My tank just crashed!

[Hop2jr]

Not likely, except the eheims have a calibration ring that can be confused for the temp setting.
It should be tested for on/off before attaching to inkbird or other.
The eheims use a bimetallic switch vs electronic.
Hot tubs use the same bimetallic tech for hot water safety.
Sorry again.

Thanks for the advice now to make it so it won’t happen again lol

 

[Pistondog]

I control 3 heaters with apex.
2 eheims in the sump, temps staggered
1 cobalt neotherm.
I set the on off temps to try to let the neo therm establish control
In summer I swap a fan for one of the ehems.
My idea is to slow the temp swings by switching the min watts required.

 

[Tamberav]

I am so bummed out! Thanks to an Ink Bird heater controller that didn’t shut off the heater my tank was at 97F when I got home from work 2 days ago and fried 90% of my corals! Don’t know why it didn’t shut down heater, probes where in the water, 2 temp setting where set at 78.0 and 78.5 temp on readout read 97.1, so want to scream right now! I lost 3 hammers orange, neon, and dual green and blue, purple tip frogspawn, my favorite red Goni, red blue blasto, toadstool, green Goni, and my gsp an zoas closed and have not opened in 2 days. Still have all the fish and was able to save my dragon soul torch and 7 rbt but the rest are a skeleton graveyard! I guess what doesn’t kill yah just make you stronger an I’m not beat yet! So with that said my rant is now over! I need advice on a heater controller that works? can’t afford an apex yet after just losing a ton of cash on my corals but could use any and all advice.

You can use a Ranco or Johnson temp controller. They are regarded well, better than inkbird, some people say better than apex. You may have to do a little wiring.

Surprised your Jager heater failed on... they are one of the more reliable heaters and usually fail off.

 

[Spieg]

Sorry for your loss.
My guess would be that your heater thermostat failed some time ago and the Inkbird was the primary shutoff. Any relay will fail after enough on/off cycles... you really need to test if things are functioning on a regular basis. IMO something like an inexpensive heater should probably just be replaced every year or so anyway (I routinely move my used heaters to my salt mixing container and replace with new in my DT).

 

[JCTReefer]

I would highly recommend a Ranco. Been using one for years. They’re well built and made for commercial applications. Titanium sensor and prewired. They have been used in the heating and cooling industry for a long while. https://www.marinedepot.com/aqua-logic-digital-temperature-controller-single-stage

 

[aslmx]

Was looking into that but wanted to get the newest one but didn’t want to pull the trigger one $800 buck. Wish I would have now.

I bought an apex jr for $80. Been using it for 3 years. It only runs lights , heater and a fan. Sucks about your crash. Glad you didn’t lose your fish.

 

[Biglew11]

sorry for your loss
I second the ranco or aqualogic a rebranded ranco. ive been using mine for 10+ years not one issue.

https://www.marinedepot.com/aqua-logic-digital-temperature-controller-dual-stage
i have 2 300 watt heaters without thermostats both channels set to heat channel 1 set to 79 channel 2 set to 77. if the first heater fails then channel 2 can take over. i have this plugged into an apex set to turn on at 78.5 and off at 80.

 

[eggplantparrot]

Sorry but ink bird is not good to say to me right now but thanks with the 2 Smaller heater idea, my lfs only had 300 watt heaters when mine quit so hind site is 2020

"2020" eh, well if anything is gonna fail, this is definitely the year for it lol

 

[JGT]

sorry for your loss
I second the ranco or aqualogic a rebranded ranco. ive been using mine for 10+ years not one issue.

https://www.marinedepot.com/aqua-logic-digital-temperature-controller-dual-stage
i have 2 300 watt heaters without thermostats both channels set to heat channel 1 set to 79 channel 2 set to 77. if the first heater fails then channel 2 can take over. i have this plugged into an apex set to turn on at 78.5 and off at 80.

Dumb question. What’s the diff between single stage and dual stage?

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Oh man, that sucks!
Every piece of equipment will eventually fail and with heaters I want more redundancy than relying on just of piece of gear.
my advice would be to use a controller plus a heater with a internal thermostat, like an eheim jäger.
That way if one of them fails it’s not the end of the world.
I also use two smaller heaters that on their own can’t cook the tank, that way if one of the controllers and its heater failed at the same time somehow it still won’t be a problem.

 

[92Miata]

I'm sorry that your tank crashed - that really stinks - but hopefully people will learn the lesson here.

Heater Facts:
1. When Heaters Fail, they almost always fail on.
2. Failing On is way worse than failing off - because a tank is typically less than 10 degrees warmer than ambient. A tank dropping to 74 degrees over 12 hours because your heater failed off and your house is 68 is way better than having your tank rise to 90 over the course of 3 hours because a heater failed on.
3. Both heater thermostats and relays have a limited number of switches. They don't fail by "working hard" - they fail by turning on and off. Narrow temp ranges or bigger heaters means more switching, and quicker failure.

