heating a 220gal tank

[xbit]

this 220gal tank is 7' long, 2' deep.

After reading NetMax's web page some I found this:
--cut--
Having 2 smaller heaters (ie: 2 x 150W instead of one 300W) will limit
the rate at which the temperature increases, and lower the absolute
temperature it stabilizes at.
--paste--

What wattage would I use for this 220gal? two 300W? How about the
titanium heater w/ a wall mounted controller? :)
http://www.petsolutions.com/Titanium+Heaters-I-12516830-I-C-1021-C-.aspx

[NetMax]

"xbit" <" "> wrote in message ...
> this 220gal tank is 7' long, 2' deep.
>
> After reading NetMax's web page some I found this:
> --cut--
> Having 2 smaller heaters (ie: 2 x 150W instead of one 300W) will limit
> the rate at which the temperature increases, and lower the absolute
> temperature it stabilizes at.
> --paste--
>
> What wattage would I use for this 220gal? two 300W? How about the
> titanium heater w/ a wall mounted controller? :)
> http://www.petsolutions.com/Titanium+Heaters-I-12516830-I-C-1021-C-.aspx


Those titaniums look sweet. I find the wpg rules don't apply very well
for big tanks. Probably because your thermal losses occur along the
glass perimeter and large tanks have a smaller perimeter, as a ratio to
volume. Also if the tank is in a cool or warm location will have a large
effect. I suggest you start with 2 heaters, leaving one higher than the
other (almost impossible not to do ;~). Then you can gauge how often the
2nd heater is on to see what your consumption is. Two 300W should do
fine, and two 200W might even be enough (depending on air/water
difference you want).
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Fishman]

I would like to ditto Netmax on this.

I have a 240gal FW where I have two 300 watt stainless steel heaters (much
like the titanium you pictured) in a sump. One heater is set higher than
the other and I have noticed that the second heater rarely (if ever) turns
on. Occasionally, I even change the settings just to make sure that they
both work. Kind of a rotation idea, but I'm afraid to do it too much in
fear of adjusting the tank temp beyond acceptable levels.

Justin


"NetMax" > wrote in message
. ..
> "xbit" <" "> wrote in message ...
> > this 220gal tank is 7' long, 2' deep.
> >
> > After reading NetMax's web page some I found this:
> > --cut--
> > Having 2 smaller heaters (ie: 2 x 150W instead of one 300W) will limit
> > the rate at which the temperature increases, and lower the absolute
> > temperature it stabilizes at.
> > --paste--
> >
> > What wattage would I use for this 220gal? two 300W? How about the
> > titanium heater w/ a wall mounted controller? :)
> > http://www.petsolutions.com/Titanium+Heaters-I-12516830-I-C-1021-C-.aspx
>
>
> Those titaniums look sweet. I find the wpg rules don't apply very well
> for big tanks. Probably because your thermal losses occur along the
> glass perimeter and large tanks have a smaller perimeter, as a ratio to
> volume. Also if the tank is in a cool or warm location will have a large
> effect. I suggest you start with 2 heaters, leaving one higher than the
> other (almost impossible not to do ;~). Then you can gauge how often the
> 2nd heater is on to see what your consumption is. Two 300W should do
> fine, and two 200W might even be enough (depending on air/water
> difference you want).
> --
> www.NetMax.tk
>
>

[George Pontis]

In article >, xbit <" "> says...
> this 220gal tank is 7' long, 2' deep.
>
> After reading NetMax's web page some I found this:
> --cut--
> Having 2 smaller heaters (ie: 2 x 150W instead of one 300W) will limit
> the rate at which the temperature increases, and lower the absolute
> temperature it stabilizes at.
> --paste--

This is with respect to a stuck-on failure in on heater.

> What wattage would I use for this 220gal? two 300W? How about the
> titanium heater w/ a wall mounted controller? :)
> http://www.petsolutions.com/Titanium+Heaters-I-12516830-I-C-1021-C-.aspx

The titanium heating element looks nice and rugged. Hard to say anything about the
controller. An electronic controller has a few possible failure modes, including
stuck-on. There has not been too much discussion or reports on electronic
controllers, either digital or analog. Let me add one now. A Hagen Tronic softly
failed on me. The unit continued to operate but the setpoint became many degrees
lower than the dial setting (and below where it was for the first year of
operation).

The electronic controllers need a temperature sensing element somewhere. Often it
is a separate probe. The separate probe allows for good temperature control but if
it comes out of the water all bets are off. If the air temp is lower than the
temperature setpoint then the heater will go full on.

Another heater option that you might consider is the external Hydor that plumbs
into a water line. These are a bit more expensive, $40-50, but have the advantage
of being completely outside the aquarium. They come in either 200 or 300W models,
have an accurate setting dial, and are easy to use.

George