Heater question- Jager vs titanium and watts inquiry

BAMatter · Jan 21, 2022

Having a bit of a heater issue, assuming primarily due to the fact that we keep our house on the chilly side in the winter- the room my tank is in stays around 64-66° only because the pellet stove is located in close proximity.

The tank is 75 gallons with around 15-20 gallons in the sump. I’m currently running 2 Jager 150 watt heaters on an InkBird. They’re having a hard time getting up to 78°. I actually had to turn down the settings to 77° as a low and 77.5° as a high just so it would get up to temp and give the heaters a break (there’s nothing living in the tank as I’m still setting it up).

That said, I would have figured 2 Jager 150 watt heaters would be ok with 300 watts total, but it’s not cutting it. The 200 watt heaters are too long for my sump setup. I’m considering the @Bulk Reef Supply Titanium heaters, and don’t want to run into the same issue since I didn’t take into account room temp when looking at the ratings of the Jagers… Looking at the Titanium specs and my current issue, I’m inclined to think I need 2 of the 300 watt heaters for this system.

Just looking for a bit of help making sure this is the correct thought process, since it doesn’t seem like the glass heater watts and titanium watts are aligned, which if someone could clarify that as well that would be solid.

Thanks in advance…

Cell · Jan 21, 2022

I think you just have to go by the manufacturer recommendations for their heater. I just had to upsize my basement tank heater for the same reason. It's been crazy cold in MN already this year and my heaters were struggling to get up to temp.

BAMatter · Jan 21, 2022

Cell said:
I think you just have to go by the manufacturer recommendations for their heater. I just had to upsize my basement tank heater for the same reason. It's been crazy cold in MN already this year and my heaters were struggling to get up to temp.

What’s the temp diff between your basement and what you keep your tank at, and what size heaters did you go with? Total system gallons I guess would help me too… thanks

Cell · Jan 21, 2022

I've got about 70 total gallons, was running a 75W and a 100W and just bumped the 100W to a 150W yesterday and may swap out the 75W for the 100W if needed. Basement temp has been 58-60 lately. My ideal temp is 78-79. It has been running at 74-75 lately.

Cell · Jan 21, 2022

Forgot to mention, I run Eheim Jagers.

BAMatter · Jan 21, 2022

Cell said:
Forgot to mention, I run Eheim Jagers.

I wish I could fit the 200w Jagers. Just don’t have room for them where they need to go unfortunately.

Cell · Jan 21, 2022

I have to submerge and run horizontally.

Cell · Jan 21, 2022

Cell said:
I forgot I swapped out the 75 for the 100 late last night. So I'm running a 150W and a 100W, I'm at 78.7 right now with current 59 deg ambient temp. I will probably have to downsize again in the Summer.

Posted this in the wrong thread.

BAMatter · Jan 21, 2022

Cell said:
I have to submerge and run horizontally.

Mine are as well. Even diagonally the 200’s won’t work, unless I put them in my refuge in which I don’t want to do because of maintenance and where my temp probe is.

Gp! · Jan 21, 2022

It doesn't matter if the heater is encased in glass or titanium for heating effectiveness. All of the heat ends up in the water as it dissipates.

All that matters for sizing the heater is your ambient temperature and the temperature you keep the tank.

This is an example pulled up from Google: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/HeaterChillerSizing.php

I forget which one I've used in the past but the math behind them should all be roughly the same

BAMatter · Jan 21, 2022

Gp! said:
It doesn't matter if the heater is encased in glass or titanium for heating effectiveness. All of the heat ends up in the water as it dissipates.

All that matters for sizing the heater is your ambient temperature and the temperature you keep the tank.

This is an example pulled up from Google: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/HeaterChillerSizing.php

I forget which one I've used in the past but the math behind them should all be roughly the same

That’s a pretty detailed calculator. Thanks for that…

I ended up purchasing 2 of the 300 watt BRS Titanium heaters. Should be solid I’m thinkin!

jda · Jan 21, 2022

Evaporation matters too, so a dry home/climate will evap more and cool more.

I don't mess around with anything under 300w, unless the tank is like 10 gallons.

Strongly suggest multiple 300w Ehiems on Ranco for most reliable setup. I still do not trust the BRS Heaters yet - they have not even been around long enough to know if they are sturdy.

dmsc2fs · Jan 21, 2022

I went through a heater purchase recently and settled on 300W x 2. I wanted to go titanium for all the reasons you probably already know. I couldn't justify a price point on 300W that I would accept so I decided to accept a plastic encased glass heater. I decided on a pair of these:

hygger 925 Replacement Heater Rod Aquarium Heating Element (Controller Excluded)

BAMatter · Jan 21, 2022

jda said:
Evaporation matters too, so a dry home/climate will evap more and cool more.

I don't mess around with anything under 300w, unless the tank is like 10 gallons.

Strongly suggest multiple 300w Ehiems on Ranco for most reliable setup. I still do not trust the BRS Heaters yet - they have not even been around long enough to know if they are sturdy.

Can’t fit the 200’s let alone 300’s. I would have gone with 2 of the Jager 200’s.

BAMatter · Jan 21, 2022

dmsc2fs said:
I went through a heater purchase recently and settled on 300W x 2. I wanted to go titanium for all the reasons you probably already know. I couldn't justify a price point on 300W that I would accept so I decided to accept a plastic encased glass heater. I decided on a pair of these:

hygger 925 Replacement Heater Rod Aquarium Heating Element (Controller Excluded)

Yea the cost is a bit much, but the dimensions of the 300w BRS was the selling point for me. I would have gladly stayed with the Jagers if I had the room for something bigger since I already have an InkBird.

jda · Jan 21, 2022

Put them in the tank if you cannot fit them in the sump. You should always have one on the tank, along with the probe to your controller, so that if the return cuts off, then your tank will stay warm with just the flow pumps running.

BAMatter · Jan 21, 2022

jda said:
Put them in the tank if you cannot fit them in the sump. You should always have one on the tank, along with the probe to your controller, so that if the return cuts off, then your tank will stay warm with just the flow pumps running.

Appreciate the advice, I’m not willing to put them in my display though.