OK, so on my new 90g, I am running two 200watt heaters, mostly because that is what I had on hand. I notice a lot of people running a big heater and a little heater, like a 200 plus a 50. I want to make sure I have enough juice to keep the tank warm in case of failure, and the house is usually a little chilly (like 68 degrees), but am I risking a melt-down?
Running dual heaters - wattage recommendations?
- Thread starter kmcmurtry
- Start date
I have run dual heaters before and have set both to the same temperature. Since they have internal thermometers that tell them when to shut off it shouldn't be a problem. What is important to know is if one of the heaters has failed, in which case you should get it out of the tank and either repair or replace it. All the burden on one heater is what may contribute to heater failure more, in my experience.
Again, this is all just my experience, other people may have other things to say.
Again, this is all just my experience, other people may have other things to say.
Hmm. Well if one heater goes haywire and heats up too much, the other heater will shut off because of it's internal thermometer and thus not contribute to the problem. If you're concerned about a heater going nuts and boiling your tank, the only way that wattage would factor in is that a lower wattage one will heat up the tank slower than a higher watt one. So I'm assuming that either you want the lowest wattage possible for your heaters so that combined they can keep the tank warm rather than each heater being capable of doing it itself, and you want to know what a good wattage would be for each heater?
Okay, I'm sorry I misunderstood your original question.
It's honestly probably not possible for a 200w to literally boil a 90 gallon. That's a lot of water, and with circulation and all that glass there's a lot of heat lost through it and through the top of your tank (assuming that you don't have it completely sealed off). Lighting may be a contributing factor to overheating a tank as well though.
Wattage also depends on what kind of a heater you're running. I have a Jager heater in mine, which is much more energy efficient than other models. I would just look up your heater and how many watts the manufacturer recommends for different sizes of tanks and divide it by two. So if a 100 watt is good for a 45 gallon tank, get two of those. Although maybe you should highball it a little bit. A frozen tank is equally as bad as a boiled one.
Edit: I also find that good heaters can resist cold room temperatures very well. My room is probably only 60 degrees at best in the winter and my freshwater stays a happy 75-78 degrees without any help. If your room typically runs cold anyway then I wouldn't worry so much about heaters boiling your tank per se.
It's honestly probably not possible for a 200w to literally boil a 90 gallon. That's a lot of water, and with circulation and all that glass there's a lot of heat lost through it and through the top of your tank (assuming that you don't have it completely sealed off). Lighting may be a contributing factor to overheating a tank as well though.
Wattage also depends on what kind of a heater you're running. I have a Jager heater in mine, which is much more energy efficient than other models. I would just look up your heater and how many watts the manufacturer recommends for different sizes of tanks and divide it by two. So if a 100 watt is good for a 45 gallon tank, get two of those. Although maybe you should highball it a little bit. A frozen tank is equally as bad as a boiled one.
Edit: I also find that good heaters can resist cold room temperatures very well. My room is probably only 60 degrees at best in the winter and my freshwater stays a happy 75-78 degrees without any help. If your room typically runs cold anyway then I wouldn't worry so much about heaters boiling your tank per se.
Yeah, one of mine is a Jager too. The other is Aqueon maybe? Can't recall exactly. They are keeping it in check fairly well and I don't notice either one staying on long to do it, so I guess that is a good sign. I guess to lower the drain on them I could lower my temp to 77 or 78 just in case, but I have heard higher temps help keep disease risk down. Thanks for all the replies!
If neither of them are staying on too long, then that means that they are doing their job and that the drain on them is at a minimum. Maintaining the temperature is much easier for heaters to do than fighting a temperature change. Honestly, a good way to minimize drain on heaters is to try and make sure that water for your changes is about the same temperature as what is already in the tank.
I haven't heard of higher temperatures helping to combat disease. Higher temperatures increase bacterial and parasite growth (to a point) as it makes their biological processes go faster. Higher temperatures is known to help combat Ich as it gets the parasite back into it's free floating stage, but I haven't known consistent high temperatures to be beneficial in keeping risk of disease down in general. If others feel that high temperatures keep disease down though it's worth considering.
I haven't heard of higher temperatures helping to combat disease. Higher temperatures increase bacterial and parasite growth (to a point) as it makes their biological processes go faster. Higher temperatures is known to help combat Ich as it gets the parasite back into it's free floating stage, but I haven't known consistent high temperatures to be beneficial in keeping risk of disease down in general. If others feel that high temperatures keep disease down though it's worth considering.
Way side note and my experience only here. I ran two 200w on my 75g. One decided ti stay on. I caught it at 84 degrees...I also run a chiller which kept it from getting worse. I then ordered a reef keeper lite system for 109 to keep it from happening again. I won't run a system with out a controller anymore. IMO, its cheap insurance that helps protect way more money then it costs.
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