Heater Opinions for a 180G with sump.

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stymie

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 5, 2011
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Philadelphia, PA
Hello All.

I have a 180 gallon tank with sump filter. I need to replace 2 broken heaters. I prefer to submerge the heater(s) in the sump as I have 2 large Oscars and they have a tendency to poke and prod.

My question is this - I bought a Aqueon Pro heater last week that's rated for a 90 gallon tank. It's in the sump and it's working great, but am I overworking it? I'm not certain how much water is in the sump at any given time, but my best guess is 15 to 20 gallons. Should I add another heater?

Any opinions on this?

Thanks.

Stan
 
What is the wattage?
 
250 Watts. My LFS didn't have a larger heater. I thought about buying 2 heaters of this size. But since the sump probably contains about 15 to 20 gallons of water at any given time, would additional heat be overkill?
 
What temp are you trying to keep tank at, if it is rated for 90 g then you will probably need a bigger heater, putting 2 heater in same sump is not always best if you can avoid it, but if you already have one , see how it works. What is temp of room as well. In winter might need 2 and in summer none.
 
A lot of it depends on the ambient room temp compared to the temp your trying to keep the water at. I personally would probably add another 200+ watt heater. I have a 300 watt in my 135gal and it does a pretty good job, however if for some reason I need to raise the temp, say for ick, I have a hard time getting the water at a steady 86F.
 
I'm trying to maintain 77 degrees. And so far, it's been doing just fine. The average room temp where the tank is located is
normally between 68 and 72.

Here's what I'm thinking. If I tried to heat the main tank, I would be dealing with much more surface area. And in this case, I probably would need 2 of these heaters. But... the sump I'm heating is enclosed inside the stand. This enclosure holds some of the heat in. I thought by adding 2 heaters, I might be overheating the sump.
 
Makes sense, although there is still a continues flow of water going in and out of the sump. Are you checking the temp inside of the tank, or inside the sump?
 
The temp is from inside the tank. I thought about the flow rate too and that's partly the reason why I asked my question originally. I have a heater rated for 90 gallons, but I'm only heating 15 or 20 gallons in the sump at any given time. However, the amont of water that passes though the sump does so at a rate much higher than it would your typical 15 or 20 gallon tank. I also thought I have probably displaced about 20 or 30gallons of water from the main tank with gravel and decorations, etc.

I'm probably overthinking this and should just go out and get another heater. The expense is nominal.
 
The addition of another heater surely won't hurt. If anything, it can serve as a backup, just in case the other one goes out.
 
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