Heater question

[USMA36]

I’m looking at purchasing 2 or 3 heaters for my 210 reef tank. Why does the 300 watt eheim say good for up to 264 gallons and the Finnex HMAs 300 watt says it’s only good for 80-100 gallons. Total volume of my tank will be about 250 gallons. What would the best heater setup be? I don’t understand how 300 watts by one manufacturer is different than 300 watts from another manufacture. Id like to have a heater with its own thermostat controlled primarily by my apex. According to the finnex chart I’d need 3 300 watt heaters using 3 apex outlets instead of 2 heaters/outlet’s for the glass eheim.

 

[Reef.]

They base their temps/wattage range on different base starting points.

one may claim good for a room 64f the other may base theirs on 60f

 

[fcmatt]

What is the normal temp range where your tank will be?

The reason a 300 watt heater is only for a smaller size is that you don't want it on hours and hours and hours per day.

If it was me I would get 3 300 watters offhand. But if this tank resides in a temp controlled area where it is always 72 degrees... it changes things a bit.

 

[Uncle99]

Eihem are the older contact point heaters, most are going digital.

2 to 3 watts a gallon is normal, so 2 300 watt is plenty.

Fluval e-series is a 300w, is a smart, digital heater with both a screen in it to display temp, 3 colors to show to hot, to cold, on the money, will automatically turn itself off if it comes out of the water
You would need two of these and the apex would add another layer of safety.
Around $50 each.

 

[USMA36]

The tank is in my basement. Temp range 63 to 70 year round. 63 would be overnight in the winter.

 

[fcmatt]

The tank is in my basement. Temp range 63 to 70 year round. 63 would be overnight in the winter.

Sounds like you need a bit more then the average reefer... i would try with 2 and simply have a spare on hand for cold days and figure out the plug situation later.