The "Best" Heater Setup For My New Tank Is.....???

[Fish Fan]

Reefing friends, I'd appreciate some help and suggestions for a solid plan to heat an IM 25 gallon lagoon AIO I'm building to be a coral/motile invert QT tank.

Please know, the room where the tank is going to live is a lower-level, partial-basement (we have a split ranch home), and is colder than typical, so I like to have a little extra "punch" with my heaters in this room. Right now in the winter the room temp is probably about 64F, for example.

I want to use a titanium heater because it doubles as a grounding probe.

I'm open to suggestions, but I was thinking about two 100 watt BRS Titanium Elements, for a total combined 200 watts. And I'd actually buy three heaters so I have a backup on hand.

For control, I have one of the InkBird Temp controllers that will control two heaters. I'd appreciate help with the best way to set them up, for example, should one heater be set at 78F and the other at like 77F? So that one does the "heavy lifting" and the other is more of a "backup" or "supplemental"?

Furthermore, I have a RoboTank controller unit that I got used and honestly I don't know how to use it yet (I'm clueless on how to use any aquarium controller, but decent with electronics and Raspberry Pi's). I have previously been in touch with the owner of the RoboTank project, and between the two of us I'm pretty sure I can get this thing up and running. With that in mind, for those that run, for example, an Apex controller, is there not a way to use the InkBird to control my heaters but still protect the whole thing by having the Apex or RoboTank set for an even greater min/max temperature? I'm sure that made no sense, but basically you allow the relatively inexpensive InkBird controller to be going on/off all the time, with the more expensive controller power bar there only in the event of a real extreme temp swing.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

I love the BRS Titanium INKBIRD Combo!”!

-My 32 biocube runs on a single 100w never had a issue
-My old frag system (45 gal)Ran a 200 and a 100 as a backup no issue
-My new setup (105gal) currently running a 300 and a 200 and the sumps 12ft or more in the basment that’s not conditioned and it’s holding temp but needs some work may upgrade the 200 to a 600
side note:i religiously search BRS open box page if I find thier titanium heaters I grab them for a little price break

 

[*GAREEF*]

Reefing friends, I'd appreciate some help and suggestions for a solid plan to heat an IM 25 gallon lagoon AIO I'm building to be a coral/motile invert QT tank.

Please know, the room where the tank is going to live is a lower-level, partial-basement (we have a split ranch home), and is colder than typical, so I like to have a little extra "punch" with my heaters in this room. Right now in the winter the room temp is probably about 64F, for example.

I want to use a titanium heater because it doubles as a grounding probe.

I'm open to suggestions, but I was thinking about two 100 watt BRS Titanium Elements, for a total combined 200 watts. And I'd actually buy three heaters so I have a backup on hand.

For control, I have one of the InkBird Temp controllers that will control two heaters. I'd appreciate help with the best way to set them up, for example, should one heater be set at 78F and the other at like 77F? So that one does the "heavy lifting" and the other is more of a "backup" or "supplemental"?

Furthermore, I have a RoboTank controller unit that I got used and honestly I don't know how to use it yet (I'm clueless on how to use any aquarium controller, but decent with electronics and Raspberry Pi's). I have previously been in touch with the owner of the RoboTank project, and between the two of us I'm pretty sure I can get this thing up and running. With that in mind, for those that run, for example, an Apex controller, is there not a way to use the InkBird to control my heaters but still protect the whole thing by having the Apex or RoboTank set for an even greater min/max temperature? I'm sure that made no sense, but basically you allow the relatively inexpensive InkBird controller to be going on/off all the time, with the more expensive controller power bar there only in the event of a real extreme temp swing.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Sounds like you are covering all your bases and is a great plan especially with the Apex too.

 

[56longroof]

Im current using a Finnex titanium heater with integrated controller for my 150. We keep out house at 67-68° in the winter and my tank is always 78.1-78.5°. I think the heater is 500 watt. I'd have to check.

 

[Fish Fan]

I love the BRS Titanium INKBIRD Combo!”!

-My 32 biocube runs on a single 100w never had a issue
-My old frag system (45 gal)Ran a 200 and a 100 as a backup no issue
-My new setup (105gal) currently running a 300 and a 200 and the sumps 12ft or more in the basment that’s not conditioned and it’s holding temp but needs some work may upgrade the 200 to a 600
side note:i religiously search BRS open box page if I find thier titanium heaters I grab them for a little price break

Good to know, thank you for your reply!

For the times when you ran two heaters, where did you set them?

