Hydros Heater Output Issue

[pgooden]

I am having an issue with my heater. As you can see, I want my temp to be between 77.5-78. I had an issue where the slim temp sensor popped out and it thought the temp was 72 so heater came on and I didn’t know until my ATO+ sensor alerted me to a high temp. I fixed the probe and the temp started to drop but then it came on again before it even got back down to the off temp. I would have expected it to stay off until it got down to 77.5 my on temp.

Any thoughts? I’m sure I’m missing something.

 

[n2585722]

I have 2 heaters setup and have not had an issue with them but I do use 2 temp sensors just in case. Also I have the range set on the temp sensors to give an alert if the temp gets out of that range. You should have been getting alerts for the 72 degree temp with your range set where it is.

 

[pgooden]

Agreed. I have adjusted my alerts but any thoughts on why it shot back up before it dropped below my max setting? Do you see anything in the screenshots that would have caused that?

 

[n2585722]

I don't see anything.Here is a couple of screenshots of one of my heater outputs.

 

[ShaunMc]

Temp sensor range is just for alerts and chart area.

I would agree with last screen shots on setting the power safe range for the heater so you have a better chance to know if something is wrong.

It is also not clear that during the time the temp went higher than expected that your heater was on. Are you sure something else (pumps?) are not the source of the additional heat?

Lastly, what is the heater set to temp wise when it is on?

 

[n2585722]

Lastly, what is the heater set to temp wise when it is on?

That is a good point I always have a backup off on my heaters. The heaters themselves are set about 3 degrees above the off point on the Hydros. If the heater does turn itself off then it will give an alert for power out of range.

 

[pgooden]

Heater is set to 80 on the dial. I wondered about something else causing the heat. I could check that as well. Interesting, the 2 pumps run 24x7 so I would have expected if they were the problem, it wouldn’t be dropping consistently since I overrode the heater outlet to off. But I guess one of them could be power surging.

The tank is a Red Sea Max Nano XL (33 gal) AIO. 2 small Pumps that plug into a built in power center on the tank. I have the power center plugged into a strip outlet that is plugged into the hydros. When I clean the tank, I turn off that whole strip through the hydros outlet.

Also on power safe range, I notice yours looks like it is in a 10w range, if I have a 150w heater shouldn’t my range be 0-150 or am I mis-understanding the way that works.

 

[n2585722]

Heater is set to 80 on the dial. I wondered about something else causing the heat. I could check that as well. Interesting, the 2 pumps run 24x7 so I would have expected if they were the problem, it wouldn’t be dropping consistently since I overrode the heater outlet to off. But I guess one of them could be power surging.

The tank is a Red Sea Max Nano XL (33 gal) AIO. 2 small Pumps that plug into a built in power center on the tank. I have the power center plugged into a strip outlet that is plugged into the hydros. When I clean the tank, I turn off that whole strip through the hydros outlet.

Also on power safe range, I notice yours looks like it is in a 10w range, if I have a 150w heater shouldn’t my range be 0-150 or am I mis-understanding the way that works.

Mine is a 42 gallon tank and I have 2 50 watt heaters. So if it gets out of the 40-60 watt range when the output is on I want to know. Each heater has it's own XP8 outlet.

 

[pgooden]

Got it. That is helpful. I have 1- 150w heater plugged directly into XP8.

It started happening again today. It got down to 78.2 and the started climbing again with the heater forced to off and showing off and 0w. The only 2 things I can think are pump heat or light heat. I have the light running at 50% -ReefLed 50w and the 2 Red Sea pumps, 1 for return and 1 for skimmer.

I added a bag of ice to try to get temp down to 77 and then see what happens. The room is at 73. Tank currently at 77.6. Any other suggestions?

 

[ShaunMc]

if plugged into an xp8 you can just look at the power usage when on and set it around that.

as for this event. i don't know. maybe the controller configuration was not updated with change you made, maybe the heat is from something else... i would say to just watch it. tight up the ranges/alerts and it should make itself apparent at some point.

 

[ShaunMc]

most likely the pumps, not the light, imo. and it is fine to me that the tank is above your desired target. if this was me, i'd just adjust that my tank is going to run 78-79 and call it a day. if that isn't what you want, then maybe a DC pump for the return. I don't see it worth trying anything different for the skimmer and i wouldn't invest in a different light.

