Inkbird controler setup

[jradishness]

Anyone with the ITC306a, or any inkbird model, struggling with the continuous run time, simply set it to 0 to disable the feature. I have figured out what the best size heater is to run my 400g almost perfectly. One inkbird runs a 200watt titanium heater almost continuously. This keeps the temps pretty much perfectly stable at 77.5. Another inkbird with a larger 600w heater sits prepared to kick on should the temp fall farther than the 200w can maintain (77.2)

If I use heaters with thermostats, the heater thermostats are set slightly higher, as I’ve found heater thermostats less reliable and far more fluctuating than the inkbird’s. Keeps it very consistent temp in the tank.

 

[jradishness]

Double post

 

[Reef.]





Some models only allow the on/off settings to be either 1f or 0.3c difference, if you have one of those models then using Celsius will give you a smaller variance. So setting to .3c will only give you a .54f variance, whereas if you were using Fahrenheit the lowest you could set the variance would be 1f which is more than .54f if using Celsius.

I also believe they are updating some models too, so the continuous heating on those newer models can now be set to zero, previously the lowest it could be set was 1 hour.

 

[Reef.]

Anyone with the ITC306a, or any inkbird model, struggling with the continuous run time, simply set it to 0 to disable the feature. I have figured out what the best size heater is to run my 400g almost perfectly. One inkbird runs a 200watt titanium heater almost continuously. This keeps the temps pretty much perfectly stable at 77.5. Another inkbird with a larger 600w heater sits prepared to kick on should the temp fall farther than the 200w can maintain (77.2)

If I use heaters with thermostats, the heater thermostats are set slightly higher, as I’ve found heater thermostats less reliable and far more fluctuating than the inkbird’s. Keeps it very consistent temp in the tank.

You must have the updated model, a lot of models still out there you can’t set it to 0.

 

[lelandmarine]

Thanks for the clarification

 

[Gaspipe]

Is 2* variance too much?

I have mine set at 78* with 76 on the low and 80 on the high. Should I tighten that up a bit and make it 77/79 as low/high or leave as is?

Thanks!

 

[Gtinnel]

Is 2* variance too much?

I have mine set at 78* with 76 on the low and 80 on the high. Should I tighten that up a bit and make it 77/79 as low/high or leave as is?

Thanks!

Are you referring to the high and low set points, or the alarm levels?

For your normal temp range I would make it as close of a range as your controller allows. I have mine set to kick on after the temp drops half of a degree. With my normal fluctuations I get around 1 degree from highest to lowest that I see.

 

[Gaspipe]

Are you referring to the high and low set points, or the alarm levels?

For your normal temp range I would make it as close of a range as your controller allows. I have mine set to kick on after the temp drops half of a degree. With my normal fluctuations I get around 1 degree from highest to lowest that I see.

Referring to when the inkbird clicks on and off..

So target is 78*
Heater clicks on at 76*
Fan kicks on at 80*

Are those acceptable? Or should I amend the 76 to 77 for heat, and 80 to 79 for fan?

 

[Reef.]

Referring to when the inkbird clicks on and off..

So target is 78*
Heater clicks on at 76*
Fan kicks on at 80*

Are those acceptable? Or should I amend the 76 to 77 for heat, and 80 to 79 for fan?

you want that margin as tight as you can get it really, changing to Celsius gives you a smaller margin but just by a small amount so if you really want to keep it reading in Fahrenheit then it won't matter much but as said you should be setting the variance to the smallest allowed on your model, mine is 0.3c or 1f, 0.3c is less than 1f so my inkbird is set to Celsius with a 0.3c variance.

 

[Gaspipe]

you want that margin as tight as you can get it really, changing to Celsius gives you a smaller margin but just by a small amount so if you really want to keep it reading in Fahrenheit then it won't matter much but as said you should be setting the variance to the smallest allowed on your model, mine is 0.3c or 1f, 0.3c is less than 1f so my inkbird is set to Celsius with a 0.3c variance.

Understood, I'll keep mine at F, but tighten the range up a bit.

Thank you!

 

[PhilT]

I just got the 306a, had an older non WiFi one which had the difference setting vs 2 temps, r1 and t2. I set runtime max to 1 hour.
300w brs titanium heater, tank is a Red Sea 425 xl.
Alarm went off a couple times for runtime error.
I had the temps set to 77.5 and 78. I do have an apex that will turn off the Inkbird if it hits 80.

Do you think my 300w is insufficient or is it failing to heat as fast as it should? Its 5 years old.

Thanks

 

[Reef.]

I just got the 306a, had an older non WiFi one which had the difference setting vs 2 temps, r1 and t2. I set runtime max to 1 hour.
300w brs titanium heater, tank is a Red Sea 425 xl.
Alarm went off a couple times for runtime error.
I had the temps set to 77.5 and 78. I do have an apex that will turn off the Inkbird if it hits 80.

Do you think my 300w is insufficient or is it failing to heat as fast as it should? Its 5 years old.

Thanks

When you say you have set the runtime to “max to 1 Hour” I am not understanding that part, if it is what I think it is, the continuous heating time, then this should be set to the highest setting which is normally 72 hours, which basically means that the controller will set off an alarm if in 72 hours your tank temperature does not reach the temperature you have set, so if you set your tank to 77f but it only ever gets to 76f, then after 72 hours the alarm will go off to tell you the tank is not reaching its highest temp, some newer inkbirds have allowed this to be turned off as it can create issues, if it can’t be turned off best set it to it’s highest setting to give it more time to reach the set temperature.

If this is not what you are saying sorry for misunderstanding.

A tip tho, generally if you change the settings to celsius rather than fahrenheit you can reduce the gap between the heaters turning on and then turning off.

300w could be low, depending on what your room temp is, if your room is 64f then your heaters will have a much harder job heating the water then if the room was 74f.

 

[PhilT]

When you say you have set the runtime to “max to 1 Hour” I am not understanding that part, if it is what I think it is, the continuous heating time, then this should be set to the highest setting which is normally 72 hours, which basically means that the controller will set off an alarm if in 72 hours your tank temperature does not reach the temperature you have set, so if you set your tank to 77f but it only ever gets to 76f, then after 72 hours the alarm will go off to tell you the tank is not reaching its highest temp, some newer inkbirds have allowed this to be turned off as it can create issues, if it can’t be turned off best set it to it’s highest setting to give it more time to reach the set temperature.

If this is not what you are saying sorry for misunderstanding.

A tip tho, generally if you change the settings to celsius rather than fahrenheit you can reduce the gap between the heaters turning on and then turning off.

300w could be low, depending on what your room temp is, if your room is 64f then your heaters will have a much harder job heating the water then if the room was 74f.

Yes, continuous heat time. It just seems like 6 hours is a really long time assuming the heater is working properly or not powerful enough to not reach the temperature desired (or the room has no heat for some reason).

For now I set the continuous heat to 0. If something fails and overheats , my apex will cut the power too.

 

[Reef.]

Yes, continuous heat time. It just seems like 6 hours is a really long time assuming the heater is working properly or not powerful enough to not reach the temperature desired (or the room has no heat for some reason).

For now I set the continuous heat to 0. If something fails and overheats , my apex will cut the power too.

Worth adding another heater anyway, see if things improve, as 300w could be a bit under powered, good to have two anyway incase one stops heating, two heaters will use the same amount of electricity as one, will only cost you the price of an extra heater.