And side note, watch your total amps if you step into a 600 watt heater plus your backup. That 600 watt heater uses A LOT of amps right there, plus your lights and other gear, and anything else that may be on the same circuit. I am also building a 150 display tank in the same chilly room, and I thought I'd use 2x600watts, but that's A LOT of amps for just the heaters, even considering I'm planning on adding a dedicated, 20 amp circuit for my 150 gallon tank.

Thanks again!

 

[Fish Fan]

Sounds like you are covering all your bases and is a great plan especially with the Apex too.

Thank you! I'm not cool enough for Apex, I'm hoping to use a Robo-Tank controller I got used. We'll see lol!

Reef-pi DIY Aquarium Controller Hardware Hat, Automate your Reef Tank

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www.robo-tank.ca

 

[Fish Fan]

Im current using a Finnex titanium heater with integrated controller for my 150. We keep out house at 67-68° in the winter and my tank is always 78.1-78.5°. I think the heater is 500 watt. I'd have to check.

Thank you for your reply! I'm glad that's working out for you, but I think I'd prefer two smaller heaters for some redundancy. But I have heard the Finnex titanium heaters are a solid choice, so I'll keep this in mind

 

[PharmrJohn]

Yeah, I'll be running two Finnex heaters with two controllers for redundancy. Also Titanium bodies to take advantage of grounding. Just be aware that the plug in has to be a three-pronger......

 

[Fish Fan]

Yeah, I'll be running two Finnex heaters with two controllers for redundancy. Also Titanium bodies to take advantage of grounding. Just be aware that the plug in has to be a three-pronger......

Thanks brother!

Yeah, I actually ran a new outlet for this tank, and I installed a GFCI outlet. And, the fancy power strip I have has some kind of ground protection, and it's indicating it's working. I learned only fairly recently about the titanium heater also acting as a grounding probe, now it seems like a no brainer to use them.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Good to know, thank you for your reply!

For the times when you ran two heaters, where did you set them?

And side note, watch your total amps if you step into a 600 watt heater plus your backup. That because A LOT of amps used, plus your lights and other gear, and anything else that may be on the same circuit. I am also building a 150 display tank in the same chilly room, and I thought I'd use 2x600watts, but that's A LOT of amps for just the heaters, even considering I'm planning on adding a dedicated, 20 amp circuit for my tank.

Thanks again!

Biocube I was stuck only had room for the single heater in the back chamber
Frag system and new setup in the midsection/refugium of my sump so technically it could never run dry

i also use pvc sheets as a lid to keep down evaporation and hold some heat/humidity

And yes I’m aware licensed electrician lol so my new setup has a dedicated 20amp circuit and I also ran wire to it for a 2nd one to be easily added if needed later on I keep a eye on my apex power charts too

 

[Fish Fan]

Biocube I was stuck only had room for the single heater in the back chamber
Frag system and new setup in the midsection/refugium of my sump so technically it could never run dry

i also use pvc sheets as a lid to keep down evaporation and hold some heat/humidity

Nice setup, thanks again for your help!

And yes I’m aware licensed electrician lol so my new setup has a dedicated 20amp circuit and I also ran wire to it for a 2nd one to be easily added if needed later on I keep a eye on my apex power charts too

D'oh!

Then would you come over and install the new circuit for my 150 lol??

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Nice setup, thanks again for your help!


D'oh!

Then would you come over and install the new circuit for my 150 lol??

Thanks,Aha sure as long as your panel is somewhat new with space available and buy me a plane ticket

 

[Fish Fan]

@Kingsley_Reef would you take a look at this post and tell me if I'm nuts, because I already did it, and I think it's working well, but I have a wife and house full of pets, so I want to be safe:

Your Resident Electrician for all your electrical questions!

Hey guys! I hope someone here can help me. I am considering having an electrician add a new circuit to my breaker box and run a dedicated line for a new tank. First, could someone please take a look at my breaker box, and just tell me if it looks possible to add a new breaker? It looks to me...

www.reef2reef.com

And if you scroll up in that thread just a little, you'll see I want to add hopefully a 20 amp dedicated circuit for my 150, and I never got a great answer to either question. You help would be VERY MUCH appreciated (I can pay you for your time via PayPal if needed, no I can't fly you in lol!!).

Thank you in advance for any help you're able to offer!

 

[ScottD]

Good to know, thank you for your reply!

For the times when you ran two heaters, where did you set them?

And side note, watch your total amps if you step into a 600 watt heater plus your backup. That 600 watt heater uses A LOT of amps right there, plus your lights and other gear, and anything else that may be on the same circuit. I am also building a 150 display tank in the same chilly room, and I thought I'd use 2x600watts, but that's A LOT of amps for just the heaters, even considering I'm planning on adding a dedicated, 20 amp circuit for my 150 gallon tank.

