Thoughts on dual heaters?

[Nikko]

I have a 90 gallon reef tank and have heard the horror stories of malfunctioning heaters. Currently I am using a 200w Eheim Jager and everything is going well, but you never know when things could go haywire and I'm trying to stay proactive. Just looking for some thoughts on this... should I consider possibly dropping to 2 150W heaters, that way if one goes bad, it won't fry out the tank so rapidly? Do you consider Eheim heaters as reliable? Thanks in advance

 

[Reeferfourlife]

Ehiem heaters is good. I always go with dual heater just incase one fails to turn on or off, so things won't be as bad.

 

[Nikko]

Cool, thanks! Would you go with two 150 watters with a 90 gallon?

 

[TheEngineer]

Ehiem heaters is good. I always go with dual heater just incase one fails to turn on or off, so things won't be as bad.

+1

 

[bevo5]

Your best bet is to hook the heaters up to a controller like an APEX. That way you need the heater and the APEX to fail for you to experience an issue.

As far as two heaters go - sure - but if the 150watt sticks on in the 90 it's still going to heat it up. You'll have the backup if one fails, but I've always been just as worried about the heater sticking on.

That said - EHEIM is pretty much the best, and complete failures like this are rare.

 

[sinekal]

I think the number of watts per gallon that's required to heat your tank will be dependent on the environment the tank is in. Mine is in a fish room that's fairly warm already, and I live in a warm climate, so 1 watt per gallon will heat my tank. I've lived colder places where I needed 2-3 watts per gallon, and I'm sure some need even more in cold locations and poorly insulated rooms. Doesn't answer your question but hopefully gives you some criteria for determining.

 

[Nikko]

Thanks a lot everyone, I appreciate your advice!