Duel 300 watt heaters

[Holy_makerel]

I've got 2 titanium finnex 300w plugged into an inkbird which is plugged into the Apex. Inkbird is set to keep the tank between 77-78 my Apex is set to shut the controller/heaters off if the tank reaches 81. I feel pretty good about the redundancy with how I set it up. I can also monitor power usage and will be able to see if one fails

 

[Wick]

Are you sure that lamp extension cord can handle 600 watts when both heaters are on? I'd use a heavier duty cord or a multi outlet plugged into the controller to be safe.

I was thinking about using a three plug not that lol sorry for the confusion!

 

[Wick]

 

[redfishbluefish]

I really don't know how the contoller would react if one of the two heaters fail. I personally wouldn't chance it and would invest into a second controller. Let's see what others might say or if anyone else uses this method. I am not a controller expert or an electrician but I am curious.
#reefsquad

Just wanted to verify that this definitely works....been doing it for years. The one difference I'd make is not use that 16 or 18 gauge wired outlet off the Inkbird. Definitely get a double or triple outlet with a grounding plug. Something like

Cut off the plug end and wire directly into the Inkbird.

 

[Wick]

Just wanted to verify that this definitely works....been doing it for years. The one difference I'd make is not use that 16 or 18 gauge wired outlet off the Inkbird. Definitely get a double or triple outlet with a grounding plug. Something like

Cut off the plug end and wire directly into the Inkbird.

**** should I take off the other one I cut and cut that into it?

 

[redfishbluefish]

**** should I take off the other one I cut and cut that into it?

Actually I just went back and took a look at your photos....that's not an Inkbird....it's a Ranco. Very easy to wire it up. Here's a video that shows you how to do it.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hi. Not sure if I am on the right page. Seems it’s being over complicated. He has the ranco already and 1 outlet, I think already coming out from the unit

I would Take the plug redfish showed and use it to plug the controller and the 2 heaters into the plug . Hard wiring right to the control does not add anything I can see, the controller only will control the one as far as I know. So it is either on or off. Even easier if you need to buy the second one still I would just get the 800 and only use that.

Either way you should be fine. I have the Ranco and 1 titanium on my 180. Set it once about 8 or 9 years ago and have yet to mess with it . They are da bomb

 

[Wick]

Hi. Not sure if I am on the right page. Seems it’s being over complicated. He has the ranco already and 1 outlet, I think already coming out from the unit

I would Take the plug redfish showed and use it to plug the controller and the 2 heaters into the plug . Hard wiring right to the control does not add anything I can see, the controller only will control the one as far as I know. So it is either on or off. Even easier if you need to buy the second one still I would just get the 800 and only use that.

Either way you should be fine. I have the Ranco and 1 titanium on my 180. Set it once about 8 or 9 years ago and have yet to mess with it . They are da bomb

Which is why I bought mine. I thought I can get away with plugging something in cause it has the prob on it. I have 2 300s right now so that's why I'm just being cheap lol.

 

[Wick]

Actually I just went back and took a look at your photos....that's not an Inkbird....it's a Ranco. Very easy to wire it up. Here's a video that shows you how to do it.

That's how I wired it up! Great video

 

[FactoryKTMmotocross46]

One of the most common failures that could lead to a tank crash is heater failure. I have been keeping tanks for 12years straight and I will NEVER have only one heater again. I have never have had issues, but I have read a lot of bad things and for thousands of dollars to be killed because I didnt want to spend an extra $100 on a second heater and controller is silly. If you are truly wanting redundancy then you need to have two heaters on two controllers. Even expensive heaters are cheaply made.

When using two heaters, always have one staged down a few degrees so it will not be needed except under transient conditions and you can identify easily when the primary has failed. I also keep a third new in the box as a backup. My 150w aqueon keeps my 150g of tank water conditioned but this is based on 75 winter and 77 summer indoor temp in Texas. I have a wifi power strip to monitor current draw and I'm able to shut off each outlet if a heater fails on, which is what you can do with an apex but for a fraction of the cost.

Lacrosse mobile alerts for 99cents/mo gives me advanced warning on high or low temps in aquarium and in my house. It also warns me if it loses connection such as internet or power outage.

To prevent seal failure, I keep my heater as pictured since it is shaped like a test tube. Never keep a heater too close to another and never place in a low flow area to prevent overheating. Too large of a heater will cycle excessively causing premature failure. An inline gfci will prevent a shorted heater from tripping all of your equipment on the circuit.

 

[Wick]

One of the most common failures that could lead to a tank crash is heater failure. I have been keeping tanks for 12years straight and I will NEVER have only one heater again. I have never have had issues, but I have read a lot of bad things and for thousands of dollars to be killed because I didnt want to spend an extra $100 on a second heater and controller is silly. If you are truly wanting redundancy then you need to have two heaters on two controllers. Even expensive heaters are cheaply made.

When using two heaters, always have one staged down a few degrees so it will not be needed except under transient conditions and you can identify easily when the primary has failed. I also keep a third new in the box as a backup. My 150w aqueon keeps my 150g of tank water conditioned but this is based on 75 winter and 77 summer indoor temp in Texas. I have a wifi power strip to monitor current draw and I'm able to shut off each outlet if a heater fails on, which is what you can do with an apex but for a fraction of the cost.

Lacrosse mobile alerts for 99cents/mo gives me advanced warning on high or low temps in aquarium and in my house. It also warns me if it loses connection such as internet or power outage.

To prevent seal failure, I keep my heater as pictured since it is shaped like a test tube. Never keep a heater too close to another and never place in a low flow area to prevent overheating. Too large of a heater will cycle excessively causing premature failure. An inline gfci will prevent a shorted heater from tripping all of your equipment on the circuit.

Thank you!

 

[McPuff]

I had a 300W and a 500W Finnex titanium on my 120 a few years ago. Now, I have 500 and 800W Finnex on my 300. I have them set so that the 500 only comes on if the temperature drops below 77, which means the 800W couldn't quite pick up the slack (i.e., winter). So most of the time, only 1 heater would actually need to kick on. Just have Apex controlling both of them, but in different plugs (in case that wasn't already obvious).