Lessons:

Having a heater that has to run 100% of the time to keep your tank where you want it is not a bad thing - it is the best possible case.

Having extra heating capacity does not lessen risk - it increases it. Having more capacity than you need is dangerous. Have only the heaters you need in the tank. Do not put an extra one in "for redundancy".

Run monitoring. Set your heater controller to run, say 78-79, and set up a monitor so that at 77 or 80 you get a text message.

Keep a spare heater in the closet - NOT IN THE TANK.


97? How big of a tank and how much heater did you have?

 

[Biglew11]

Dumb question. What’s the diff between single stage and dual stage?

single stage only has one stage a dual stage has two stages. ina dual stage, you can set one stage to heat one stage to cool, or both to heat, or both to cool.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

I am so bummed out! Thanks to an Ink Bird heater controller that didn’t shut off the heater my tank was at 97F when I got home from work 2 days ago and fried 90% of my corals! Don’t know why it didn’t shut down heater, probes where in the water, 2 temp setting where set at 78.0 and 78.5 temp on readout read 97.1, so want to scream right now! I lost 3 hammers orange, neon, and dual green and blue, purple tip frogspawn, my favorite red Goni, red blue blasto, toadstool, green Goni, and my gsp an zoas closed and have not opened in 2 days. Still have all the fish and was able to save my dragon soul torch and 7 rbt but the rest are a skeleton graveyard! I guess what doesn’t kill yah just make you stronger an I’m not beat yet! So with that said my rant is now over! I need advice on a heater controller that works? can’t afford an apex yet after just losing a ton of cash on my corals but could use any and all advice.

sorry to hear this.

 

[JGT]

single stage only has one stage a dual stage has two stages. ina dual stage, you can set one stage to heat one stage to cool, or both to heat, or both to cool.

Still don’t get it. What is meant by a “stage”?

 

[Biglew11]

Still don’t get it. What is meant by a “stage”?

a single stage has one controllable outlet (channel or stage) a dual stage has two separately controllable outlets (channels or stages). in 2 stage mode one set for heat one set for cooling if temp gets below set point heat turns on if temp gets above set point the cooling circuit will turn on hence two controllable stages.

dual stage = two outlets = two channels

single stage one outlet

dual stage two outlets

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I have nothing to add just an awkward e-hug and to let you know im sorry.

 

[mcshams]

Sorry about all the losses. I recently had a heater failure (failed off) and it droppedy tank temp to 66 before I caught it. Here's what I do now:

I need about 300 w to heat my tank properly. I run 2 200W heaters on an Inkbird (you may wish to look at other options of you don't trust them anymore). Both heaters have their own thermostat set at 80, while the Inkbird is set at 78. Thus:

If either heater fails "on" the Inkbird should catch it. Even if it doesn't, a single failed heater isn't capable of overhearing my tank.

If the Inkbird fails "on" like yours did, the heaters shut off at 80, only a little high.

If either heater fails off, the other can keep the temp drop from being too dramatic prior to the Inkbird alarming. (I have another 200w heater sitting as a backup)

The only real thing I'm not protected against is the Inkbird failing off. I've thought about putting the backup heater in the sump (not connected to the Inkbird) and set it at 74 or so, to guard in this scenario.

Not sure if that helps, but it's my approach!

We do something almost the exact same way. We have multiple redundancies. Our inkbird also is connected to wifi and my wife and I can check our temperature at any time via the phone app. Additionally we have it set to alarm when too hot or too cold.

 

[Mical]

Sorry for your loss... that sucks. Re: Inkbirds - I have 2 duals and don't trust them. Everytime I calibrated them within a day they're off by almost a full degree. Contacted Inkbird and got nothing but chinese lip service. So for the time being the Inkbirds are plugged into my Apex and I calibrated the Apex temp probes using Hanna Checktemp 1 and the Apex holds tem between 78.0 & 79.0. According Apex temp readings they're staying in that range and only come on/off maybe 6 times a day.

Just an FYI - I'm trying something I saw from a local reefer - 300w waterbed heater(s) under my sumps - so far that's looking promising.. stay tuned

 

[JGT]

a single stage has one controllable outlet (channel or stage) a dual stage has two separately controllable outlets (channels or stages). in 2 stage mode one set for heat one set for cooling if temp gets below set point heat turns on if temp gets above set point the cooling circuit will turn on hence two controllable stages.

dual stage = two outlets = two channels

single stage one outlet

dual stage two outlets

Ah, so if I want to run 2 heaters: primary and backup I would need. 2 stage controller?

 

[Spieg]

Ah, so if I want to run 2 heaters: primary and backup I would need. 2 stage controller?

Only if you want to set 2 different temperatures. Or, you could plug 2 heaters into a singe stage with an outlet split (assuming combined load of both heaters is within the maximum wattage limit of the device) but both would be on and off at the same time