Heaters: In Tank or In the Sump

[Mr. Roboto]

I know a lot of you with sump systems put your equipment there for aesthetic reasons and one can see exactly how that is understood.

I have been out of the hobby for about 5 years now (other than dabbling in it here and there) but, I have been thinking of setting up a new tank, something like a 80g system.

After thinking about past tanks I have had some pretty nasty things happen over my 20 some odd years of being in the hobby. After playing with a bowl setup, small 1.5 gallon system last year, I noticed that my house in the winter at 68 sometimes 65-66 was cold. Even the little 5w heater couldnt do it and I had to give up on that tank. This had me thinking though, that if I were to be away and the return pump stop in the sump, this could be a really big problem in the display this winter. So, would it be feasible to put the heaters in the display vs the sump?

Just extra: I plan on running two titanium heaters on separate controllers.

 

[The_Paradox]

It’s aesthetics. Heaters make way more practical sense in the tank. No one wants to look at them though. With a larger tank you have enough mass that it takes a fairly long time to lose heat should something happen. There are sever cheap devices that can monitor for you now and even text you should something happen.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

get an inkbird 308, they're good and on sale right now 30% off

 

[Miami Reef]

This had me thinking though, that if I were to be away and the return pump stop in the sump, this could be a really big problem in the display this winter. So, would it be feasible to put the heaters in the display vs the sump?

I think that’s a good idea as a safety precaution, especially if you are away for a long period of time and don’t have a controller.

 

[BZOFIQ]

This had me thinking though, that if I were to be away and the return pump stop in the sump, this could be a really big problem in the display this winter.

Welcome back, the answer is 2 separate return pumps. That's what everyone [smart] does these days.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

If worried about loss of critical support system like return pump, I would run 2 return pumps. All of my gear is in the sump. I want to use every available real estate in the display.

 

[Miami Reef]

I use 2 return pumps, and I’m so glad I did! I had to repair my return pumps 2 different times this year by sending it to Echotech. It took about 2 weeks to get the latest one back.