heating large aquariums
- Thread starter Mntropics
- Start date
Titanium heater with controller from Jehmco. scroll halfway down the page:
http://www.jehmco.com/html/heaters.html
http://www.jehmco.com/html/heaters.html
I use six 300 watt Eheim Jager Heaters (1,800 total watts) on a Ranco ETC temperature controller to maintain 78F in my 770G. The heaters are on a dedicated 20 amp circuit.
If you are planning a big build, keep in mind that you should avoid placing more than 80% max load on a circuit. In other words, a 15 amp circuit should have no more than ~1,500 watts of equipment plugged into it and a 20 amp circuit should have no more than ~2,000 watts. Overloading a circuit can be dangerous...it can lead to fires.
Keeping large amounts of water warm is a challenge, but water changes also present a challenge. With my old 40G tank water heater, I would run out of hot water ~200 gallons into refilling. I just had a tankless hot water heater installed so that I wouldn't run out of warm water when I'm doing large scale (50%) water changes. I now have an endless supply of hot water.
If you are planning a big build, keep in mind that you should avoid placing more than 80% max load on a circuit. In other words, a 15 amp circuit should have no more than ~1,500 watts of equipment plugged into it and a 20 amp circuit should have no more than ~2,000 watts. Overloading a circuit can be dangerous...it can lead to fires.
Keeping large amounts of water warm is a challenge, but water changes also present a challenge. With my old 40G tank water heater, I would run out of hot water ~200 gallons into refilling. I just had a tankless hot water heater installed so that I wouldn't run out of warm water when I'm doing large scale (50%) water changes. I now have an endless supply of hot water.
I'm not a wiz when it comes to electricity, but I think 1800 W is the max for the Ranco. If you have 1800 W of heaters as its normal load, is that ok? Maybe you already did the homework. Just don't want to hear about something bad happening.
Sent from my SCH-S960L using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
hey can you please explain this clearly so i too can eliminate my 75gal hot water tank heater... thanks.. did you install an instant hot water system??
Instant or tankless same thing electricit or gas heats water instantly instead of holding a temp in a tank
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
I'm not sure if the same 80% rule for circuits applies to controllers (hopefully someone can chime in and help out), but you are probably right. I'm going on two years running 1,800 watts of heaters on a Ranco, but it is something I have worried about. I have been meaning to upgrade my controller to the ETCI-RBRDIDD model that John at Jehmco sells. I'm not really sure how it works (I'm not electrician either, I just know some of the basics from reading some of the National Electric Code book). Apparently this controller is wired to relay boxes so that it can control power from two circuits for up to 3,600 watts.
Disclaimer: Just because I haven't had any problems doesn't mean it's safe.
What I can say is that there were some scary looking burn marks on a 15 amp receptacle that I had my heaters plugged into. It was a 20amp circuit, so I upgraded the receptacle to a 20 amp and so far so good.
I had a natural gas powered tankless water heater (Noritz NRC 1111) installed; it has a huge (199,900Btu) burner that heats water as it passes through the heat exchanger. It heats water "on demand" so that you aren't having to keep a big tank of water hot. When you open the hot water tap, the flow triggers the burners to come on and it heats the water to your desired temp.
In all honestly, if it wasn't for my fish tank, I never would have bought the tankless:
Cons
- The units themselves are about twice as expensive as traditional tank water heaters
- They are expensive to have installed (typically you need to increase the size of your gas supply line so that you are meeting the Btu demand of the unit when it fires up)
- They require electricity (power outage = no hot water, unless you have a UPS or generator)
-In colder parts of the country where winters are harsh, you may need to run two units in parallel since the incoming tap water is so cold.
Pros
- No pilot light, so you aren't constantly using the small amount of gas required to keep the pilot light lit (In my opinion, pretty much negated by the fact that the unit uses electricity, albeit a small amount)
- No storage tank, so you are only heating water that you are using.
- They are much smaller than traditional tank water heaters, so they can free up some space.
I'm happy with the unit so far, but if I weren't running out of hot water during large scale water changes, I would have stuck with the traditional water heater.
A 75G tank is pretty huge. Do you run out of hot water a lot?
Edit: Harleyboy knows what's up. Not sure how popular these are in Canada, since incoming water is probably pretty frigid.
okay thanks.. i originally kinda know what you were talking about but wasn't sure that's why i asked.. well i don't have problem changing 1/2 of my 300 using the 75 gal hot water tank... by the time i fill it up i think it gets to the point where my hot water tank would fire up and water temp have dropped dramatically... these few weeks east coast have some frigid temps..