what size heater needed for large tanks??
- Thread starter terrors r us
- Start date
congofeet;1574237; said:
that's incredible!!!!! what is your room temp?? what temp do you keep your
300gal tank at???
I'm assuming that if you have to medicate then you would move the fish
to a smaller hospital tank???
I would not need fast temp. changes because my clean water holding tank will
be close to the same temp......
I would do this by auto filling it(holding tank) with hot and cold tap water at the same time
(2 hours prior to a large water change) then adding chlorine remover
.............hmmmmm....interesting.....thanks
one more thing...the tank will be in a basement in Canada....bbrrrr...
not California.......
My apartment is in the mid to upper 60's in the winter (sometimes even higher). I have tons of tanks so my apartment is usually pretty temperate. I keep the tank at 76 (so I don't cook the bluegill, although I am sure he could handle warmer). I have never ever had to medicate, so I don't worry about it. I do my 50% water change weekly in hopes of staving off problems. Water has the incredible ability to retain it's heat (or cold) so it takes a lot of energy to change water temp either way.
A cold basement in Canada would probably require more heating simply because of the temperature difference, but I think once you get it to temp it would require minimal amounts of wattage to retain it that way. Just keep a lid on everything so that heat does not escape.
I mean when you think about 4,000 watts, when your heaters turn on your lights in the house are going to dim, not to mention the pumps and lights on your tanks. You could use your power meter outside as a fan.
I would try 3 400 watt heaters at first, then go up if needed. I am actually curious about this because I have never had problems and everyone here seems to think that you'd need more. Maybe I am wrong.
A cold basement in Canada would probably require more heating simply because of the temperature difference, but I think once you get it to temp it would require minimal amounts of wattage to retain it that way. Just keep a lid on everything so that heat does not escape.
I mean when you think about 4,000 watts, when your heaters turn on your lights in the house are going to dim, not to mention the pumps and lights on your tanks. You could use your power meter outside as a fan.
I would try 3 400 watt heaters at first, then go up if needed. I am actually curious about this because I have never had problems and everyone here seems to think that you'd need more. Maybe I am wrong.
terrors r us;1570833; said:
if your room is never more than 10 degrees colder than the tank temp you dont need massive wattage.
the following tanks are outside and keep at 83F....outdoor temp as low as 40f difference OF 43 DEGREES
10000 gallon 24000 watts (2.4 watts per gallon )
1000 gallon 8000 watts ( 8 watts per gallon
285 gallon 2200 watts ( 8 watts per gallon)
try imo:
congofeet;1576700; said:
congofeet;1574237; said:
Yes we are because the 5 watt per gallon rule is taken as law way too often.
I have a 300 gallon tank with a 200 gallon sump. I heat this 500 gallons of water with two 250 watt titanium heaters run by a single controller. It holds my 80 degree temperature perfectly.
I always push the calculator link that I posed a few posts back as it is WAY more accurate than that stupid 5 watt per gallon rule that was designed by heater manufacturers to increase profits.
The larger the tank, the less watts/gallon you need to heat it. It is a surface area thing.
The larger the tank, the lower the surface area to volume ratio, thus the less area exposed to lose heat.
Also larger tanks are built with thicker glass (or acrylic) and this again increases the insulating qualites.
Although I don't have a tank near the size described, I would start on the low end and add if needed...
You could also insulate the sump with styrofoam if it is hidden and make sure there is a layer of styro under the tanks for insulation as well.
Burt
The larger the tank, the lower the surface area to volume ratio, thus the less area exposed to lose heat.
Also larger tanks are built with thicker glass (or acrylic) and this again increases the insulating qualites.
Although I don't have a tank near the size described, I would start on the low end and add if needed...
You could also insulate the sump with styrofoam if it is hidden and make sure there is a layer of styro under the tanks for insulation as well.
Burt
I have 2 banks of tanks in my basement in Milwaukee that add up to about 300gals each, we're about even with Toronto. The basement gets down to the 50sF this time of year. To maintain tropical temps I use 3, 300 watt heaters in each bank of tanks.
I was using inline heaters and still do on one, but a few months ago this happened,
That PVC line was straight before the heaters thermostat got stuck in the heat on position. Better to have a few heaters that won't cook the fish than one that does.
Luckily my haitiensus tolerated 100'F until I discovered the malfunction.
The melting PVC line was soft and hot to the touch, I believe a snail slowed the flow down in the PVC at the same time that the thermostat malfunctioned, magnifying the problem. Murphys Law.
I was using inline heaters and still do on one, but a few months ago this happened,
That PVC line was straight before the heaters thermostat got stuck in the heat on position. Better to have a few heaters that won't cook the fish than one that does.
Luckily my haitiensus tolerated 100'F until I discovered the malfunction.
The melting PVC line was soft and hot to the touch, I believe a snail slowed the flow down in the PVC at the same time that the thermostat malfunctioned, magnifying the problem. Murphys Law.
