the cabinet .... so that kills that idea. I knew it didn't come with media, but the plan at that stage was to shut down the 2 x 2028's and transfer the cycled media straight across to the 2080.

I placed an order yesterday for the pro III 2075. Thanks for the link Colin, but I can't buy electrical equipment from the USA, as you are on 110V and Australia is on 240V. Are you happy with your 2075? Does the priming function actually work !

One of my original Pro II 2028's will stay in service with a hydor heater. The new 2075 will also have a hydor heater. The tank needs 2 of the hydors, as one is not capable of heating 138G.

Should one of the heaters be set at slightly higher temp than the other?

[bs6749]

Should one of the heaters be set at slightly higher temp than the other?

It really depends on how the heaters are calibrated. Best to put them in the tank and have two thermometers on separate ends of the tank and adjust as needed. I don't think a 1-2 degree temperature difference is going to make much difference though. I've actually wondered recently if there have been any experiments done in long tanks to see which temperature discus prefer. Of course those experiments would have to be properly designed to account for the variables like discus feeling more secure in corners of the tank, etc.

[mcbrix]

hi i found one of members has writen abount the eheim 2075 on ukaps forum very good review if you want to find more abount this filter as i waiting for mine as well

[TankWatcher]

Hi bs6749 & mcbrix

I ended up ordering a couple of the thermo pro 3 2080, so I' won't be using the Hydor In Lines anymore.

[grantbudd74]

I have a 2080 and put a UV inline and lost a bit of flow so I imagine to inline heaters would slow it down loads and you would be less than happy. Why not boost the whole thing and use an existing filter for the heaters that way you may get extra flow and increased filtration making it a good all round choice...

Didnt read all the posts so sorry if this has been suggested already.

Good luck.

The 2080 is easy to service and prime. I have put 3 taps on mine to help with priming each line after a filter service. The filter is self primimng but had issues with it re-filling evenly so I simply shut off one inlet and this works well. I then shut off the other and bingo its done! The tap for the outlet is because I have an extra length of tube hooked up to the outlet for water changes and this allows me to direct water flow.

Also when you re-start after a filter service the rush of air through the hoses blows a lot of algae into the tank. I always re-start with the outlet going straight into the garden so the algae issue is less of a mess i the tank.

THats it :-)

Grant

[2gwm]

Has anyone used an inline heater in the Fluval 405 using their flex hose?

[Fish Finatics]

Hi Robin:

Did you ever get your Eheim 2080??? I have one on a smaller discus tank and I have not found them to be great as scarfing up wastes. They have that great biological capasity as they are HUGE but they only turn over 450 gph. On a tank your size, you need some "fast filters" for aggressive mechanical filtration. I would use 2 Ebo Jagers for heaters rather than doing inline heaters near each of your Eheim intakes.

Best of luck to you and I hope this is not too late!!!

[Juventino]

AngryBird

The heater is really precise or...
Can you tell me, because i have a dilemma about 2080 or 2180...