Heater help for beginner

[Tindomul]

Hi all,

I have kept tanks for many years, but the heaters I used to use were the old hang on back types. From the research I have done, I will not use those ever again. Anyway, my tank is a 75 gallon with a 30 gallon long sump. I have been working on setting it up since October, but I have been taking my time. I am now at the stage where I want to think about heating. I followed some threads here and that led me to a website that helped me calculate that I needed 500watt heaters.

This is because I have an apartment that is kept very cool in the summer months (say around 67-70 F), and it can get very cold at the beginning or ending of the heating season. It can also get very hot and people tend to open windows which means it can get cold again quickly.

So based on the lowest temperature of the room the tank will be in and the temperature at which Discus fish are kept, the website (forgot which one) calculated around 400 are necessary. I don't see any heaters for sale with that wattage.

I find it a bit hard to believe, and I would like to get people's perspective on this. As I understand it, I will be getting titanium heaters, at least 2. What is the best brand and what wattage do you think is necessary?

I was looking at this one: http://www.aquacave.com/finnex-hmas-500-watts-titanium-heater-with-guard.html

Thanks!!! This forum is great!!

[HarryDk]

Get 2x 300W heat to start with and use them both, then you can invest in a temp controller.

[Pardal]

When it comes to heaters is better to have several of the same value , that one of high wattage as heaters tend to fail and you will end up with no heat in the tank, with several heaters there is less chances of cold water heater failure, they tend to last longer as is less wear and tear or usage per say, just do the summation to get the desire value, and to calculate keep it simple 3 watts per gallon is a good rule of the thumb, then follow the manufacture recomendation/guidance as some cheap heaters are actually less than 3 w per gallon . I recommend also to buy quality heaters as they last longer so the initial high price will pay over time. use brands like EIHEM(jagger) and FLUVAL the electronic one with digital color code thermometer . these two brands has work for me through out the years.
I have bad experience with titaniums with external controls to an independent cable with probe, lost some value fish that end up in a Soup.
Also titanium doesn't get along with acrylic tanks.

[Adam S]

((82-67)/10) * 3 to 5 watts * 100 gallons = 450 watts minimum. My favorite is Aqueon Pro.

[Tindomul]

Hey,

what do you guys think of Cobalt Neo-therm?

[gators111]

Cobalts seem to be good now. The higher wattage ones were exploding about 2 years ago, but that was due to a defect in the manufacturing process that they got sorted out. I've got a 100 watt one on a tank that is pretty accurate and keeps steady temps. However if I were you, I would look at 2 300 watt regular heaters and hook them up to a temp controller such as an Inkbird.

[Tindomul]

Thanks for the reply, is there a reason why you suggest this?

[Adam S]

Cobalts are just too expensive. I got a couple on sale to try, but they're just heaters. The best heater insurance is a quality external controller with 2-3 smaller heaters. If the heater's cheap internal thermostat fails, your fish don't boil.

[ssevasta]

I’ve had great luck with the finnex heaters that go with their temperature controllers. I have a 500 watt in my 55 and in my 75 gallon tanks because like you I have a room where the temperatures can drop to the low 60’s at certain times of the year. They’re a tad expensive but damn near indestructible. I had an issue where the water level dropped too low and the plastic housing half way melted away but the heater still works fine, luckily none of the melting plastic dripped into the tank cuz it had started to melt on the top side of the heater first. I ended up just chipping off as much of the melted plastic with a knife after i cooled the heater in a bucket of cold water. I was a little nervous about chemicals from the plastic getting released into the water after it’s melt and cool cycle but everything worked out.

[gators111]

Tindomul--- an external temp controller is usually more accurate and robust than the cheap, bi-metal thermostats in most heaters. The digital ones work good for the most part, but can be pricey. Finnex does make a good product, they just tend to be expensive too. Hence why I suggested an Inkbird controller for 25-30 bucks and 2 run of the mill glass heaters set a few degrees above your ideal temp. That way you have built-in redundancy if the Ink bird fails the built in thermostats on the heaters will shut off before your fish get cooked.