Air_Cooled_Nut Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 I just got a second 150W heater for our 29-gal, FOWLR Biocube. It's just like the one that came in the tank that was donated to us. We maybe have 1-3 power failures a year and they are short-lived, typically less than an hour or two since we live in the suburbs (forested suburbs as our property has over 30 fir trees that are 80+ feet tall) so response time is pretty decent. Oddly enough, we've been lucky that the outages often happen when we're home... I read that it's good to have a backup heater and I agree, however, I'm not sure how to implement it. Should I just store it and use it only when the current one fails... OR ...should I plug it in and place it in the water column so both heaters are going at the same time (not right next to each other, of course)? My wife and I both work so we're not always home all day so if the power were to go out in the morning and we don't get home until evening, that's easily a good 8-9 hours of no heat for a tank requiring about a 77-F temp (plus or minus a degree). The thermostat is set to 68-F during the day but it is a Wi-Fi unit so I can adjust it up or down from my smart phone. Link to comment
mystersyster Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 It's good to have a backup heater, yes. I recommend getting a temp controller of some sort. If a heater fails it could fail on. So it coul cook your tank. If you have a controller it will turn it off once it gets too hot. In my opinion, water flow is most important in a power outage. A battery backup for whatever pump you have is the best way to prepare. Link to comment
patback Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Use a temp controller to control both from going to high. Set the back up 2-3 degrees lower than the primary one in the very small chance it dies while off (hardly ever happens). Imo it is very redundant. Link to comment
Air_Cooled_Nut Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 ... In my opinion, water flow is most important in a power outage. A battery backup for whatever pump you have is the best way to prepare. Dang, good point. I guess plunking my hand in the tank and swirling it around would get tiresome at some point... Recommendations? What do y'all recommend for a controller? Hit me with brand names you trust, I can take it Link to comment
braaap Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Dang, good point. I guess plunking my hand in the tank and swirling it around would get tiresome at some point... Recommendations? What do y'all recommend for a controller? Hit me with brand names you trust, I can take it Apex. Cobalt makes a good heater controller for just a heater. Apex controls everything you can dream of. Reef Solutions did have a sweet one and they might make them again. So look into those. Link to comment
VW_TDI_02 Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 The heater failing in the off position isn't a big deal since you have a long time before it can cause a problem in most cases. The heater failing on can quickly boil a tank. In order to get around this you need some sort of heater controller. You can get a dedicated heater controller which has a separate temperature probe. You simply plug the heater into the controller and the controller will kill the heater if the water gets too hot. You can also get an aquarium controller which IMO is a better route. You can get a Reef Keeper Lite for $75 used or around $120 brand new and it comes with 4 controllable outlets, temperature probe, and the display unit. Apex also has a controller and it's frankly a better controller but it's way more expensive. I personally couldn't afford it so I went with a used RKL. Water movement is a huge thing when the power goes out. You can get a battery backup for the MP power heads and I believe for a gyre as well. Another option is to just get a battery operated air pump. You move the water around a bit and more importantly you are adding oxygen into the water. I have a small tank so I only need one and it gets the job done easily. Link to comment
Air_Cooled_Nut Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 Looking at heater controllers and just caught myself...if the power goes out then having one heater or two heaters or a bazillion heaters won't make a difference if there's no electricity flowing thru 'em I swear I haven't been drinking So, really, the controller would be used for having both heaters in the tank. Some days I wonder about myself... Link to comment
VW_TDI_02 Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Looking at heater controllers and just caught myself...if the power goes out then having one heater or two heaters or a bazillion heaters won't make a difference if there's no electricity flowing thru 'em I swear I haven't been drinking So, really, the controller would be used for having both heaters in the tank. Some days I wonder about myself... Heaters are pretty much just as likely to fail in the on position as the off position and that's where the controller is a big help. Power goes out, the temperature will slowly drop down to whatever room temperature is. If a heater gets stuck in the on position and you don't notice and don't have anything to turn it off then you can quickly boil your tank. Link to comment
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