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Heating options

Dead Bonsai

Dead Bonsai

Member
Joined
10 Dec 2015
Messages
28
Location
Northants
Hi, I was wondering what most people are using regarding heating in their tanks. I thought about using an external heater but the couple I read reviews on got quite poor feedback saying they weren't very reliable.
My current internal one is a bit of a distraction and I don't have too many options as to where to locate it so it's more hidden.

Thanks,

Scott.
 
Dead Bonsai said:
Hi, I was wondering what most people are using regarding heating in their tanks. I thought about using an external heater but the couple I read reviews on got quite poor feedback saying they weren't very reliable.
My current internal one is a bit of a distraction and I don't have too many options as to where to locate it so it's more hidden.

Thanks,

Scott.
Click to expand...
Hi Dead Bonsai,

I have only used the Hydor external heater and I am really happy with it. When I first research about those, I read quite a few bad reviews too and to avoid cooking the fish I bought an atc-300. This device will prevent the heater to go over a set temperature. So in case the thermostat on the Hydor would stop working, the atc-300 will shut the power off to the heater. And if the temperature drops, an alarm (loud beep) rings.
So far I had no trouble with it and it's not in the way :)

Cheers,
Manu
 
Reading a few bad reviews about the relatively croocked thermostat of the hydor external heaters and found a few topics where people took those heaters apart to look inside (and posted pictures of it) and found a tiny crapy constructed electronic thermostat with a burned out relay on the PCB.

Most internal tube heater have much more internal space and use bimetallic thermostats, which are constructed much more solid, les accurate but also less likely to fail.

The inline hydor construction doesn't provide room for a bimetallic thermostat, so they need to use the smallest electronic thermostat available with rather tiny components. And it's this very tiny relay they use which if you have bad luck with the batch they constructed it with causes the trouble.

Actualy they use excactly the same thermostat as this one
http://www.banggood.com/DC-12V-50-to-110-Temperature-Control-Switch-Heat-Cool-Temp-p-933303.html
But than what they use is 6 times smaller, because it needs to fit internal in the heater.

This electronic thermostat it self runs on dc 12 volts so it needs a little dc 12 volt powersupply and it has a 10 amp relay when it's connected to 220 volts.. (10 x 220 =) 2200 watts switch capacity. So it's very well and safely constructed to switch any regular aquarium heater. I use this thermostat in my DIY build inline heater and also in my sump where it controles 2 x 100 watt internal heaters in the sump. And they work like a charme.

Use a thermostat like this as fail safe and make it switch the power socket where the heater is pluged in and hang the probe in the tank. You can calibrate this thermostat to the thermostat of the heater or with the thermometer in your tank. Turn the heaters internal thermostat up to 1 degree higher than the decired temp and set the external thermostat to the real decired temp. When the tank reaches this temp the power socket of the hydor is cut off from power. :) So if the heaters thermostat ever fails and shortcuts you have a backup saving your tank.

What more do you want an extra €3,50 saving your day.. :thumbup:

Ps. Well wht do you know?? Totaly forgot it was a UKAPS topic.
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/hydor-external-heater-failure.31516/
 
Thanks for the extra info Marcel, I'll definately be looking at a temp. controller to go along side the Hydor before installing the heater.....seems like a bit of a no brainer really, considering the cost vs peace of mind.

Cheers,

Scott.
 
I have a couple of plain old Interpet heaters in my 500l tank. They have been there since 2010. They may not be pretty but they are reliable. Not had to change them yet. In the meantime just about everything else from lighting to filtration has died and had to be replaced
 
In the past I've used a Hydor 300 with no problems, currently I'm using a Eheim filter with a built in heater which is equally as good, just one less thing in the cabinet or tank
 
I have struggled to keep my tank warm recently with the supplied Juwel 100w heater so have swapped for a 300w Heater

I too was a bit worried about tank overheating. So I got an STC1000 and wired up the heater (I say I did it - I got our engineer at work to do it)

The whole thing is mounted in a hobby box.

Cost less than £20.

600e7616b45b6c9de1e6506972875478.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
aaron.c said:
I have struggled to keep my tank warm recently with the supplied Juwel 100w heater so have swapped for a 300w Heater

I too was a bit worried about tank overheating. So I got an STC1000 and wired up the heater (I say I did it - I got our engineer at work to do it)

The whole thing is mounted in a hobby box.

Cost less than £20.
Click to expand...
STC1000 is a great bit of kit, I used one for years on my marine tank. I replaced it only 12 months ago with an Apex which allows seasonal variation in temperatures which has seen an increase in coral growth. I wonder how plants would fare?
 
