Heaters and temperature help

Reefn34

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Hello! So the biggest issue in my tank is that I have day to day temperature swings based off of the weather outside. My sump is located in a well insulated attic, but the temperature does swing in there quite often based off of what the weather is outside. I am in Ohio, so at the moment it is about 35 F outside.

I have a 20 long sump, 60 display tank and 15 frag tank all hooked up to that sump. I have 2 heaters in the sump, 2 in the display, and 1 in the frag tank. The heaters do the job, but when the temperature changes outside, I have to go adjust each heater to get back to temperature. For example, yesterday my tanks were fine at 79 F, then today the temperature outside dropped and now my tanks are sitting at 75 F. I cannot move my sump to a stable area, unfortunately this was the best place.

Any ideas in what I should do to keep a constant temperature without having to adjust heater temperatures all the time?
 

mdb_talon

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It sounds as if the issue is that 5 heaters just aren't enough(which sounds crazy). I mean at air of 50 they probably do fine, but takes a lot more "juice" when air temps are 5 and you probably don't have enough.

I know you said there is nowhere else to put the sump, but if you absolutely can't find another spot then I would personally be building a small extremely well insulated box for it maybe with a top you just pull off when you need to access it(knowing that condensation issues would have to be addressed also). You didn't say what size heaters you are using, but that sounds like a ton of wasted energy keeping that heated. You can keep throwing more heaters in there but just seems a crazy option to me.
 

thatmanMIKEson

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Hello! So the biggest issue in my tank is that I have day to day temperature swings based off of the weather outside. My sump is located in a well insulated attic, but the temperature does swing in there quite often based off of what the weather is outside. I am in Ohio, so at the moment it is about 35 F outside.

I have a 20 long sump, 60 display tank and 15 frag tank all hooked up to that sump. I have 2 heaters in the sump, 2 in the display, and 1 in the frag tank. The heaters do the job, but when the temperature changes outside, I have to go adjust each heater to get back to temperature. For example, yesterday my tanks were fine at 79 F, then today the temperature outside dropped and now my tanks are sitting at 75 F. I cannot move my sump to a stable area, unfortunately this was the best place.

Any ideas in what I should do to keep a constant temperature without having to adjust heater temperatures all the time?
Are you using a controller? I suggest atleast a ranco or similar heater controller to bring it within 1°f temperature swing.

I use a hydros controllet with a ranco heater controller and I keep it within .04° swing.
 

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Reefn34

Reefn34

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Are you using a controller? I suggest atleast a ranco or similar heater controller to bring it within 1°f temperature swing.

I use a hydros controllet with a ranco heater controller and I keep it within .04° swing.
Does this controller override the heater setting? Or do you need the ones that go with that controller? Would a controller fix this issue?
 

mdb_talon

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A controller can't give you more heat. They are a failsafe and some controllers can keep you in a tighter range than the built in thermostats. I fail to see how a controller helps your temps from dropping 5 degrees when the weather outside gets colder. Based off your other comments your heaters and their thermostats presumably work fine when it's warmer.

Inkbird controllers(or Ranco if you want better quality for more $$$) are great to have I just don't think that's going to solve any issues here.
 

14 foot reef

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My guess is all the heaters are all undersized for the harsh cold winters in Ohio.

Look into quality heaters with a controller or Quality heaters and quality separate controllers.

My heater is 220v, 5000 watts from Process Technology, so I'm not an expert in 110v normal sized heaters.

I've seen great vidoes on BRS about Heaters, controllers and controller back ups.
 
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Reefn34

Reefn34

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So the thing is, my heaters keep up with the cold, I just have to turn them up when it gets colder. What I want to get rid of is me having to turn them up and down depending on what the temperature is going to be outside the next day, would a controller fix that issue?
 

thatmanMIKEson

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A controller will help you despite others not understanding what they are for , heaters on board thermostats can easily drift 5° a controller will bring you to 1°
 
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Reefn34

Reefn34

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A controller will help you despite others not understanding what they are for , heaters on board thermostats can easily drift 5° a controller will bring you to 1°
So, if I use a controller, do I turn up the heaters in the cold sump so the controller tells them when to turn off and on, not the heater itself?
 
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Reefn34

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From what I’m understanding with everyone’s input, thanks everyone by the way!!, if I use an inkbird for example, and turn up the heaters to compensate for the coldest it can be in the sump, the inkbird will act as the thermostat and turn everything off. If so, I believe that will solve the problem considering turning up my heaters keep up with the cold, but the outside temp swings the tank since the actual heaters can’t adjust themselves
 

thatmanMIKEson

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So, if I use a controller, do I turn up the heaters in the cold sump so the controller tells them when to turn off and on, not the heater itself?
Yeah set your thermostat on the heater up and allow a controller to regulate the temp, and monitor it for the first few months.

I use heating elements without thermostats

Ink bird is good but not like a ranco actually not even comparable other than they both regulate temperature.

If you want to risk one of the most important parameters get the ink bird. But after a year I would replace or watch it closely and have a back up.

I recommend researching this topic a little better, I've had several ink birds but I won't have another, there's just better options out there imo
 

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal

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I use Inkbird, but my entire system, including the controller, are in my living room. The Inkbird alarm (for tank temp too high or too low) is loud when you're in the same room, but I would not hear it in my attic... I am not familiar with the other brands, but whatever you get, make sure it has a way to alert you given your particular setup.

I think Inkbird has a controller with wifi features and I assume this sends alerts to your phone, but I'm not sure how it would function if home wifi is down...
 

Cell

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Sometimes I'll place Styrofoam panels on the sides of my tank in the basement on super cold MN winter nights to give the heaters a break.
 

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