Tank Heaters - question

Coralgurl · #1 11-17-2011, 03:58 PM

My 55 gl sw was set up in April this year, therefore this is the first winter we are going through. The tank is set up in our dining room/kitchen area and about 1-1 1/2 feet away from the window. I keep the tank temp around 80, at night it would drop to 78/79 and during the day, would go to 82 on really hot days in the summer. I've noticed since its gotten colder outside, I couldn't get the tank above 77. I went and bought another heater yesterday and this morning with the lights out, the tank was at 79.

The heaters are in the tank, I don't have a sump. How many heaters do most reefers run, obviously depending on the size of the tank. I've got 2 fluval heaters rated for 65 gl in the tank now.

Myka · #2 11-17-2011, 04:01 PM

My 90 hasn't had a heater on it in quite awhile, but I usually use two smaller heaters rather than one large one because when heaters fail they usually get stuck in the on setting and cook the tank. If two smaller heaters are used, one stuck on will not be enough to overheat the tank. My tank does best if it is not over 80 degrees. I try to keep it around 78, but it is almost always 79-83. The halides heat the water enough during the day, and there is enough water volume that it doesn't drop much at night. Just a couple degrees of variance daily. Right now it is 79 degrees when the lights first come on, and 81 when the lights go off.

It depends how warm your room is too. If the room is only 60 degrees and the tank is 80 degrees it will take a lot more heater power than if the room was 70 degrees. Put a thermometer in your room near your tank, and you may be surprised how much lower it is than what your furnace says.

I have one system that is about 60 gallons, but has a lot of plumbing on it and is in a cold room (~60 degrees), and it takes 350 watts of heaters to keep the tank at 79 degrees.

mike31154 · #3 11-17-2011, 04:16 PM

I use two 150 watt heaters in my sumpless 77. Need to tweak them up during the cold season since I allow the room temp to drop to 16 C overnight. When I set up the tank I was using a single 300 or 350 watter. Changed to two for the reasons Myka mentioned, if one fails in the ON position, I should notice something's up before my critters get roasted.

Coralgurl · #4 11-17-2011, 04:47 PM

Thanks for the replies! I'll check the box for the watts, can't remember at the moment from work. I'm running T5's (2x54w) and LED's on the tank, the T5s give off some heat, but not alot. The inhabitants and corals didn't seem bothered by the lower temp, but thought it was a bit on the low side, and its only -7 outside, could have been a concern once it gets colder.

The house thermostat is in the living room, we have an open concept on the main floor but it is cooler around the windows. I hate being cold so keep the house temp around 20/21 in the winter.

Myka · #5 11-17-2011, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coralgurl

The house thermostat is in the living room, we have an open concept on the main floor but it is cooler around the windows. I hate being cold so keep the house temp around 20/21 in the winter.

That's what the thermostat says, check with a thermometer in the room. Bet it's colder.

My thermostat is set for 20.5C and the rooms are actually 18C.

Coralgurl · #6 11-17-2011, 05:00 PM

I will check the temp by the tank, I'm sure its cooler than what is on the t-stat. Going to pick up one of those glass temp readers as well and put that on the tank rather than relying on what the heater(s) say. I have noticed with the lower temps, algae is slowing down...seems anywhere from 78-83 is acceptable?