Suggestions on running 2 heaters...

[Phillydubs]

Good afternoon, I was hoping someone could give me some advice...

I have heard a few people on here say they run 2 heaters to back each other up should 1 fail...

My first question is, does everyone do this or recommend this? I would hate to loose fish over a failed heater...

Second, is this as simple as adding a second heater on the other side of the tank and setting it and letting them both run. They have automatic shut-off's on them right? So once they reach the desired temp, it shuts itself off? I don't want to cook my tank by running 2 heaters either, so I am just looking for some feedback here and help.

Thanks,

phillydubs

[troysdiiscus]

yes I do and many do, I do because of the size of my tank, so lets say only had one in my tank and the one failed and the the temp dropped from 83 to 72 that can be just as bad as the other way around, both can kill your fish if not caught soon enough. If I had another heater it will run to help to hold temp up until I saw the change. Yes most heaters have a thermostat that when it reaches temp it will cut off, some have where you can adjust the setting for a more accurate temp reading and some in-line heaters have an alarm system to alert when there is an issue. So having 2 in your tank is a fail safe...

[du3ce]

so do u set both the heater at the same temp you want or do u set the back up heater at a lower temp? I was thinking of doing this for the winter time just in case something happens to the other heater

[WaterDog]

so do u set both the heater at the same temp you want or do u set the back up heater at a lower temp? I was thinking of doing this for the winter time just in case something happens to the other heater

Same temp. Also the thermostats on heaters can malfunction and stick in the on position. It only takes one heater to raise the temp too high. Of course depending on tank size and power of heaters that can be as bad as losing heat. It's not a bad idea to run a dedicated heater control unit like a Ranco ETC. If you plug your heaters into it, then set it's high temperature limit a degree or two above your heaters settings. In the event of a malfunction, it will shut down both heaters until the tank temp drops back down below set range.
--RR

[camuth8]

so do u set both the heater at the same temp you want or do u set the back up heater at a lower temp? I was thinking of doing this for the winter time just in case something happens to the other heater

Yes, set both at the same temp. It won't heat your water any more than it is now.

[du3ce]

ok thanks