Heater Recommendation

[PeaBrain]

I am looking for a new system for controlling temp. Total water volume is 90 gallons.
Thanks!

 

[andrewey]

I'm a fan of finnex heaters if going for a good heater or get cheap heaters and turn into water change heaters every 12-16 months. Make sure you have some type of controller and don't rely on the heaters own thermostat. I'm also a fan of undersizing my heaters and running two.

 

[PeaBrain]

Thanks. Yeah, I am looking for a controller as the heaters I have now are without.

 

[Gernader]

Eheim Jager heaters work well for me! I heard good things about titanium heaters with a controller, you should check them out too. Inkbird controller is a popular choice.

 

[S2G]

I run eheim with a controller

 

[andrewey]

For a temp controller, my favorite is the Ranco if you don't have a controller such as the apex, reefkeeper, etc.

 

[PeaBrain]

For a temp controller, my favorite is the Ranco if you don't have a controller such as the apex, reefkeeper, etc.

What is it about the Ranco you like?

 

[Vette67]

I use the Inkbird Controller. WiFi interface, redundant temperature probes. It seems to be about as error proof as one can get from a controller. Nothing is perfect, of course, but the inkbird is very good.

 

[andrewey]

What is it about the Ranco you like?

I tend to gravitate to products with a very long track record of success. My oldest ranco is about a decade old and many have Rancos that are twice as old as that. For me, they have a track record of reliability and don't have many extraneous bells or whistles that could fail 5-10 years down the road.

 

[PeaBrain]

Is this what we're talking about? If so, what's with the "heating" and "cooling" outlets?

Amazon product ASIN B01HXM5UAC

 

[andrewey]

Sorry, the one you posted isn't displaying anything on reef2reef. Maybe try copying the name so I can search that way?

As far as the heating and cooling, that's if you want to run a heater and chiller on your tank. If you're looking just to run a heater, you don't need the one with the cooling outlet.

 

[Vette67]

I got the ITC-306A. That one is for heating only.

 

[PeaBrain]

Another question: If you are running an external controller like the InkBird, do you want heaters that have ZERO built-in thermostat?

 

[andrewey]

You can use any heater- I would just figure out what the built in thermostat is reading, then set it about a degree above the inkbird. That way the inkbird does the heavy lifting.

 

[Vette67]

Another question: If you are running an external controller like the InkBird, do you want heaters that have ZERO built-in thermostat?

I personally use a Finnex 800W titanium tube heater. So I’m dependent on the Inkbird to turn it off. But Inkbird does have over temp alarms, so I’m not concerned if the unit fails on. I’ll get an alarm on my phone and the unit itself will beep at 82 degrees.

But that’s personal preference. If you feel more comfortable with a heater that has an internal thermostat, those work too.

 

[PeaBrain]

Thanks, Everyone! I'm on track now.

 

[X-37B]

e
Eheim 150 watt in my 120. Only run it in the winter. No controller.
Get a backup. Buy 2. I replace mine every year and use as backups.
They are inexspensive compaired to most equipment.

 

[Saltyreef]

These have been bullet proof for me for the last year.
Very accurate controllers.

Amazon product ASIN B07H333NG2