System Concept: Redundant Heater Control

Considering the importance of heating our aquariums, it is an inevitable fact that some of us have lost fish to a malfunctioning heater. This issue can have a greatly reduced occurrence by using an electronic temperature controller with a heater that has a built in thermostat.

a simple system of a thermostat heater and an electronic controller can be had for below $50 and have good reliability but it may be better to buy items with proven track records.

The Ranco ETC-111000 controller is the base controller that is used in a number of aquarium brands like Aqualogic, Jehmco, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-1110...keywords=ranco

though the probe is not rated for being put in the water, many people have had no problems with it being submerged.

For those concerned/paranoid about damage to the probe or for reef applications, Aqualogic has their own version with a titanium probe.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Aqua_Logi...FITETC-vi.html

To accompany this controller, an Eheim Jager heater of appropriate size would be my heater of choice

The fastest place for Jagers is Amazon with their Prime shipping. The cheapest place for Jagers is kensfish.com

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_...nid=2470954011

http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-sup...r-heaters.html

of course if these items are too expensive, there are alternatives such as finnex controllers and aquatop heaters which can be had for about half the price of their above counterparts.

Finnex Max 300 Controller
http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Max-300...finnex+control

Aquatop 300w heater
http://www.amazon.com/Aquatop-Aquari...aquatop+heater

The nice thing about aquatop heaters is that they are a very popular chinese clone that has had MANY MANY years of service under other names, its downside is that it is not an accurate heater as far as its thermostat reading on the tube, but it has a very very precise thermostat. So, you need a thermometer to confirm its temperature setting, but it will hold the set temperature like a rock. Just keep in mind that setting it to 82F may have the thermostat say 86F, this is somewhat normal.

This is a simple setup that can cost very little in the grand scheme of things, but can save thousands in livestock. Here's to all our finned friends, those that are still with us, and those that arent! We do our best!