Controller or Heater controls temp

[goldchair]

I know there has been some threads in the past on this, but really going back and forth with this one. I have a Fluval 13.5 with a Fluval M50 heater. Recently moved the heater out of the 3rd chamber and placed it in the main tank to water level fluctuations in chamber. I also purchased a Inkbird 306A. The decision of struggling with is which one to allow to control the temperature.

 

[rtparty]

I have the heater control and the controller as the backup personally.

 

[iannarelli]

Have the inkbird control the temp. While my reef is only about a year old, I have run my freshwater tanks like this for years. I set the inkbird to my desired temperature and the heater a couple of degrees above that (but theoretically, you can turn it up to 99, doesn't matter). You will never be able to overheat your tank because the inkbird will cut power to the heater once the probe reaches your set temp. My advice would be to get a decent thermometer, calibrate it, then use it to calibrate the inkbird.

 

[Dom]

Relying on the heater to control the temp is risky. They often get stuck in the on position, and when that happens, the tank can easily reach north of 90 degrees. It is why we use controllers.

Personally, I keep my heater set to max and let the controller take care of the rest.