To much Wattage?

[Isaiah Shipp]

Hello all, so I'll make this short and simple. I have a 125 gallon tank in the garage and it can get REALLY cold in the winter, I have a 300 watt but it really it's working very accurately so I got a JBJ heater system but I got a 800 watt heater. I did this because I can heat the tank a lot easier and when I eventually move up in tank size I can continue using that heater system. My question is, can a 800 watt heater in a 125 gallon tank going to damage anything? It is top of the line heater so shouldn't be a concern of overlooking the fish.

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

I don't think you'll have any issues with running the 800 watt heater in the 125 gallon tank. Just make sure the temperature probe is as far away from the actual heater in the tank and it should work just fine. With that size heater, it shouldn't take long to get the temperature of the entire tank up to the temp the controller asks for.

On a side note, I run JBJ True Temp Heating Systems on all our tanks. Love them and only have had one issue, which was resolved by the manufacturer immediately.

 

[JK47]

Surrounding the tank sides and back wall with cheap styrofoam insulation from Lowes or Home Depot helps a lot and will save you money. As far as the heaters there really is not much concern aside from the heater sticking on. If that were to happen 800 watts can heat up the tank rather quickly and could end in disaster as it could with most any heater. I have never had a heater stick on. All of my failures have been heater dying.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I have had heaters both stick on and also fail to heat. My practice the last few decades has been to use two smaller heaters and not one large one. That way if one fails on it is less likely to cook a tank which has happened and if one fails off the other is likely to keep the temps at a decent level.

I also would likely have the temperature sensor somewhat near the actual heating element. It seems to me that having them far from each other could lead to larger temp fluctuations over time. Also might make an area of the tank quite warm before the other end reaches a good temp.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

Hello; I have had heaters both stick on and also fail to heat. My practice the last few decades has been to use two smaller heaters and not one large one. That way if one fails on it is less likely to cook a tank which has happened and if one fails off the other is likely to keep the temps at a decent level.

I also would likely have the temperature sensor somewhat near the actual heating element. It seems to me that having them far from each other could lead to larger temp fluctuations over time. Also might make an area of the tank quite warm before the other end reaches a good temp.

I was going to say both of these things. This is the way you want to do it. Multiple heaters that are smaller will give you more time to fix a problem and redundancy. If one fails and shuts down you won't come home to a 40 degree tank and if one fails and stays on permanently it will take much longer to come home to a 100 degree tank if it can even get there at all.

The temp probe is also good advice. Though it should work fine either way. With it closer in a tank with adequate flow it will err on the side of heating up slightly slower but won't heat the area close to the heater excessively hot. Again with adequate flow it probably won't make much of a difference but you still don't want the probe sitting in 75 degree water on one side and the heater still on while the water is 90 around it.