Neptune Apex - Heater Redundancy

[CasperOe]

Hi Reefers,

Here is what I am planning to do, would this be a good way to add a second heater as redundancy in case my main heater fails?

Main heater:
- 650W titanium heater plugged into a standalone heater controller (temperature controlled by this!)
- 78-79 degrees
- Heater controller plugged in to the energy bar
- Shut off programmed in Apex (82 degrees)

Backup heater:
- 350W titanium heater controlled by Apex and plugged directly in to energy par
- 75-77 degrees
- Shut off programmed in Apex (82 degrees)

Thanks!

 

[blaxsun]

Yes, I had a similar heating setup for over a year like that - worked like a charm. You can also add an If Outlet statement to trigger the backup heater if the outlet for the primary heater is off.

 

[mike550]

@CasperOe that should work. I’d make sure that the temp readings work out so your backup isn’t constantly triggering. Might need to adjust the high point of your backup but shouldn’t be a big deal

 

[CasperOe]

Yes, I had a similar heating setup for over a year like that - worked like a charm. You can also add an If Outlet statement to trigger the backup heater if the outlet for the primary heater is off.

That's a good idea, will ad a code line for that for additional protection!

 

[CasperOe]

@CasperOe that should work. I’d make sure that the temp readings work out so your backup isn’t constantly triggering. Might need to adjust the high point of your backup but shouldn’t be a big deal

Yeah that's my plan- basically I only want the backup heater to be on in case of failure.. The intention for it is to be triggered on if the temperature drops a couple of degrees below the main heater.

Might take a bit of playing around as the main heater would be controlled by a different temperature input.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I do something similar. Higher on/off set point for the main heater and a lower on set point for the backup but its shuts off at the same point as the main heater. I use preset heaters to eliminate imho a potential point of failure (adjustable thermostat).

I run a t5 hybrid inside a canopy, so I rarely see them click on except over night in winter months.

 

[CasperOe]

I do something similar. Higher on/off set point for the main heater and a lower on set point for the backup but its shuts off at the same point as the main heater. I use preset heaters to eliminate imho a potential point of failure (adjustable thermostat).

Are you running both your heaters directly off the Energy Bar or thought stand-alone heating controllers?

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Are you running both your heaters directly off the Energy Bar or thought stand-alone heating controllers?

Old blood n guts EB4 for both (I dont trust the EBx32 completely). I figure between my programing & pre set heater combo, Ill be ok. The apex classic has saved me from both a dead & runaway heater.

Pre apex I used a ranco clone for years (which is still in a box).

 

[CasperOe]

Old blood n guts EB4 for both (I dont trust the EBx32 completely). I figure between my programing & pre set heater combo, Ill be ok. The apex classic has saved me from both a dead & runaway heater.

Pre apex I used a ranco clone for years (which is still in a box).

I have a used Apex EB6 coming from eBay, that one might very well be used for this purpose- bit cheaper if it breaks than a brand new EB632!

Thanks,

 

[ScubaFish802]

I run a similar setup but with an inkbird in-between. apex > inkbird > 2x heaters (each capable of maintaining tank temp if the other fails).

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I have a used Apex EB6 coming from eBay, that one might very well be used for this purpose- bit cheaper if it breaks than a brand new EB632!

Thanks,

Nice the EB6 will give you many years of good service. I have an eb8 that dates to back to 2011-2012 that's still in service on my cube tank.