Heaters

[beareef19]

It's time to get a heater. I've been running my 120 gal. reef for about 7mos, without a heater, should I get 2 low watt heaters or 1 high watt heater to place in my sump? Any brand recommendations would also be a big help TIA. Barry

[captexas]

From what I have learned, it is better to have two lower wattage heaters than one higher wattage unit. That way if one breaks you still have some heat from the other. Ebo-jager is known to make high quality heaters and there are a couple of other respected brands out there. I purchased two of the Ebo-jagers heaters not knowing that they are not fully sumbersible. That made it a little more difficult to place in my sump as they were large heaters. Make sure the heaters you buy will fit in the space you want to locate them.

[alexwolf]

i just bought a titanium one with a remote sensor....really cool. it works well

[captexas]

Yeah, no matter what heater you buy, it's always a good idea to keep an eye on it to make sure it is working correctly. I had to plug mine in as I usually don't run the heater in the house unless it gets really cold for an extended period of time. Another reason I like having two is so when I am mixing saltwater I can take one and put it in the mixing tank to help get the temp up to match my main tank.

[beareef19]

Alex, where did you buy your heater ? I have been leaning toward 2 heaters, just in case one went bad.

[Pizazz]

Is it all Ebo-jagers that can't be fully submerged? I have more than one submerged at this moment. I checked the instructions/box info but didn't see anything that said it couldn't be submerged although the picture shows part of the heater above water. :o

[alexwolf]

i got mine on Ebay, but i tell you what, they offer one with a digital thermometer, and its way cooler

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2361686750&category=20 758

Great seller too, really fast shipping

[captexas]

Janice -
I know, I looked all over the box and the paper that came with it when I got mine and it doesn't say anywhere. The thing I saw was on the heater itself near power cord/adjustment know. There is a water level line marked on it. The drawing on the instructions shows the end of it above the water even though it states that it is sealed to keep water out of the internal mechanism.

[Tim Marvin]

I have used the Won Pro with just as good a results as you Josh. I will never try another one.
BEAREEF19, run 2 of the 350 watt Ebo's. The higher the watts the shorter the period it will stay on. You don't want too low a wattage or it will stay on for long periods of time.

[Instar]

Agree with Tim. 2 heaters that will do the job. One runs most of the time, the other is a backup. What good is the primary or the back up if they aren't big enough to handle the job? Not much; tank won't hold where you want it and are you likely to notice if the backup is on all the time and temp too low, until one fine cold day, after your stuff is all icky and bleached?

[Tim Marvin]

Right, and don't forget to put them in a high flow area of the sump.

[beareef19]

Thanks everyone you've been a big help