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Need heater, heater monitoring probe for 3-5gal, want phone app also


Tired

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Haven't settled on the exact tank yet, but I'm going to have a softie tank in the upper end of the 3-5gal range, and it's going to be in a dorm room that gets cold in the winter, so it's going to need a heater. I need a suitably sized heater, preferably something smallish and protected against corals that try to sit on it. 

I also want a backup. One of those probes that monitor your temperature and will shut off power to the heater if it gets too hot. I'm hoping there's one that also has a phone app where I can remotely check on the temperature, that will send me an alarm if it gets too hot or cold in there. Surely this is something that someone's invented. I don't want one of those $200 setups that controls literally everything, I just want one that shuts off my heater for me if things get too hot, and lets me know if temperature shenanigans are occurring. 

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9 minutes ago, Tired said:

Haven't settled on the exact tank yet, but I'm going to have a softie tank in the upper end of the 3-5gal range, and it's going to be in a dorm room that gets cold in the winter, so it's going to need a heater. I need a suitably sized heater, preferably something smallish and protected against corals that try to sit on it. 

I also want a backup. One of those probes that monitor your temperature and will shut off power to the heater if it gets too hot. I'm hoping there's one that also has a phone app where I can remotely check on the temperature, that will send me an alarm if it gets too hot or cold in there. Surely this is something that someone's invented. I don't want one of those $200 setups that controls literally everything, I just want one that shuts off my heater for me if things get too hot, and lets me know if temperature shenanigans are occurring. 

Heater will depend on dimensions of tank. Aqueon pro, eheim jagger, and cobalt neotherm are good.

 

I think any heater controller with app's or ability to monitor from devices is the Apex, Neptunes.

 

Affordable controllers are the Inkbird, Finnex, and another one that I just can't remember the name of.

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Don't heaters usually have a range of sizes they'll work in? I wouldn't think a heater for a 4gal wouldn't work in a 5, and vice versa. 

 

I'll check out those controllers, thanks. Looks like the ones with apps are really expensive, which is odd- they can't be that hard to produce, and surely there's a market for a relatively cheap thing that just keeps an eye on temps.

 

What I can do instead is work it into my other security thing. I'm going to buy a cheap webcam and point it at the tank, and then I can just check it through a phone security app to be sure nothing's spawned- seems like a decent precaution to take for a pico tank with rock flower nems, ya know? I'll just put the thermometer in a spot that the webcam can see. That's what my dad does to keep an eye on our deep freeze while we're on vacation, he just checks a webcam now and then that's pointed at a temp readout. 

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9 hours ago, Tired said:

Don't heaters usually have a range of sizes they'll work in? I wouldn't think a heater for a 4gal wouldn't work in a 5, and vice versa. 

 

I'll check out those controllers, thanks. Looks like the ones with apps are really expensive, which is odd- they can't be that hard to produce, and surely there's a market for a relatively cheap thing that just keeps an eye on temps.

 

What I can do instead is work it into my other security thing. I'm going to buy a cheap webcam and point it at the tank, and then I can just check it through a phone security app to be sure nothing's spawned- seems like a decent precaution to take for a pico tank with rock flower nems, ya know? I'll just put the thermometer in a spot that the webcam can see. That's what my dad does to keep an eye on our deep freeze while we're on vacation, he just checks a webcam now and then that's pointed at a temp readout. 

Heaters are rated for different tank sizes and their actual size will depend on the dimensions of the tank.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I’m impressed with the Aqueon Presets. They are more accurate than more expensive heaters and supposedly have a safety thermostat as well. You are not going to get any smaller foot print, unless you go inline. I found if you mount them horizontally they keep the Aquarium between 77.4 and 78. Mount them vertical in a quiet zone and the tank is a few tenths cooler. 

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