Heater and Controller recommendations

[Oblio]

I'm currently running a single heater in my 125 G tank. I don't know the wattage or the make/model as it came with the used tank that I purchased years ago.
Given that, I am worried about reliability (cooking fish etc.) and would like to replace with a new heating system. After doing a little bit of research, I am thinking of going with two 300 W heaters to mitigate any possible (single) heater failure. I am also considering an external controller such as the Inkbird ITC-306A. Is such a setup advisable? and if so, what heaters would be the best to use? It seems that reliability is a key performance parameter for heaters but there does not seems to be a huge selection of non-heaterstats. Or should I just go with two high quality heaterstats?

 

[Uberhoust]

Once you go to two heaters I would go to a controller. It will be impossible to get the thermostats on the single units to the same point so you will likely have one that always runs and the other only going on when the first cannot keep up (Though that is not necessarily bad). But if you are looking reduce the risk of cooking your fish because a thermostat fail, then if you use twice as many units you would have twice the opportunity for that type of failure.

In regards to the heater couldn't you use a heater such as a Ebo Jager set to max but plugged into the controller. I would stay away from the E series Fluval heaters for this application I doubt that they would handle power cycling well (I have one an it is touchy even without being on a controller).

I have no actual experience with using a controller but have considered it in the past myself, I have a tank in a colder location and the 300 watt heater is just a little shy of doing the job properly.

 

[Oblio]

Thanks for the reply and input

In regards to the heater couldn't you use a heater such as a Ebo Jager set to max but plugged into the controller.

I considered that, but was thinking a heater units without the electronics would be more reliable and cheaper.

But if you are looking reduce the risk of cooking your fish because a thermostat fail, then if you use twice as many units you would have twice the opportunity for that type of failure.

I believe the concept is that if one heater fails on, the working unit will shut off when the set temp is reached and the failed unit will not have enough wattage to cook the fish. e.g. two 300W heaters in a 125 G tank. If one unit fails in the off state, the remaining unit will keep the temp from dropping dangerously low. This assumes both units are separate heaterstats. That is the theory anyway.

 

[Oblio]

From what I can tell. the ITC-306A has two heater power control sockets, but they are NOT controlled independently. I believe this means that a failure in the control unit will either turn both heaters off (not a total catastrophe in my climate) or on (which would be), which mitigates the safety feature of having two heater elements. On the plus side, if well designed, the external control unit is probably less prone to failure than a submersible unit. Perhaps this will be another electronics project ...

 

[663]

I just replaced an IB ITC 306-A 1000W after just over two years of faultless service. I already miss its more interesting features, but I'm happy with its replacement, for now at least.

 

[Byron]

With a tank that is 4-feet (120 cm) long or longer, you want two heaters if you go with the basic heaters (with or without the other apparatus mentioned which I know nothing about so I will move on). Another option for me was a canister filter with an internal heater. I had the former dual heaters in my 5-foot 115g and 4-foot 90g tanks for over 20 years, one placed next to the filter return and one at the opposite end next to the filter intake. They worked well. But when I got the 70g tank I decided to get an Eheim Pro II canister with the built in heating element. This filter ran for 20 years without failing ever, and the temp never varied by more than a degree or two up or down from the setting; it would certainly be my choice for a new largish tank.

 

[Oblio]

Thanks Byron.

I've been running an AquaClear 110 after the original canister failed and it seems to work well. I do plan on getting two heaters. I may eventually go back to a canister, or build a sump. Being an engineer I like to research and build things

I did find out that the controller in question has two power relays in series, so if one relay fails at least the fish will not cook. Power relays are likely the lowest reliability component in the system. However, that means that if one fails, there will be no heat in the tank. I mention this for others that may be considering a similar setup. I may also get heaterstats if I go with an external controller, as I could set a high temp on each of these (say 82 deg F) which would be another failsafe if the controller fails in the on position for both relays. Without a schematic, I'm unsure of the probability of this occurring.

 

[Colin_T]

Most problems with aquarium heaters are caused by poor quality heaters being made cheaply. If you buy a decent brand of aquarium heater, it should last for years and never cook or freeze the fish.

Don't get too technical with aquarium heaters. The more things you have connected to the tank, the more chance of something going wrong. Two x 300watt aquarium heaters should be fine in your tank.

I used Rena heaters but Eheim also do good heaters. There will be other good brands too. Look for a heater with a long warranty, minimum 12 month warranty. Look for a brand that has been around for years so it has some background history. Brands of heaters that fail regularly do not stay on the market for very long. So if you see a new heater that nobody has heard of and it's only been on the market for 6 months, it may not be a good quality heater. Others like Rena and Eheim have been around for decades.