Thanks again!

I would think 1200w of heat is a little much. I’m running 2x250w heaters on my 135 gal with no issues and I keep the room between 64-67 depending on time of day and when the wood stove isn’t going.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

@Kingsley_Reef would you take a look at this post and tell me if I'm nuts, because I already did it, and I think it's working well, but I have a wife and house full of pets, so I want to be safe:

Your Resident Electrician for all your electrical questions!

Hey guys! I hope someone here can help me. I am considering having an electrician add a new circuit to my breaker box and run a dedicated line for a new tank. First, could someone please take a look at my breaker box, and just tell me if it looks possible to add a new breaker? It looks to me...

www.reef2reef.com

And if you scroll up in that thread just a little, you'll see I want to add hopefully a 20 amp dedicated circuit for my 150, and I never got a great answer to either question. You help would be VERY MUCH appreciated (I can pay you for your time via PayPal if needed, no I can't fly you in lol!!).

Thank you in advance for any help you're able to offer!

If I’m looking at the right thing you want to add a gfci to a existing circuit seems okay just as long as there’s nothing major running on that circuit already I see the arc fault comments I get it and they are right with the code but in my experience arc faults are very sensitive anything with a motor that creates a spark will trip them something to be aware of

 

[Fish Fan]

I would think 1200w of heat is a little much. I’m running 2x250w heaters on my 135 gal with no issues and I keep the room between 64-67 depending on time of day and when the wood stove isn’t going.

Yeah, I came down from the sky on the dual 600 watt setup But it got me thinking about my total amp consumption on the tank. What stinks is every outlet in this room (6 total) is on the same circuit, and we want to have a TV or two and a small fridge, and I don't want the tank to hog the whole circuit.

 

[Fish Fan]

If I’m looking at the right thing you want to add a gfci to a existing circuit seems okay just as long as there’s nothing major running on that circuit already I see the arc fault comments I get it and they are right with the code but in my experience arc faults are very sensitive anything with a motor that creates a spark will trip them something to be aware of

Thank you very, very much for the reassurance! I'm fairly confident in what I did. I pulled from a room on a circuit that literally gets almost no use. Right now all that's in the room is a wifi printer, so load is not an issue. I did pull from the last outlet on that circuit, and I installed a GFCI outlet at the tank. Both rooms are basic living spaces, not a bathroom or kitchen. My GFCI is functioning properly and my power strip is telling me that I have ground too. Only thing is I had to pig-tail the ground where I tapped into the existing circuit, but I think that's fine. I used all 14/2 Romex and a short piece of 12 gauge I hand on hand for the pig-tail. I think I'm good, but I really appreciate you taking a look at that

 

[ScottD]

Yeah, I came down from the sky on the dual 600 watt setup But it got me thinking about my total amp consumption on the tank. What stinks is every outlet in this room (6 total) is on the same circuit, and we want to have a TV or two and a small fridge, and I don't want the tank to hog the whole circuit.

Ya if you’ve got all that stuff on the same circuit that’s going to be trouble. If you’re on a 15 amp circuit, you’ve used up 2/3 your capacity for just those 2 heaters.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Thank you very, very much for the reassurance! I'm fairly confident in what I did. I pulled from a room on a circuit that literally gets almost no use. Right now all that's in the room is a wifi printer, so load is not an issue. I did pull from the last outlet on that circuit, and I installed a GFCI outlet at the tank. Both rooms are basic living spaces, not a bathroom or kitchen. My GFCI is functioning properly and my power strip is telling me that I have ground too. Only thing is I had to pig-tail the ground where I tapped into the existing circuit, but I think that's fine. I used all 14/2 Romex and a short piece of 12 gauge I hand on hand for the pig-tail. I think I'm good, but I really appreciate you taking a look at that

15 amp circuit?

 

[Fish Fan]

Ya if you’ve got all that stuff on the same circuit that’s going to be trouble. If you’re on a 15 amp circuit, you’ve used up 2/3 your capacity for just those 2 heaters.

For sure! Which is why I'd really like to get the tank on its own 20 amp circuit, and even then there's no need for 1200 watts of heater, that's too much.

About 15 years ago I ran a standard 125 on a regular 15 amp circuit with metal halide and T5 lighting and it was fine, but it was in a room where it was the only thing on the circuit. Now I'm looking at a 150, but we have to be able to charge our phones too lol!

Thanks for the help!