Heater Situation

[fljones3]

Did some "re-modeling" on my 75g. I presently have two Eheim heaters (200w) which although they are on, they are not raising the temperature anymore. It seems stuck on 27.2C. My jaybird controller is set for 29C. It doesn't seem to be a controller issue.

1. Has anyone seen this before with Eheim heaters?
2. I would love to replace the two with just one titanium heater to tidy up the tank. Any recommendations? I was thinking a 500w.

Thoughts?

[Megalodon]

It'd be kind of odd for two heaters to fail at the same time in the same way. Maybe the controller probe has gone bad? I would bypass the controller and see if the heaters work on their own.

Bulk Reef Supply is making their own heater system now and it looks promising.

[fljones3]

Thanks Megalodon for the recommendation. I ordered what I needed from Bulk Reef Supply. I will manually work the temps until it arrives tomorrow. I decided to go with 300w with a backup. A little overkill but if one fails then I am good to go. I think the controller is a rebranded ink bird but with replaceable probe.

[AquaticNerd]

Hi Frank,

You are correct - the new system out by BRS is using a rebranded Inkbird 306T that has been modified with a 3.5mm jack connector that allows for you to replace the temperature probe.

I'm kind of bummed that they just announced it, since I just bought two brand-new Eheim Jagers and an Inkbird 306T to control the temperature of my upcoming tank. The BRS system looks promising - it can be configured to activate at a temperature differential of .3F (whereas my current 306T only allows for differential at 1F). That and the use of the Schego Titanium heater looks to be a killer combo. Oh well, there's always the next tank...

[fljones3]

I am pumped to get a Schego heater. I also like the fact of the replaceable probe. I should have it tomorrow sometime.

[fljones3]

Shipment came in early today. Quick setup as I was familiar with the Inkbird controllers. My previous set was an Inkbird controller with two 200w Eheims.
I love the lengths of the titanium heaters. I show only one but I got two for redundancy. It probably took 10-15 minutes to set up. It's doing a great job maintaining the heat at 84F. A highly recommend (for a day one evaluation).

IMG_0467.jpg
IMG_0468.jpg

[AquaticNerd]

That shorty is a 300W heater!?!

Man, that pales in comparison to my two Eheim 300W heaters, which are over 19" in length. Now I wish I had kept all of my stuff in boxes - that way I could return them and get that nice combo! That would leave me with tons more room in the main sump compartment too. *Wonders if wife would notice if I changed these out and just kept the "old stuff" for future projects...*

Looks good! Do you know if the controller was properly calibrated? I use a NIST calibrated thermometer to validate the calibration on all my heaters and controllers, and my latest Inkbird 306T was under by about .8F.

[fljones3]

That shorty is a 300W heater!?!

Man, that pales in comparison to my two Eheim 300W heaters, which are over 19" in length. Now I wish I had kept all of my stuff in boxes - that way I could return them and get that nice combo! That would leave me with tons more room in the main sump compartment too. *Wonders if wife would notice if I changed these out and just kept the "old stuff" for future projects...*

Looks good! Do you know if the controller was properly calibrated? I use a NIST calibrated thermometer to validate the calibration on all my heaters and controllers, and my latest Inkbird 306T was under by about .8F.

Yes. I liked them so much I am changing the heater on my QT tank also. You could just get the elements since you have the controller. Use the Eheim’s for backup in case the elements go out (or emergencies). Of course, it involves money but ....

My calibration was off about .5F. You just put in the calibration factor and it’s done.

[AquaticNerd]

Exactly! Calibration is easy enough on the controller.

That's a good idea... Guess I'll consider changing now while the cycle is still going and I don't have to worry about interrupting my fish after they arrive.

[fljones3]

Exactly! Calibration is easy enough on the controller.

That's a good idea... Guess I'll consider changing now while the cycle is still going and I don't have to worry about interrupting my fish after they arrive.

What was the conclusion? I am still loving mine.

[AquaticNerd]

Still thinking about it!

Considering whether I should get two 300W for redundancy, but since they don't have internal thermostats or anything, it's debatable whether you need a redundant one since they can't get "stuck on/off" since the controller is the one managing the on/off cycles.

My water volume is a bit over 100 gallons, so maybe I'll stick with two 200W.

[Jack L]

i had a different brand one get stuck on, cooked most of the tank. seems like stuck heaters is a common issue. i now have the finnix with a build in alarm

[fljones3]

i had a different brand one get stuck on, cooked most of the tank. seems like stuck heaters is a common issue. i now have the finnix with a build in alarm

Yes, these controllers have set limiters to hopefully keep that from happening.

[AquaticNerd]

Hey Frank, how are the BRS heaters treating you?

By the time I went to buy a couple for my tank, they were out of stock. Luckily they got a stock of 300W and 600W back in this past Monday so I placed my order.

I also grabbed one of their magnetic dual-heater mounts. I have to say that I will probably never go back to using suction cups for a heater, even if I have to spend $30 for a magnetic mount. I installed the new heaters yesterday, and I have to say that I love the small size of the titanium heaters. I got two 300W units to replace the two 300W Eheim Jagers I originally started with. Gained a lot more sump space going from an almost 20" heater down to the 10.25" length of the BRS. Loving them!

[fljones3]

I agree with your assessment. I have no regrets. I highly recommend them.
They are compact, efficient, and thus far, no issues.