^^^the only thing I can think of in regards to going with titanium is that they are typically smaller (per watt). A 1,000W titanium heating rod is typically smaller than the enormous 19" Jager heater, so if space is an issue, a titanium rod may be a better option. What I like about the Eheim Jager's is that they have their own internal thermostat that you can set to say 85F so that if your controller fails on, your heaters will still shut down once 85F is achieved.
Sump Heater in 300 gallon
- Thread starter dean9922
- Start date
I have a cold basement & I just dont understand how heating a sump keeps the whole tank warm. I plan on having a 180 or bigger with a toat made into a sump with an overflow box pushing 1800gph. Will 1000 watts be enough yo think? basment is like 50 in the winter time. 60 in the summer heat comes on and off down there cause the thermostat is upstairs
I say this with all due respect to Strollo22, but saying "You only need a heater big enough to heat the sump water" is not true. You need a heater that is large enough to add heat to your entire system (tank + sump) much faster than your entire system is losing heat to the room. If your desired water temperature is higher than the room temperature, your aquarium is constantly losing heat to the room; the colder the air temps the larger the heater you will need.
A 1,000W heater on a 180G should be sufficient. I run 1,800 watts on my 770 Gallon and the room temps get down into the 50s on cold winter nights...I think I am able to get away with having just over 2 watts per gallon because my tank is made out of thick acrylic which has good insulating properties and I also use polystyrene insulation and have covers for my tank...in other words, my tank is well insulated so heat is retained. If you make it difficult for heat to escape, you can use smaller heaters and save a lot of money on your electric bill.
This website has a cool calculator that actually shows you how much energy (watts) is lost to the room at a given room temperature. If you play around with the calculator you can see that insulting helps a ton.
http://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/HeaterChillerSizing.php
I'd say 1000 watts is way too much for a 180 .... I have a basement that was easily in the 40's this winter, and I have a 400 gallon acrylic and a 125 sump so probably 475 gallons of water and I have a 1000 watt titanium heater and it was able to maintain 83 degrees no problem .... I'd say 2, 300 watts should be more than enough or 1, 500 watt .... my tank is also covered, but not with insulation or anything and the overflow boxes and sump are mostly uncovered .... my electric bill jumped a solid 100-150 dollars a month though, so I may look into insulating the tank better .... I like the idea of 2 heaters since its a safeguard against one failing, and it will help keep the temperature a bit more stable as long as their not right next to eachother
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I may very well be wrong and no offense taken at all. I only speak from what I see, sometimes not what I know. A friend of mine has a 300 gallon tank in his basement which typically stays at about 60 degrees all year long. He has 2-200 watt heaters in his 90 gallon sump and his tank maintains a constant 78 with no problems. I guess gph may play a big role in this as well tho
Thanks guys for the responses! The back is going to be painted black and I might do the sides as well so I was thinking about making a plywood frame to go around 3/4s of it and stuff insulation about a few inches thick to be safe. Im sure that will help.
