Help me with my heaters

[sunil6784]

Hi all,

I started up my new system, and am having a little bit of trouble getting it up to temp.

Display is a 112 gallon tank on first floor. I have two 100g Rubbermaid stock tanks in the basement, one being a sump and one being a fuge.

Currently, I have 800w of heating. Two 300w eheims and one 200w fluval heater, all plugged into an EB832. Temperature on Apex is reported at 76, but set to 78-79. Heaters have not turned off.

Ambient temperature in basement is about 60 degrees, give or take a few.

I'm assuming I need more heater wattage, but it also seems I will run up against the maximum wattage of the EB832 outlets. Also, the more I read, it seems people recommend a secondary controller. I have the following at my disposal.

Two EB832s
One Ranco controller
Two 300w heaters
One 200w heater
One 150watt heater

Do I need more wattage ? What would be the best way to hook all of this up ?

 

[_AV]

Are the rubbermaids touching the concrete in the basement? Concrete will suck out any amount of heat. I'd recommend lifting them up on some pressure treated wood.

You have a lot of wattage in those heaters. My system in a very similar size and configuration runs off of a single 300w heater and it has no issues keeping up.

 

[Saltyreef]

Hi all,

I started up my new system, and am having a little bit of trouble getting it up to temp.

Display is a 112 gallon tank on first floor. I have two 100g Rubbermaid stock tanks in the basement, one being a sump and one being a fuge.

Currently, I have 800w of heating. Two 300w eheims and one 200w fluval heater, all plugged into an EB832. Temperature on Apex is reported at 76, but set to 78-79. Heaters have not turned off.

Ambient temperature in basement is about 60 degrees, give or take a few.

I'm assuming I need more heater wattage, but it also seems I will run up against the maximum wattage of the EB832 outlets. Also, the more I read, it seems people recommend a secondary controller. I have the following at my disposal.

Two EB832s
One Ranco controller
Two 300w heaters
One 200w heater
One 150watt heater

Do I need more wattage ? What would be the best way to hook all of this up ?

You need more wattage i do believe. @ over 300g, 800w of heater is going to be underpowered.

I use 2-300 watts on just a 40breeder.

Also, in regards to temperature and control, i would run the two 300 watt heaters off the single ranco controller and then use another 2x 300 watts of heaters on the EB832s

 

[sunil6784]

Are the rubbermaids touching the concrete in the basement? Concrete will suck out any amount of heat. I'd recommend lifting them up on some pressure treated wood.

You have a lot of wattage in those heaters. My system in a very similar size and configuration runs off of a single 300w heater and it has no issues keeping up.

Yes...the rubbermaids are up on wood. Not on the concrete floor.

 

[Dbichler]

Agree get it off concrete. I use one 300 w on my 210 with 40 sump both in basement. Heaters barely turn on ambient temp around 65 keep tank at 79.

 

[sunil6784]

You need more wattage i do believe. @ over 300g, 800w of heater is going to be underpowered.

I use 2-300 watts on just a 40breeder.

Also, in regards to temperature and control, i would run the two 300 watt heaters off the single ranco controller and then use another 2x 300 watts of heaters on the EB832s

Any issue with the heaters on the EB832 ? I read a few posts advising against this, as it can wear out the EB832 prematurely.

 

[Dbichler]

Yes...the rubbermaids are up on wood. Not on the concrete floor.

Have you tested temp with another source

 

[Saltyreef]

Any issue with the heaters on the EB832 ? I read a few posts advising against this, as it can wear out the EB832 prematurely.

Just get another ranco controller to plug the fluval and your extra 150w heater and be done.

You could have an issue with one of the heaters as well. I recommend checking the draw on them with a power meter.

 

[sunil6784]

Have you tested temp with another source

Yes.. I have a mercury thermometer in the display that also says 74-75 degrees.

 

[Saltyreef]

Also, are the temp dials on the heaters set correctly? If they are set too low the apex wont know and could be causing this issue as well.

 

[Dburr1014]

I have 500w on 100 total gallon system. Basement sump.
Both on a inkbird.
Need more wattage. You could do 2 controllers. 800w on the main controller Set at your temp. The 2nd controller Set just below the 1st with another pair of heater. Now you have backup and if 1 controller can't keep up the 2nd will kick on.

How are you guys keeping heat on big tanks with only 300 watts??

 

[n2585722]

You need more wattage i do believe. @ over 300g, 800w of heater is going to be underpowered.

I use 2-300 watts on just a 40breeder.

Also, in regards to temperature and control, i would run the two 300 watt heaters off the single ranco controller and then use another 2x 300 watts of heaters on the EB832s

I have a 42 gallon hex tank and only have 2 50 watt heaters. They keep it at the temp I have set.

 

[sunil6784]

I am new to the Apex scene... But this is my power log for one of my heaters plugged into the EB. All three heaters' graphs look like this.

I'm confused..though the tank has not hit 78 degrees, it looks like all three heaters have turned off intermittently ?

 

[PeterC99]

I have 500w on 100 total gallon system. Basement sump.
Both on a inkbird.
Need more wattage. You could do 2 controllers. 800w on the main controller Set at your temp. The 2nd controller Set just below the 1st with another pair of heater. Now you have backup and if 1 controller can't keep up the 2nd will kick on.

How are you guys keeping heat on big tanks with only 300 watts??

Great question about heating large tanks with small heaters.

Important to state where people live and the ambient temperatures in their homes.

 

[Saltyreef]

I have a 42 gallon hex tank and only have 2 50 watt heaters. They keep it at the temp I have set.

It all comes down to ambient temp and specific thermal dynamics of the aquarium and contents.

 

[Cell]

That's a lot of water in a cold basement. I had to oversize all my heaters in my MN basement. You need more wattage. Not sure about EB max.

Once you figure out sufficient wattage, I would run half the required wattage on the Apex and the other half on the Ranco.

 

[_AV]

Another variable is lighting over the main display. If you have lots of high power LEDs, they will contribute to the water temperature. If you run MH, even more so.
But if all you have is some T5, your heaters will have to work harder.

What does your Apex Temp probe graph look like for the same period as the heater graph posted above?

 

[sunil6784]

Another variable is lighting over the main display. If you have lots of high power LEDs, they will contribute to the water temperature. If you run MH, even more so.
But if all you have is some T5, your heaters will have to work harder.

What does your Apex Temp probe graph look like for the same period as the heater graph posted above?

I just have some fluval LEDs on my tank now... Haven't gotten any lights yet.

Here is the graph....

 

[_AV]

Yeah, once you get more light on, you will see a substantial decrease in heater usage.
What's your heater program currently?
From the graph it looks like it's maintaining 76F... A better zoom in that doesn't include the 20F extreme would give you a better idea.

 

[Dbichler]

I live in Wisconsin so it’s definitely cold in winter. I use 2 return pumps 4 powerheads and 6 noopsyche lights. The heat from all those may be why I don’t need more wattage but could also be I keep it slightly warmer than most.