You shouldn't really need to crank up the heater. If your water is really cold, then spread your drips over time.keepinfish;3913848; said:i only tapped into the cold side, with well water it is pretty cold too. I am really cranking up the heater to keep it at 78 degrees..
I drip 60 gallons per day in my 240 to keep PH at 7.0. I only drip about 10 hours per day at 6 GPH to keep temp stable. Keep in mind, your goal is to keep PH and TEMP stable. By doing this, your heater will not cycle on and off as often therefore keeping yoru energy cost down.
I crank up my drip rate per hour in the summer time (to keep the tank cooler), but slow it down in the winter (to keep the heater from cycling on and off often)