I would think the only difference with heater count is how gradual or rapid your recovery to target temp is. More heaters gives you backup in case one fails but fewer heaters would make the tep swing back up more gradual.
I'm saying this using a ranco which kicks on at 77 and off at 78. With fancier controllers this prob isn't a concern with ramp up time since the controller keepers a tighter range i think.
As for power draw... some with halides likely underestimate their draw. My 250W each ran at 330W. Ballasts and bulbs both determine what that number will be.
Another way to save money (unrelated to power though) is to take good care of your ro membrane. flush it before and after use and then bypass the di resin for a minute or so until membrane output is as low as it's reasonably going to get. mine has been outputting 1 TDS after less than a minute of bypass since I got it and after running a while it drops to zero. This practice saves you a ton of DI resin.
Last edited by lastlight; 02-19-2013 at 06:42 PM.
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