HEATER IN REFUGIUM?

[ChrisW]

Hi All
New to the forum and to the hobby, and and just started up a 100gal tank! Its been a stressful start, but so far R2R has been great and very informative. The first thing I learned on this forum is PATIENCE. And that piece of advice is worth its weight in gold.
My question with heaters in the refugium is more about aesthetics, simply to get the heater out of the display tank. As i mentioned, I have a 100gal with a 22gal refugium, both are in the lower level of the house, essentially a basement. Living in New England, that part of the house it can get down to about 55degrees in the winter months, so would placing the heaters in the refugium work? Essentially the same way a radiator works in a car?
And is it smart/safe to have the heaters laying on the acrylic bottom of the refuge? The overall goal here is to have a mixed reef eventually.
Thanks for all the advice

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hi All
New to the forum and to the hobby, and and just started up a 100gal tank! Its been a stressful start, but so far R2R has been great and very informative. The first thing I learned on this forum is PATIENCE. And that piece of advice is worth its weight in gold.
My question with heaters in the refugium is more about aesthetics, simply to get the heater out of the display tank. As i mentioned, I have a 100gal with a 22gal refugium, both are in the lower level of the house, essentially a basement. Living in New England, that part of the house it can get down to about 55degrees in the winter months, so would placing the heaters in the refugium work? Essentially the same way a radiator works in a car?
And is it smart/safe to have the heaters laying on the acrylic bottom of the refuge? The overall goal here is to have a mixed reef eventually.
Thanks for all the advice

Welcome to R2R!

#WelcometoR2R
A heater in the refugium will work fine, the only thing you have to watch out for is your macroalgae growing on or around the heater. Best bet would be to get some egg crate and use that to create a barrier between your algae and the heater. Also if possible don't let the heater sit right on the acrylic, if you have a suction cup or something to elevate it off the surface, that'd be better

 

[Erica-Renee]

My Heaters are in the Sump, In the Skimmer chamber where the water level never changes.. This is SUPER IMPORTANT. You need to be sure your heaters never end up dry or out of the water. If you have a constant water level in a sump- fuge area its the best place to put the heaters

 

[ChrisW]

Yes the thought was to put them where the skimmer resides, and I could use the holders the heaters come with to keep it from direct contact with the bottom of the refugium. The egg crate is a good idea as well, thanks for that tip. My concern was the display tank cooling quicker than the heated return water gets back up there, with that area of the house being cold at times in the winter

 

[scott11106]

Yes the thought was to put them where the skimmer resides, and I could use the holders the heaters come with to keep it from direct contact with the bottom of the refugium. The egg crate is a good idea as well, thanks for that tip. My concern was the display tank cooling quicker than the heated return water gets back up there, with that area of the house being cold at times in the winter

you dont have to worry about that, the heater water from your sump will keep all of the water in your display and sump at the same temperature. that is assuming you have your flow setup correctly and the heater is big enough to heat the total volume of water (tank and sump). Also if space allows and budget you may want to kick around a backup heater as the tend to go bad more than other equipment, just a thought..

 

[ChrisW]

Ok so stupid question, how do I know that the flow setup is correct?
On the heaters, my thought was to place 2-4 smaller heaters in the refuge compartment where I have the skimmer, completely submerged. Backup heater is definitely on the need list, as opposed to the want list. Currently I have one of those absurdly looooong 200W Eheim heaters, and as the weather has been getting nicer, the tank temp is 79.7-80.8. So far the few inhabitants of tangs clowns bhengai cardinals and clean up crews have tolerated it, but i know once I get into more delicate creatures, temp swings are not going to turn out well.
Any recommendation on temp controllers? Dont have the budget for a full-on controller Apex-style, so for now have to jus get a reliable one to keep my temp a little more balanced