Non adjustable heater?

[Inversus]

Hey there,

Im currently in the process of ordering my first reef tank. I have only the Tank itself, Light and heaters left.
Regarding the heaters I have questions.

I saw that there are heaters with a fixed/preset heat of 77 fahrenheit which are pretty cheap (from eheim). This way I could safe me the Controller and more expensive heater.

Not that the costs are that relevant in that area, its more general interest what I should to with.

- 2x 100w heater with preset 77 fahrenheit
Or
- 1x 200w heater + Controller (e.g. Inkbird)

Thanks!

 

[Montiman]

I would go 2 preset heaters. I believe they will last longer than the inkbird. The relays in the inkbirds seem to wear out quickly in my experience.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Go preset heaters and use a controller. They can still fail off or on and cook/freeze your fish. I do like the preset heater as in imho they should do a better job with the potting to seal the heater, since nothing is external in terms of a adjustment dial. I use a preset 250w as a backup in case the main 300w fails.

 

[Jekyl]

I would never go without a controller.

 

[muzikalmatt]

I would definitely recommend having controller redundancy (i.e. a heater with it's own thermostat as well as a controller like an inkbird controlling said heater). That way you have two points of protection and both the heater and the Inkbird would have to fail for something catastrophic to happen. Even then, it's recommended that you replace heaters after a year or two.