Thanks so much for taking the time out bro! Great information!! Your post about heater placement and sump over heating because was epic!
I was thinking the tru temp 1000 watt heater is on special now. I was thinking using this 1000 watt heater along with a 300 watt Jager. I wanted to add the 300 jager in the tank set at highest so it will always be on and then have the tru temp in the sump. Any ideas. I know the controller is a cool product but it would cost almost the same this other way. I have 2 big tanks I was gonna do it this way.
I wouldn't recommend running the 300W Jager at it's highest setting so that it's always on. They aren't designed to run 24/7 so you can expect the heater to burn out pretty quickly if you go this route. They are designed to cycle on to achieve the desired temp, then cycle off. Also depending on the room temps, that heater alone may overheat your tank if it's set at it's highest setting, constantly on.
What's the coldest it gets in the room the tank is in?
To give you an idea, I run 1,800 Watts on my 770G tank. The room is insulated, but it's not heated (it's a pool room in my backyard). In the winter time, the room the tank is in gets down into the 50s. During the coldest winter months, my tank uses around 250KWHrs per month. Thats the equivalent of a 350W heater running 24/7, but again, that's not how you should size a heating system. If your room temps stay above 70F, you will be in a lot better shape than me and you will likely be able to maintain 78F, using 1,000W or less. You want enough wattage to be able to achieve your desired temp relatively quickly so that the heater can cycle off.
I will have my new doggy door up this weekend so I was thinking I could get away with 1300 watts on this tank. I am pumping the tier 4 and in San Diego its crazy the high prices we have to pay. Hope the doggy door and house heated up will save me from extreme bills. I have 1800 gallons of water in my fish room/living room.
I think you will be fine running 1,300 watts on your tank. I still say your best bet is getting a Ranco Temp controller ($77 at Jehmco) and four 300W Jager heaters ($27each) for a total of ~$185.
I feel your pain on the power bill. It's expensive up here in the Bay Area too (highest tier, which I am always in, I think is $0.37KWHr).
Anybody have some ideas on the best products for insulation covers on tanks and sumps?
Using rigid insulation for non-viewing panels will help a lot. Even if you can only insulate the back panel, it will help keep heat in the tank. Using acrylic covers is an option, but they will warp. My tops are 1.25" thick and even they warp some. Glass tops are better in that they won't warp, even though their insulation value is not as good as acrylic.
Anybody have same issues with breakers going off and big extension cords?
Be careful here. You should really have a circuit dedicated to your heaters with nothing else plugged into it. If you are having breakers pop on you, that's a serious fire hazard. If the breaker malfunctions (doesn't trip), you could easily have a fire on your hands. Don't mess around with overloading a circuit.
A rule of thumb is that you should never use more than 80% of a circuits capacity. A 15 amp circuit is rated for 1800 watts (max), but using the 80% rule, you should only put a load of 1,440 watts on that circuit. If you are running 1,300W of heaters, a couple hundred additional watts for pumps and lights, you could easily be overloading that circuit and creating a fire hazard. It's no joke man...there was a dude on here who's house just burnt to the ground (not saying that was the reason, but there is a possibility). You should figure out the load you are placing on the circuit by adding the watts of all the devices on it.
I lucked out in that I have three 20 amp circuits in my fish room, but it would be a good idea to have an electrician add a dedicated circuit since it sounds like you need it. It shouldn't be too expensive assuming your panel has room for it. Running big tanks isn't cheap...all this stuff starts to really add up. But trying to cut corners is not a good idea.
Actually some guy on Ebay just told me that petsolutions is dumping a bad patch of tru temp heaters for that low price on there clearance he said he pays 150 wholesale for them. I wonder if the guy knows something?
I have been hearing more and more negative reviews of the Tru-Temp heaters. The brain of the unit is the temp controller and it sounds like they went cheap-o on it; they literally probably went with the lowest bidder. Spend a couple extra bucks to get a solid industrial grade Ranco and you will not regret it. Just my 2 cents.
