Troubleshooting- aquarium heater

[JuiceBox52]

As many of you know, I recently acquired a 210 gallon aquarium and have spent the past few months setting it up and preparing for fish. It is now full, the wood is soaking, and I just put in the heater.

Now while this heater is rated for 180-300 gallon tanks, I do eventually want to get a second one as finances allow before adding fish (one on each end to better disperse heat), but right now I have just the one in the center. I don’t plan on adding fish for a few months until I have a second heater, but hoped to bring the temperature up enough to start growing plants and begin a planted cycle.

However this heater is consistently flipping my breaker for that part of the house. If it’s plugged in, every 10-30 minutes the breaker will flip, it’ll be fixed, and then it will flip again.

This is quite literally the only place in our house that such a large tank would work (not to mention the physical labor of draining and moving it as a severely disabled person lol)

Do I need a different type of heater? What are my next steps? Will I be limited to only cool water fish that can live in room temp? How do I prevent it from flipping the breaker?

We don’t have many things plugged in on that circuit. The aquarium lights, and the house lights and a few outlets that don’t have anything in use, so it shouldn’t be overloaded

 

[Rocky998]

As many of you know, I recently acquired a 210 gallon aquarium and have spent the past few months setting it up and preparing for fish. It is now full, the wood is soaking, and I just put in the heater.

Now while this heater is rated for 180-300 gallon tanks, I do eventually want to get a second one as finances allow before adding fish (one on each end to better disperse heat), but right now I have just the one in the center. I don’t plan on adding fish for a few months until I have a second heater, but hoped to bring the temperature up enough to start growing plants and begin a planted cycle.

However this heater is consistently flipping my breaker for that part of the house. If it’s plugged in, every 10-30 minutes the breaker will flip, it’ll be fixed, and then it will flip again.

This is quite literally the only place in our house that such a large tank would work (not to mention the physical labor of draining and moving it as a severely disabled person lol)

Do I need a different type of heater? What are my next steps? Will I be limited to only cool water fish that can live in room temp? How do I prevent it from flipping the breaker?

We don’t have many things plugged in on that circuit. The aquarium lights, and the house lights and a few outlets that don’t have anything in use, so it shouldn’t be overloaded

Honestly, it may be too much of a drain on your circuit with what that heater is rated for. Sadly that would mean getting a tad lower rated heater put on each end of the tank and maybe upping the water flow slightly as well to help.
Aquarium heaters use a lot of wattage and the temperature of water holds pretty steady, so it takes a massive amount of heat energy to change that which in affect will cause the heater to work overtime, putting a strain on your outlet and breaker.

 

[fishorama]

I too, think your heater draws too much sudden power on the circuit when it turns on. Every 30 minutes sounds like that to me.

I know you don't want to hear this but 2 or even 3 smaller heaters might work better than 1 big 1. I was given a temp controller for a small high temp tank & it works great with 2 heaters. It can use up to 3 heater plugs. I don't have good specs on mine & you'll likely need a more heavy-duty controller but look into them.

I've never had such a big tank, I'm a bit jealous! So take my advice with some skepticism & ask & research more. It'll also depend on fish you want keep. So many possibilities!

 

[Colin_T]

How many watts is the heater?

You can run an extension cord to a different part of the house and have the heater on that. See if it triggers the circuit breaker. If it does then the heater is probably faulty.

In Australia, the maximum draw we have from normal power sockets around the house is 2400 watts. If we use more than 2400w the circuit breakers tend to trip. I don't know of any aquarium heaters that use that much power (most range from 100w to 300w) so if the heater is less wattage than whatever the maximum is for your place, then it shouldn't trip the circuit breakers.

In the shop we had issues with circuit breakers tripping because we had way too many things plugged into the power sockets and when the heaters came on, they used too much power and shut down the system.

The only other reason an electronic device would regularly trip the breakers is if the device is faulty and shorting out. Then the circuit breakers trigger to stop you being electrocuted.

Thinking outside the box, someone might have done a dodgy job when it came to doing the electrical wiring in your house and that might be causing the problem too. You would have to get an electrician out to check the wiring in that case.

First thing would be try the heater on an extension cord from a different room or part of the house.
If the heater is under warranty, swap it for another and see if it helps.
Get a sparky in to check the wiring in the house.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Aquarium heaters use a lot of wattage and the temperature of water holds pretty steady, so it takes a massive amount of heat energy to change that which in affect will cause the heater to work overtime, putting a strain on your outlet and breaker.

I may use 10-12 gallons of boiling water (keep in mind it is not stocked yet haha) to bring the temp to where I want it and see if the heater can just keep it steady without having to work as hard as bringing it up from 60 degrees

I know you don't want to hear this but 2 or even 3 smaller heaters might work better than 1 big 1. I was given a temp controller for a small high temp tank & it works great with 2 heaters. It can use up to 3 heater plugs. I don't have good specs on mine & you'll likely need a more heavy-duty controller but look into them.

I've never had such a big tank, I'm a bit jealous! So take my advice with some skepticism & ask & research more. It'll also depend on fish you want keep. So many possibilities!

If the extension cord does not work I may just have to do that. This is my first tank larger than 55g, I am very excited!

How many watts is the heater?

It is a 1000 watt heater

Thinking outside the box, someone might have done a dodgy job when it came to doing the electrical wiring in your house and that might be causing the problem too. You would have to get an electrician out to check the wiring in that case.

First thing would be try the heater on an extension cord from a different room or part of the house.
If the heater is under warranty, swap it for another and see if it helps.
Get a sparky in to check the wiring in the house.

