heater question

[spiffyfish]

So now that it is finally getting colder here in AZ, in the sump of my discus tank which right now is 75g i have 2 jager heaters 1 300w and 1 150w. i have a digital thermometer in the sump that reads about 81 degrees, and a suction therm. in the bottom of the tank which reads 86. the water to me feels colder at night than during the day it does not feel like 86 to me. i just hope i can trust the therm. in the tank, i wouldnt think analog therm. would fail too easily. has anyone had problems with an analog thermometer reading off?

[timmy82]

I would get a sensative scale digital termometre that reads in .1 incruments to double check. When it is night are the red lights coming on saying the heater is running?

[spiffyfish]

the heaters run almost 24hrs a day, as in the red indicator light is almost always on both the heaters.

[DerekFF]

Your tank is 75g or just the sump is 75g? Jager heaters are extremely reliable. The digital therms, especially the $10-20 ones say right on their package +-2 degrees. So your tank could be 86......therm in sump says 81 but with a 2-3 degree accuracy variance on either therm. Id just pick one therm to use and not worry about using 2 or invest in a quality one.

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[spiffyfish]

the tank is 75g and 20g sump. i knew the digital therms. are within a couple degrees. just reached in the sump and both heaters seem to be getting hot, maybe the battery is dying on the digital therm. there is about a 6 degree difference between the 2 thermometers, the one at the bottom of the tank vs the one in the sump. ive been contemplating getting a 500w finnex titanium heater and controller and keeping the jager 150 in as back up and taking out the 300, since they both seem to be running constantly. my total volume of water is around 90g.

[Trier20]

I agree with Derek. I would stick with one thermometer in the main tank. I would think with a 300w and a 150w jaeger heater that should be enough to keep your tanks at a pretty consistant temp. My only thoughts would be if they are out of calibration or the sump isn't turning water fast enough. How many gph is your pump in the sump?

[timmy82]

The Jagar heaters are good if you research a bit further they will say 80 - 160 g on the 300 watt at an ambiant air temp of 70f can heat max 80f or something along those lines as an example. So if your ambiant air temp is getting near frezing maybe 2 x 300 watt jagar maybe better? The lower the ambiant air temp in the room the bigger the heater will have to be.

[spiffyfish]

its a quietone 3000 so rated at about 800gph but its running with a valve about half way closed, and pumping about 4ft up.

[spiffyfish]

i want to be able to run more turn over, but i removed my spraybar and now it is a couple 90's over the rim then another 90 facing the surface almost completely submerged so it still creates a lot of movement. i want to turn over more water but its too much pressure and my overflow cant keep up.

[Trier20]

Seems like the flow is good. If the top tank reads 86 inwouldnt worry about it too much.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

What is the room temperature? A jager 300 watt heater is rated for tanks over 150 gallons and if it can't get your 75 over 81 degrees then it may be time to recalibrate the heater or get a new one. I would suggest getting 2 - 200 watt heaters. As Brandon said maybe the sump is not turning water fast enough.

If the jager 300 watt heater is 19" long, it must be a tight fit in your 20 gal? Also note, some heaters if not plugged into a direct line power strip that can handle the wattage load, you could lose a couple degrees there as well. Just food for thought.

[Elliots]

If you think the thermometers are wrong you need to check their accuracy. Put all your thermometers in one place, wait a while and see what they all read. You will then know the deviation between the thermometers. If you have three or four and a couple read the same I would assume they are correct and go from there. I recently splurged on an Aquatop 450W heater, it was about $56 delivered. I have a 150g tank but sometimes it gets cold in NYC. The heater has a digital readout of the heater setting and tank temp. It has an external heat sensor that is on an 3-4" wire. It also has Auto Shut Off at 93 degrees. The heater is only 15" high and I think it has to be positioned vertically. The numbers are about 1 cm high. Very easy to read. I do keep a thermometer next to the heater but I rarely check it now.

[DerekFF]

The aquatops are nice and new. we will see if they make a name for themselves

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[MGKelly]

I believe that taller the tank the more difficult it is to heat. for example i have two - 23 inches wide / 60 inches high 105 gallon holding tanks.
I need two 300watt heaters to keep the temp at 84F where as my 75 gallon which is 18x21x48 is just fine with one 300watt heater.

J

[sunshine]

What is the room temperature? A jager 300 watt heater is rated for tanks over 150 gallons and if it can't get your 75 over 81 degrees then it may be time to recalibrate the heater or get a new one. I would suggest getting 2 - 200 watt heaters. As Brandon said maybe the sump is not turning water fast enough.



How do you recalibrate a heater????