Heater wattage per gallon

[[Cameron]]

Jager heaters are a solid option but larger ones are long. Often too long for some tanks/sumps. Finnex titanium heaters are a good alternative for a low cost and smaller sized heater. If you have the cash, new Neo-therm heaters are a solid pick. All heaters IMO should have a backup controller to shut them off since they all fail sooner or later.

Even in TX 3w per gallon is typically a minimum. Overworking a heater simply causes it to run longer and fail sooner. IMO on a tank, two properly sized heaters with two different backup controllers is my suggestion.

The EJ heaters do need to be 'calibrated' though. It's stunningly simple, involving adjusting the measurement ring to match actual temperature. Just read the instructions.

All hobby grade heaters and probes should be calibrated. The thermometers in these units are pretty consistent but can be off by as much as 5 degrees either direction. Best to calibrate a temp controller probe or manual thermometer using the "ice water" method. Then calibrate the heater in a 5 gallon bucket using the calibrated thermometer.

 

[ca1ore]

It's accuracy versus precision. The EJ heaters are often inaccurate out of the box, but they are typically quite precise.

 

[Mikedawg]

Here's a simple calculator for volume and difference from ambient temperature: http://www.aquariumlife.net/heatcalc.asp

BTW, +1 for Eheim

 

[Cory]

Yep minum 1.5 watts per gallon. Maximum is usually 3-4 watts per gallon.

I use two 150 watt heaters in my 220 gallon. 300 watts total. They never turn off but will never overheat my tank. Unless the temperature in my house gets passed 82f which it never does. I feel this is a safer way to go.

 

[Travis Stewart]

it depends on the temp difference from ambient.
you should start with 300w.
I have 10-12 degrees differential between 50 gallon tank and ambient. A 300w takes 20 minutes to raise the temp 0.5 degrees, and takes 40 minutes to drop 0.5 degrees.
I started out using a 150 w heater, and it takes 60minutes (maybe more) to raise the temp 5 degrees. So using the 300w is actually more efficient and uses less power.

My ambient temp shouldn’t be more than 6-8 degrees off my tank temperature. Thanks for your input. I will start with a 300Watt.

 

[ifarmer]

For 100w tank. 2x150w should be good. If not one 300w.

 

[EmdeReef]

+3? For eheim - going strong in its 7th year. I added a second as a backup.

I know it’s against conventional wisdom and energy inefficient, but after witnessing too many fish and coral gumbos, I always undersize even though I’d never run a heater without a reliable controller.

 

[Clownfish2]

I use a finnex digital 300 watt and a Inkbird controller in my 110 gal and 35 gal sump.