How many watts for heaters do i need to safely heat a 180 gal. fresh water system i would like to keep the water temp around 76-80 deg. I have two Eheim Jager 300 watt. Someone told me they would have to work to hard to maintain the temp I want safely .
Heat for 180 gal.
- Thread starter splurge23
- Start date
Two Jaeger 300 watt should do the trick. I use a 500 watt titanium heater and it does fine maintaining 80 degrees here in my 67 degree house for my 180 gallon..
I was trying to calculate fish electricity costs some years ago so found some interesting research about the heaters in 5 tanks:
Over two weeks I randomly walked by the tanks and checked off on a piece of paper if the heater was on or off. I tried to do it randomly, not every 10 minutes in case a heater was running say, an 8 min. off, 2 min. on cycle. I did this about a 100 times over many days but it took less time than sitting watching a tank for two hours. The chart below shows my results at 6 cents per kilowatt hour.
180 gal. – 250 W heater = 1.4 W/gal. On 31.4% Cost per month is $3.43
90 gal. – 250 W heater = 2.8 W/gal. On 35.6% Cost per month is $3.90
45 gal. – 200 W heater = 4.4 W/gal. On 20.3% Cost per month is $1.78
33 gal. – 150 W heater = 4.5 W/gal. On 36.4% Cost per month is $2.39
23 gal. – 50 W heater = 2.2 W/gal. On 100% Cost per month is $2.19
All heaters were set for 77-78 F and room temperature in all rooms was 70-71 F so we are looking at 7 degrees heating (about 4 degrees C) above room temperature. All heaters but one were Ebo-Jagers (the other a Visi-Therm). All were installed in the upright position.
What amazed me was how efficient large tanks are at conserving heat. The watts/gallon figures are not used in calculating dollar costs but make for interesting comparisons. You would think that the more watts per gallon you have, the less the heater would be on. Surprisingly, that is not always the case. I was worried about heating a 180 gallon tank with a 250 W heater (would it be enough heat output?) but it is on less often than the same size and brand heater on my 90 gallon. I surmise that this is due to the larger volume of water retaining heat better and the fact that the glass is thicker. Also my 180 gallon was my only tank with foam insulation underneath so maybe that makes a difference. Other factors that could affect your heating are: the location of the tank (by a window, wall, open door), the type water movement in the tank, location of heat vents in the home, and the type and amount of covering for the tank. [so tell the spouse you need a bigger tank and it won’t cost any more to run it!!! (At least the electricity part)].
So for the OP, I'd say one 300W heater should be plenty. Why risk a 500W getting stuck in the ON position? It will just fry the fish quicker.
Over two weeks I randomly walked by the tanks and checked off on a piece of paper if the heater was on or off. I tried to do it randomly, not every 10 minutes in case a heater was running say, an 8 min. off, 2 min. on cycle. I did this about a 100 times over many days but it took less time than sitting watching a tank for two hours. The chart below shows my results at 6 cents per kilowatt hour.
180 gal. – 250 W heater = 1.4 W/gal. On 31.4% Cost per month is $3.43
90 gal. – 250 W heater = 2.8 W/gal. On 35.6% Cost per month is $3.90
45 gal. – 200 W heater = 4.4 W/gal. On 20.3% Cost per month is $1.78
33 gal. – 150 W heater = 4.5 W/gal. On 36.4% Cost per month is $2.39
23 gal. – 50 W heater = 2.2 W/gal. On 100% Cost per month is $2.19
All heaters were set for 77-78 F and room temperature in all rooms was 70-71 F so we are looking at 7 degrees heating (about 4 degrees C) above room temperature. All heaters but one were Ebo-Jagers (the other a Visi-Therm). All were installed in the upright position.
What amazed me was how efficient large tanks are at conserving heat. The watts/gallon figures are not used in calculating dollar costs but make for interesting comparisons. You would think that the more watts per gallon you have, the less the heater would be on. Surprisingly, that is not always the case. I was worried about heating a 180 gallon tank with a 250 W heater (would it be enough heat output?) but it is on less often than the same size and brand heater on my 90 gallon. I surmise that this is due to the larger volume of water retaining heat better and the fact that the glass is thicker. Also my 180 gallon was my only tank with foam insulation underneath so maybe that makes a difference. Other factors that could affect your heating are: the location of the tank (by a window, wall, open door), the type water movement in the tank, location of heat vents in the home, and the type and amount of covering for the tank. [so tell the spouse you need a bigger tank and it won’t cost any more to run it!!! (At least the electricity part)].
So for the OP, I'd say one 300W heater should be plenty. Why risk a 500W getting stuck in the ON position? It will just fry the fish quicker.
It depends on where the tank is located.My 180 is in my unheated basement which can dip to temps of about 60 degrees or lower on very cold days.The hot water pipes from my house heating system provides some warmth down there.I have a 250 watt heater on the 180 which keeps the temp up near 80 degrees.....something to keep in mind if your tank is situated in a warmer part of the house.
I don't think we're posting in the correct place, tho probably the right category. (This site is difficult to figure out.) Even so, I trust someone can help us out. We are setting up a 100 gal tank in a room that seldom rises about 40 degrees. What size heater do we need to reach and maintain a temp of 80 degrees? Also, how much should we expect to pay for this heater?
Thanks in advance . . .