It’s possible. I will have to see if I can get an electrician in once I can afford it. Funds are extremely tight. I can try an extension cord maybe

 

[JuiceBox52]

This is the heater I got, it was gifted to me brand new by a friend who is leaving the hobby.

 

[Colin_T]

How many watts of lighting is above the tank?
How many watts of power does the filter/s use?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?
I'm guessing around 8ft x 2ft x 2ft?

A 1000watt heater seems like overkill for that size tank and quantity of water. We used to run 2 x 300w heaters in tanks that were 6x2x2ft. In a bigger tank (around 8x2x2) you would run 3 x 300watt heaters. The idea of multiple heaters is if one fails, the others hopefully keep the temperature up enough until you realise something is wrong and get it fixed.

Insulating the base, back, sides and top of the tank can help reduce the strain/ load on aquarium heaters (they come on less often). Use 2 inch thick polystyrene foam sheets on the back and sides. Have 6mm thick coverglass on top of the tank.

Maybe check the fuses for that part of the house and make sure they are big enough to take the load from the heater. you might need a sparky for that or someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[Rocky998]

A 1000watt heater seems like overkill for that size tank

Not really when the place she's in gets pretty cold along with the water as well. That takes more power to change the temp.
That and the fact she was trying to use only one to get the job done.

The larger the increase in temperature shift = a larger wattage. Even if the tank is on the smaller side you would up the wattage slightly in colder areas to compensate for the energy pull.

 

[Rocky998]

I may use 10-12 gallons of boiling water (keep in mind it is not stocked yet haha) to bring the temp to where I want it and see if the heater can just keep it steady without having to work as hard as bringing it up from 60 degrees

You could try that in short term while there's no fish (I assume you're trying to keep the temp up for cycling?)

 

[GaryE]

You can run fantastic, well planted tanks in water in the low seventies fahrenheit, if you choose your fish carefully. I seem to remember you living not far from the Wet Spot store, so you could actually get sub tropical fish and save yourself trouble. You would still need a heater for a 60f/16c room.
Since it would be very cold to sit and watch that tank - can you not raise the room temp to closer to 70 even in winter?

That heater is a beast - a gift but a bit much in terms of power draw. You are also asking it to do something dangerous - raise temps above the usual 6-8 degrees that are supposed to be the max for heaters.

Assuming the room is insulated, it would likely cost less to heat the room to 69-70 and go with a carefully selected choice of fish and plants. Heating against those low temps would be a constant drain, and cost. The solution might be out of aquarium technology - a good baseboard heater.

 

[Magnum Man]

I used multiple 800 watt heaters when I was raising Tilapia outside... and those are my biggest... but I wouldn't be afraid of a 1000 watt heater... most small room electric heaters are 750 / 1500 watt heaters... so there is a good chance your circuit is full... if you own where you live, you may need a dedicated aquarium circuit for a tank that size, but even if you went with 2 - 500 watt heaters, the draw is still the same, but it may make splitting circuits easier, if adding another circuit is not an option

 

[JuiceBox52]

You could try that in short term while there's no fish (I assume you're trying to keep the temp up for cycling?)

Yes cycling and getting plants established

You can run fantastic, well planted tanks in water in the low seventies fahrenheit, if you choose your fish carefully. I seem to remember you living not far from the Wet Spot store, so you could actually get sub tropical fish and save yourself trouble. You would still need a heater for a 60f/16c room.
Since it would be very cold to sit and watch that tank - can you not raise the room temp to closer to 70 even in winter?

That heater is a beast - a gift but a bit much in terms of power draw. You are also asking it to do something dangerous - raise temps above the usual 6-8 degrees that are supposed to be the max for heaters.

Assuming the room is insulated, it would likely cost less to heat the room to 69-70 and go with a carefully selected choice of fish and plants. Heating against those low temps would be a constant drain, and cost. The solution might be out of aquarium technology - a good baseboard heater.

The room is insulated, but it’s the one room in our house that has poor heating, and lots of big windows. We keep our house around 70 degrees year round, in winter it’s much warmer but that room can fluctuate a lot.

As for fish, while this is “my” tank it is technically my mother’s tank and she is using my expertise and fish obsession to create a nice tank for her and maintain it. I won’t complain about a tank mostly to myself however she does have her heart set on angelfish if at all possible

I used multiple 800 watt heaters when I was raising Tilapia outside... and those are my biggest... but I wouldn't be afraid of a 1000 watt heater... most small room electric heaters are 750 / 1500 watt heaters... so there is a good chance your circuit is full... if you own where you live, you may need a dedicated aquarium circuit for a tank that size, but even if you went with 2 - 500 watt heaters, the draw is still the same, but it may make splitting circuits easier, if adding another circuit is not an option

We do own, but I cannot afford adding another circuit so it is not an option. However using multiple heaters may work because I can put one heater on one circuit and the other on the other circuit, as we have two circuits powering the same room.

 

[GaryE]

With angels, you can go around 76 fahrenheit. I've kept them (but not for breeding, at 74).

 

[Colin_T]

Angelfish will be fine. The tank is big enough and they will cope with a few months of cool weather. Then the house should warm up naturally when the weather warms up in spring and summer.

If the tank is insulated (base, back sides and top) it should hold temperature pretty well and won't fluctuate as much if the room temp changes a few degrees overnight.

 

[Colin_T]

We do own, but I cannot afford adding another circuit so it is not an option. However using multiple heaters may work because I can put one heater on one circuit and the other on the other circuit, as we have two circuits powering the same room.

That's probably a good idea. It takes the load off one circuit breaker and distributes it over two.