Second Heater?

[MrPurplePickle]

Good Morning ladies and gents,

I am running a Juwel Rio 240, with a 300W heater. (Currently doing a fishless tour de france) Tank temp is 27c, Dial set at 28c
We are starting to come into winter down here and i did notice the other morning after a reasonable cool night temp was just under 25c, ( i guess some would call that 24 ).
Room temp was 17c.

Now should I/do I need a second heater?
If yes, I do have a 150W heater from a previous tank, (5 years old). Can I use that?...or...If I need 2 heaters, should they be the same wattage, ie: 2x200W, 2x300W.

Any thoughts or comments greatly appreciated

ciao

 

[flyhawk]

i wold personally say no, maybe raise the temp on your heater one degree. ive tried 2 and i actually ended up over heating the tank

 

[fatheadminnow]

A second heater is a very good investment, just because it will put less stress on both heaters, and if one were to fail, you will have a back up one already working.

If you set your heater at 28c, that does not mean that the water is going to be at that temp, all the heater is doing is heating up to 28c. But heat is loss as it transverses through water, as heat travels from hot to cold.

The temp of your tank is going to depend on how big the tnak is, the room temp the tank is in and the size of the heater you have.

Use this site to help determine your heater temp.

So, two heaters in a tank is a good idea, that if you want to pay the extra amount on the electrical bill. lol

-FHM

 

[flyhawk]

good point.... I guess its good to have to also, just in case 1 fails

 

[fatheadminnow]

good point.... I guess its good to have to also, just in case 1 fails

Its all cool, we are all here to learn!

That is what this site is for!

I learn new stuff everyday. Sometimes the hard way...lol.

-FHM

 

[MrPurplePickle]

Thanks for the link FHM

By my calculations, (many thanks to the sites calculator page for converting to litres and celcius)
I'm probably going to be borderline, so if I was to run two heaters would it matter having 1x300W and 1x150W or is the 150 essentially useless.

Cheers

 

[fatheadminnow]

You will have a total of 450 watts.

EX. Say you have a 40 gallon tank and a 100 watt heater and a 50 watt heater.

You put your 100 watt heater in a 30 gallon tank and turned it on to max heat (30c lets say) and the next day you check that the thermometer is at 30c.

Now you want to put a 100 watt heater in the 40 gallon tank and turn it on to max heat (30c). The next day you check your thermometer and it reads 25c.

Well you know that the 100 watt heater heated a 30 gallon just fine, but not a 40 gallon. So you need another heater to heat the remaining 10 gallons (theoretically), so you put your 50 watt heater into the 40 gallon tank along with the 100 watt heater and turn it to 30c. The next day you check again and it is 30c.

So yes, your 150 watt heater is going to have an impact on your tanks temp.

I would say go for it.

-FHM