Heater and probe placement conundrum

[AquaAmator]

My sump is pictured below (Ruby cube). There is a probe holder at the bulkhead between the overflow (back left) and the refugium (front) sections. I originally put the heater in the return area. My theory was to have the temperature probe getting water direct from the tank. But I read several comments about not wanting the heater in the return in case that area runs dry. And I bought a heater that turned out to be too long to fit diagonally in the return area. As a result I put the heater in the overflow area. But now my temperature probe is downstream of the heater. That did not seem right. I moved the probe into the main tank overflow. Now I noticed a new problem. When I shut down the water flow to do maintenance, the heater runs continuously.

I would appreciate any thoughts you have. My thoughts were: 1) buy a heater that will fit in the return and go back to my old setup; 2) buy a second temperature controller for the sump, and leave the Apex probe where it is.

 

[Hitman]

I would find a properly sized heater meaning watt wise that will fit in your sump. I run all my heaters in my return pump chamber and have never had a issues. As long as you have a ato and stay on top of keeping it filled there should be no worries. Heck the lack of water will hurt your pump before you heater.

 

[Brad Miller]

Not sure what your asking, but the temp probe should be in the sump where the tank water comes into it.
Heater should be anywhere in the sump after the probe.
If you have apex, just plug the heater into the energy bar output that has the height amp rating and tell it to shut the heater, skimmer and return pump down on a maintenance or feed cycle.

The Hydor titanium is small enough at 300 watt to fit in any small sump

 

[bluprntguy]

Your heater‘s temperature control should be set a couple of degrees higher than your controller. This should stop your heater from running constantly during tank maintenance and help prevent overheating should your controller fail for some reason. That said, I prefer to keep my heater and probe in the same chamber to prevent the problem.

 

[AquaAmator]

Update: I have moved the temp probe back down to the sump and moved the heating element to the front wall of the refugium sump. I do not see a heater on the market that is large enough (wattage) and small enough (length) to fit in my return compartment. My thought is the the water is flowing through the Refugium and first comes through the slot in the front wall right by the probe rack. I hope that the distance from the temp probe to the heater is sufficient too let the flow give the right reading. I turned on the logging function for the heater in the Apex, too, although I am not sure what all that does. I was thinking it would log if the heater was turning on and off constantly. One risk of this approach is the heater might damage the Chaeto, but hopefully that is not a problem.

 

[AquaAmator]

Your heater‘s temperature control should be set a couple of degrees higher than your controller. This should stop your heater from running constantly during tank maintenance and help prevent overheating should your controller fail for some reason. That said, I prefer to keep my heater and probe in the same chamber to prevent the problem.

The heater I bought does not have its own temperature control. It relies on the Apex. I have the max / min at 79/78 respectively.

 

[AquaAmator]

Not sure what your asking, but the temp probe should be in the sump where the tank water comes into it.
Heater should be anywhere in the sump after the probe.
If you have apex, just plug the heater into the energy bar output that has the height amp rating and tell it to shut the heater, skimmer and return pump down on a maintenance or feed cycle.

The Hydor titanium is small enough at 300 watt to fit in any small sump

Thanks. I planned to play with the feed cycle buttons on the Apex to set up a water change routine, turning off the pumps, skimmer, ato and heater. My issue is I could not figure out how to have the heater after the probe. But I think worked it out and will monitor resulting temperature in main tank.

 

[AquaAmator]

I would find a properly sized heater meaning watt wise that will fit in your sump. I run all my heaters in my return pump chamber and have never had a issues. As long as you have a ato and stay on top of keeping it filled there should be no worries. Heck the lack of water will hurt your pump before you heater.

Can't find a heater that will fit in the return and be large enough for the 120 gal tank, but I think I have a plan. I will monitor and post an update