BRS Heater controller... Help

[Edudek]

Sooo i have a 20 gallon tank with a 75 watt heater I’ve had in the tank set at 77 and I’ve always just left it alone..... well lately I’ve been seeing posts of people’s heaters cooking tanks so i went out and got the brs heater controller which was 50 bucks. Welp I’ve never tested the temp of my tank and the probe is saying my tank is 81.8 right now and I’ve tried another food grade probe that’s been pretty good and it’s reading 82.1 so pretty much they are similar .... my questions are do i set the temp on the controller to 81 and just leave it or do i try and get the temp down to 77-79?? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks everyone!

 

[Houstoner]

Pretty sure the BRS heater controllers are like inkbird, I would think you can calibrate the controller.

 

[vessxpress1]

Well, coral can handle 81 but if you have fish it's harder for oxygen to dissolve into water the warmer it gets. That also doesn't leave you a lot of room to spare on the high end before it gets too hot. I'd rather be at 78.

 

[phatduckk]

you can calibrate it. I don't the unit in front of me but from memory I believe you:

1. hold the "set" button for a bit till stuff blinks,
2. then click set until the screen says "Cal" or something else that's short for calibrate,
3. then hit the up/down arrows to specific the difference between the probe and the calibration temp

 

[Edudek]

Will it hurt anything dropping the temp? Also what’s the best way to drop the temp? Unplug the heater? The fish have been doing good I’m only really worried about the coral.

 

[Edudek]

you can calibrate it. I don't the unit in front of me but from memory I believe you:

1. hold the "set" button for a bit till stuff blinks,
2. then click set until the screen says "Cal" or something else that's short for calibrate,
3. then hit the up/down arrows to specific the difference between the probe and the calibration temp

Soo I’d go into the negative alittle bit?

 

[phatduckk]

Soo I’d go into the negative alittle bit?

think so. Turns out the manual is online: https://brsinstructions.s3.amazonaw...er-controller-instruction-manual-10142019.pdf

To drop the temp I'd calibrate the BRS unit and set it to 78. The unit will make sure the heaters are kept off until the temp hits 77.9 at which point they'll turn on again. if you want to go slower just calibrate it, then set the temp on the controller to 80 for a few days, then down to 79 a few days then finally to 78.

 

[vessxpress1]

If the heaters set at 77 and you're getting 82 degrees with it, it sounds like there's something jacked up with it. Idk what other people do but I would look into another heater. For not just turn the heater down a degree at a time over an extended period and see how it does. The controller should maintain the heat you want regardless of the what the heater says as long as its turned up high enough but if the controller goes out it might not be good.

 

[Edudek]

If the heaters set at 77 and you're getting 82 degrees with it, it sounds like there's something jacked up with it. Idk what other people do but I would look into another heater. For not just turn the heater down a degree at a time over an extended period and see how it does. The controller should maintain the heat you want regardless of the what the heater says as long as its turned up high enough but if the controller goes out it might not be good.

I turned it down to 75 on the heater and have the controller set to 79. I’m going to have to wait till the lights turn off to see what exactly it gets to at night.

 

[Edudek]

think so. Turns out the manual is online: https://brsinstructions.s3.amazonaw...er-controller-instruction-manual-10142019.pdf

To drop the temp I'd calibrate the BRS unit and set it to 78. The unit will make sure the heaters are kept off until the temp hits 77.9 at which point they'll turn on again. if you want to go slower just calibrate it, then set the temp on the controller to 80 for a few days, then down to 79 a few days then finally to 78.

I think that’s the plan. Thanks for the help!

 

[Edudek]

What are y’all thoughts on a chiller??

 

[Snoopy 67]

Not necessary unless you have heat problems in the summer.
THEN you have to bear with all the heat they push into the room.

 

[Houstoner]

What are y’all thoughts on a chiller??

I live in Texas where it's 90+ for 8 months out of the year. Just keep you AC set to 78 or below and you will not need a chiller.

 

[Butuz]

Yep, invest in a Nest type of a thermostat so you can control remotely. I live in Houston and never needed a chiller if the house is ACd. If AC option does not work for whatever reason, if have a tank controller (like Apex, eKoral, etc), set a rule to kill the lights if temps go above 82F etc and back on when they reach 78.

 

[Edudek]

Yep, invest in a Nest type of a thermostat so you can control remotely. I live in Houston and never needed a chiller if the house is ACd. If AC option does not work for whatever reason, if have a tank controller (like Apex, eKoral, etc), set a rule to kill the lights if temps go above 82F etc and back on when they reach 78.

what’s a decent one?? I know the the apex is expensive as heck and i feel like putting that on a 20 gallon is overkill lol. I unplugged the heater and i woke up this morning to the tank at 78.1 so I’m going to see what it gets to today without no heater and to judge what to do.

 

[Edudek]

I live in Texas where it's 90+ for 8 months out of the year. Just keep you AC set to 78 or below and you will not need a chiller.

I’m in Tampa Florida and sadly i wasn’t thinking when i set the tank up and put it in my bedroom which doesn’t cool that great to the rest of the house. But woke up to 78.1

 

[Butuz]

what’s a decent one?? I know the the apex is expensive as heck and i feel like putting that on a 20 gallon is overkill lol. I unplugged the heater and i woke up this morning to the tank at 78.1 so I’m going to see what it gets to today without no heater and to judge what to do.

i have eK Lite by eKoral on my 18g frag tank, works great. This is a smaller/cheaper version of their eK Core that I run on my RSR250.

 

[ScottB]

Controller(s) for heater(s) are critical IMO. Simply put it is probably the most important redundancy you can have.

Just make sure the controller's temperature probe is fastened very securely under water where the heater is located. I once pulled the probe during cleaning and failed to replace it. So the controller then thought the tank was 72 (ambient air temp) and set the heater boil. Thankfully, the heater shut itself around 81. Redundancy only works if you don't screw it up.

 

[watdachuck]

Tagging onto this thread.

I have two heaters plugged into the controller but only the Work1 LED illuminates when activated. Should both Work1 and Work2 illuminate? The instructions do not explain this, or maybe its that simple.

 

[ScottB]

Tagging onto this thread.

I have two heaters plugged into the controller but only the Work1 LED illuminates when activated. Should both Work1 and Work2 illuminate? The instructions do not explain this, or maybe its that simple.

Same. Just Work1 lights up. But I am pretty sure they both fire. APEX charts suggest it is working as programmed.