I'd go with a Hydor inline external heater, despite all it's still the best option IMO.
Mine started to leak so I took it apart and like Marcel mentions it is very basic.
There are just two electrodes which slot in to the heating element. They're only held in place by dielectric grease or something similar, and if they work their way loose the thermostat doesn't work accurately.
I had to disassemble and reassemble it twice before I could get the electrodes to stay in place, and the actual temp was the same as that indicated by the dial. Obliviously following that logic, if one works loose completely the thermostat fails and the heater cooks your tank.
So the moral of this story is they're OK if handled with care and as per instructions...although I don't really know anyone that has them plumbed in a perfectly vertical position (which is what they're supposed to be in) and most still work perfectly well.
I fixed the leak by the way - the heater just needed cleaning - and I've been using the same heater now for several years.
 
My hydor turned up on Saturday, I've also ordered an STC1000, with a plastic hobby box to mount it in which should be arriving today. Im looking forward to what looks like a nice little project putting it all together and wiring it up. It'll be nice to get that big 12" heater out the back of my tank.
 
I'm using a 200W Hydor external to heat my 25 litre nano tank! I find it maintains an extremely steady temperature.

I have also added an STC-1000, set to a slightly higher temperature, to act as a safety cut-off.
 
Wow guess I am well out of date then everyone using massive 200w heaters inline and the like pretty sure I originally ran 2xdelta therms 100w each (interpet glass jobbies) had 2 incase 1 suddenly failed however I found 200watts worth of heat massive overkill in my Trigon 190l if anything I struggle most of the year other than the deepest depths of winter to keep the tank cool enough so now I just have the 1x 100w delta therm....must have my tank in an oddily warm part of the house :banghead:
 
I guess the parameter Watt says more about the power it uses than about the heating capabilities.. I got a 175 watt in the sump to heat a 100 liters (10 in the sump 90 in the tank) and when the room is at 15c, the heaters are strugling the keep the tank 24.5c.. The same goes for the 120 watt inline on the small tank 42 liters.

The 120 watt inline is a DIY 12 volt, i took an immersible heater which max temperatur is 80c but still uses 120 watt :) i tested it and its impossible to cook the tank, even in the summer the tank itself looses so much heat i can't get it over 26c with this heater when room is colder. So it can fail as often as it likes, it's still safe.. :thumbup:
 
I've used both an internal and external heater.. and also one that was built into the filter. Here's my thoughts:

Internal Heater
This is more than likely the cheapest option you can go for. Although some heaters state that they need to be located and positioned in a specific orientation. Some need to be situated horizontally, some diagonally and others vertically (find one that you prefer). I went for one that goes horizontal so that I can stick it to the back of the tank glass at the very bottom (a few cm's above the substrate) - the plants cover it so you can't easily see it which is good although it seems that you don't currently have that option. Internal heaters can be an eyesore and a distraction too. These are reliable heaters although I have noticed that the temperature can fluctuate from its set temperature by around 1C average regardless of the brand you use.

External Heater
These are really good especially if you want less clutter in your tank but you have to be careful with these. They are extremely reliable and they can maintain a set temperature with very minimal fluctuation - I'm talking literally 0.1 of a degree. Although, I have known some people's external heaters to malfunction - either overheating the water or not heating it at all. As well as this, you want to avoid any air getting trapped in the heater because that can also cause damage to its heating element. Therefore the best way to install these heaters is vertical in your filter tubing. And when I say vertical I mean perpendicular to the tank - you don't want to risk the trapping of air bubbles which you are more prone to getting if you situate the heater at an angle or horizontally.

Built in Filter Heaters
These are really good. If you don't want clutter in the tank and you don't want extra equipment in your filter pipes (which reduces flow significantly) then this is for you. A filter-heater combination is a brilliant idea and it works like a charm. Very little fluctuation like an external in-line heater which is good. the only downside to this is, if the heater breaks or experiences a malfunction then the whole unit (filter and heater) will have to be repaired / changed which is not an ideal solution but pretty much the only one. This can be massive hassle to aquarists if they don't have a spare filter to use whilst the current one gets repaired.

I'm old school and I prefer to use the bog standard in-the-tank heater. This is because I don't want any additional equipment in my filter tubing (external heater) as it slows down the flow rate of the filter and I also get paranoid with built in filter heaters just in case something happens to the heater then I'm left without both a filter and a heater.

It's all down to personal preference because a heater is a heater, it'll do it's job - however long for is different for everyone. I know someone who's been using a heater for almost 11 years now with no problems whereas I believe some people use them for 11 hours and they go bust!

I hope that helps,
Whoa how much did I write!
Dan
 
Can you imagine a century ago they still used slate as bottom panel for the tank and a candle or petrol burner under it as heater.? With those heavy cast iron barock style decorated rims and some stincky greasy putty to seal the glass.
 
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