Heater recommendations for 100G water volume

[Lionsreef]

Sorry for another heater thread but I'm having trouble finding information on heater ratings and recommendations for my new tank.

I will have about 100G of total water volume after subtracting out rock and sand displacement. I plan to place 2 heaters (same rating) in my sump. One primary heater controlled by my APEX and the 2nd heater set a couple degrees lower than my APEX turn-on temperature as a back-up in the event my primary heater or APEX fails.

1. First question is I see that titanium heaters are not recommend for acrylic sumps since they could melt. If the heater has a plastic shield is that enough protection so that i can use it in the sump or better yet use a heater holder to make sure it does not make contact with the acylic?

2. Second and more important question. I see manufacture ratings all over the place. Some heaters suggested for 100G are rated at 200W...... others as high as 400W. What heaters would you recommend for my system. Reliability to me is more important than price so that is why i'm leaning toward a titanium heater if i can safely use it in my sump. BTW my tank is located in the living room so the ambient house temperature never goes below 70 deg F in the winter.

Thanks

 

[dantimdad]

Get two 250 watt heaters and put them on a controller.

The brand isn't that important even though I prefer eheim.

The controller just has to have a probe that is meant to be in saltwater. Inkbird has a new one that is.

 

[ca1ore]

I cannot see any good reason why titanium heaters could/should not be used in an acrylic sump. Just make sure whichever one you buy has rubber bumpers so that the heating tube cannot come into direct contact with the sides. My own personal approach for heaters is to work out what wattage you need, divide that number by two and get three heaters of that value. So, in your case, the answer is probably something like 300 watts to maintain 8 degrees above ambient. T’were me, I’d run three 150 watters.

 

[BZOFIQ]

You need 2 x 200W heaters setup in stages or 300W + 200W; it also depends how cold the room gets.

I use Eheim Jager with a spare on hand; they all fail at some point. The ugly orange APEX can monitor outlet load so you can set it up to alert you of heater failure.

Hope this helps.