 

[ShaunMc]

Redsea Max Nano G2 XL running hot

Yes, it is the exact same pump but it is manufactured differently. Filing the ticket and getting it resolved with red sea was easy. Make sure you mark the new pump and the original pump so you do not confuse them. Our living room temp is 72. With just the new pump running (skimmer off), the temp...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[n2585722]

Got it. That is helpful. I have 1- 150w heater plugged directly into XP8.

It started happening again today. It got down to 78.2 and the started climbing again with the heater forced to off and showing off and 0w. The only 2 things I can think are pump heat or light heat. I have the light running at 50% -ReefLed 50w and the 2 Red Sea pumps, 1 for return and 1 for skimmer.

I added a bag of ice to try to get temp down to 77 and then see what happens. The room is at 73. Tank currently at 77.6. Any other suggestions?

I have 2 fans that blow air across the bubble trap in my sump when the temp gets to 78.1 and turns off at 77.9. It uses the chiller output type. Most of the time other than the winter months the fans run to cool off the tank. The heaters only come on at times form the end of October to the first of April. Even during that time the fans come on to cool unless there is a cold front in the area.

 

[pgooden]

So interesting update. I turned the skimmer pump off since posting this and the tank has been running in the normal 77.5-78 range consistently. Light and return pump running normally. Not sure but I think the return pump and skimmer pump are basically the same so either the skimmer pump is defective or the pumps included with the tank generate too much heat for the size of tank.

I am going to reach out to Red Sea per the thread posted above and see what they say.

On a side note I updated my power monitoring for the heater to warn me if it is operating out of range and it is consistently running 152-153 watts when it is rated at 150. Should I be concerned about that? Doesn’t seem that far out of range.

 

[pgooden]

Also, not a huge fan of the design where the skimmer and pump have to be plugged into their power distribution center and then the power distribution center is plugged into their controller. There isn’t a way to just run the skimmer on a schedule. The have to either be turned off manually or, both turned off and on at the same time via the controller.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Agreed. I have adjusted my alerts but any thoughts on why it shot back up before it dropped below my max setting? Do you see anything in the screenshots that would have caused that?

Your heater and temp probe should be in the same compartment and the probe should be on the upstream side of the heater. This should be a relatively high flow area of the system that has a fixed water height, so that the heater can never run dry or partially submerged.

 

[n2585722]

So interesting update. I turned the skimmer pump off since posting this and the tank has been running in the normal 77.5-78 range consistently. Light and return pump running normally. Not sure but I think the return pump and skimmer pump are basically the same so either the skimmer pump is defective or the pumps included with the tank generate too much heat for the size of tank.

I am going to reach out to Red Sea per the thread posted above and see what they say.

On a side note I updated my power monitoring for the heater to warn me if it is operating out of range and it is consistently running 152-153 watts when it is rated at 150. Should I be concerned about that? Doesn’t seem that far out of range.

That is really close. I don't have a 150 watt heater. Mine are 50 watt heaters and I have the range set from 45 to 55 watts.

 

[n2585722]

Also, not a huge fan of the design where the skimmer and pump have to be plugged into their power distribution center and then the power distribution center is plugged into their controller. There isn’t a way to just run the skimmer on a schedule. The have to either be turned off manually or, both turned off and on at the same time via the controller.

You can use a schedule to control the skimmer if you want on the Hydros. Just use the generic output type under the advanced family and set has schedule to on in the settings. You will need to also enable advanced settings if you want to have multiple run times in a 24 hr period but the would have to be the same run time and spaced the same time apart.

 

[n2585722]

Also, not a huge fan of the design where the skimmer and pump have to be plugged into their power distribution center and then the power distribution center is plugged into their controller. There isn’t a way to just run the skimmer on a schedule. The have to either be turned off manually or, both turned off and on at the same time via the controller.

I am not sure what you mean by power distribution center. Hydros does not have one. For AC they have 2 controllers. The XP8 and Launch have AC output ports but those are controllers.

 

[pgooden]

Sorry, I was referring to the Red Sea Max Nano XL. It has a power distribution center that the skimmer and return connect with a proprietary connection and has on/off toggles for the pump. The distribution center then plugs into the XP8.