Heaters....

[StPatrick89]

What’s the appropriate wattage for a 75g tank? 2 heaters? What’s the most efficient way to have a heater/heaters?

 

[dank reefer]

I heard rule of thumb is 3 watts per gallon. if you want to use 2 heaters then split the wattage and get 2 smaller heaters.

 

[StPatrick89]

I heard rule of thumb is 3 watts per gallon. if you want to use 2 heaters then split the wattage and get 2 smaller heaters.

Is it better to have 2? Or is it preference

 

[Uncle99]

Better to have 2, 100-150 and hook them to an Inkbird controller for safety.

If one fails, the other should hold.
If one fails “on” the Inkbird will shut it down.

 

[MaxTremors]

Is it better to have 2? Or is it preference

It better to have two, that way if one fails you won’t have any major temp dips. I would probably get either 2 300watt or 2 200watt heaters, depending on the average ambient temperature of the room. You can absolutely get by with one (I’d go 300watt in that case), but using two heaters will give you peace of mind and also extend the life of the heaters since each heater will be working half as much.

 

[StPatrick89]

Better to have 2, 100-150 and hook them to an Inkbird controller for safety.

If one fails, the other should hold.
If one fails “on” the Inkbird will shut it down.

Any recommendations on brand? Glass/titanium?

 

[StPatrick89]

It better to have two, that way if one fails you won’t have any major temp dips. I would probably get either 2 300watt or 2 200watt heaters, depending on the average ambient temperature of the room. You can absolutely get by with one (I’d go 300watt in that case), but using two heaters will give you peace of mind and also extend the life of the heaters since each heater will be working half as much.

Recommendation on brand?
glass/titanium?

 

[ZoWhat]

Better to have 2, 100-150 and hook them to an Inkbird controller for safety.

If one fails, the other should hold.
If one fails “on” the Inkbird will shut it down.

Spot on.

You never want only one 300+ watt flamethrower....that if it gets stuck ON cooks your tank at 98°

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

More important than anything run them through a controller. Protect your investment. But I always use two a bit undersized with one through the controller and a second on its own but with the temp set a bit higher as a back up.
Also, I don’t suspect that you should put both on the same inkbird. Replays do have a life cycle and they don’t like being over worked. 2 heaters on one inkbird will pull some juice The ink bird rep here is really helpful, has anyone asked him about doubling up on the same controller?

 

[PeterC99]

Checkout the new Innovative Marine Helio PTC 400 Watt Aquarium Heater w/ Controller (2 x 200W). Replaced a BRS 300W heater with Inkbird controller which gave me erratic temp ranges.

Know these heaters are expensive but This heater keeps the temps consistent at 78 degrees and uses significantly less energy. The BRS 300W would used 353 watts (according to my Apex). The Helio has two 200W heating elements, that uses 309 watts when both are on. Also interesting that when the aquarium needs a minor temp increase, only one heating element comes on. Below are the pics from my Apex showing the temp swings before and after Helio install and the unit using only one heater to keep the temps stable. Had it now for 5 months with no issues and consistent temps.

 

[StPatrick89]

Spot on.

You never want only one 300+ watt flamethrower....that if it gets stuck ON cooks your tank at 98°

So I should get two 150W

 

[dank reefer]

So I should get two 150W

SI!!!

 

[StPatrick89]

SI!!!

Is that Spanish for yes? Lol

 

[dank reefer]

Is that Spanish for yes? Lol

SI!!!

 

[BZOFIQ]

I'd say 200W + 200W or 100W as primary and 200W as secondary set about a degree apart.

BUT! That all depends on where your tank is situated.

I have 4 heaters on my system with the 1st being 100W. That heater pretty much is always on, #2 kicks on here and there but rarely, #3 does during winter nights when #1 and #2 cant keep up and #4 is there in case of others failing. They are spread between different circuit breakers on different EB strips and separate apex controllers to further increase system redundancy.

 

[fryman]

Checkout the new Innovative Marine Helio PTC 400 Watt Aquarium Heater w/ Controller (2 x 200W). Replaced a BRS 300W heater with Inkbird controller which gave me erratic temp ranges.

Know these heaters are expensive but This heater keeps the temps consistent at 78 degrees and uses significantly less energy. The BRS 300W would used 353 watts (according to my Apex). The Helio has two 200W heating elements, that uses 309 watts when both are on. Also interesting that when the aquarium needs a minor temp increase, only one heating element comes on. Below are the pics from my Apex showing the temp swings before and after Helio install and the unit using only one heater to keep the temps stable. Had it now for 5 months with no issues and consistent temps.

Looks like a nice product but your temp chart with inkbird is showing a max swing of maybe 1.5 degF.? I don't suspect any livestock would notice or care if the tank was 77.3 vs 78.8F

Also the inkbird default on/off settings are 77.0 and 78.0F but can be changed. You could have simply set the inkbird to a tighter temp range, for example turn on at 77.9 & off at 78.1F, if you wanted to keep that tight a range.

As for OP's question, I recommend a controller like the inkbird or the onelinked above with 2 heaters (100 - 200W each).

 

[PeterC99]

Looks like a nice product but your temp chart with inkbird is showing a max swing of maybe 1.5 degF.? I don't suspect any livestock would notice or care if the tank was 77.3 vs 78.8F

Also the inkbird default on/off settings are 77.0 and 78.0F but can be changed. You could have simply set the inkbird to a tighter temp range, for example turn on at 77.9 & off at 78.1F, if you wanted to keep that tight a range.

As for OP's question, I recommend a controller like the inkbird or the onelinked above with 2 heaters (100 - 200W each).

Didn't thinks this was possible for the Inkbird version that did both heating & cooling?

 

[fryman]

I'd say 200W + 200W or 100W as primary and 200W as secondary set about a degree apart.

BUT! That all depends on where your tank is situated.

I have 4 heaters on my system with the 1st being 100W. That heater pretty much is always on, #2 kicks on here and there but rarely, #3 does during winter nights when #1 and #2 cant keep up and #4 is there in case of others failing. They are spread between different circuit breakers on different EB strips and separate apex controllers to further increase system redundancy.

Wow that's next level. Seems well thought out tho I doubt you will ever have a temp-related crash

 

[fryman]

Didn't thinks this was possible for the Inkbird version that did both heating & cooling?

I don't know about any version that does cooling, I just have heaters. I use the one sold by BRS with two heater plugs. It has an app too so I can check from anywhere but I'm not really sure why I need that. I suppose it's neat, but I never change the settings and temp monitoring is redundent if you have an Apex.