Safe Temperature Options?

[goodgreef]

Good morning Reefers and Reefettes

I've had my 41 gallon (30g of actual water) tank setup for about 3 months. I beginning to get a bit uncomfortable with the thought of my heater dying and losing almost everything. What would you suggest as good solutions if any. I've read where all heaters fail at one time or another. Would 2 heaters make any sense? If so, how would I know if one failed?

Thank you,


goodgreef

[igot2gats]

You can set up a Quarantine Tank for new inhabitants in your tank. That would require you to put a heater in there. If your heater for your DT fails, you have an extra one ready to go.

[goodgreef]

Thank you for the replys. I would have to find out how to setup a quaratine space in my tank.

I have a heater that is doing a good job but I'm concerned about if it should fail. Is there an alarm or battery backup system available or some other backup option?


goodgreef

[goodgreef]

I think I may have another possible solution. It would appear that maybe I should get a controller. I saw one called ReefKeeper Lite for around $100.

Any thoughts?

[RedfordReefer]

You can get a Ranco controller for just temprature.

I use a 300w and a 150w on my 90. Keeps my temp right at 76 - 77 degrees.

I am designing a fail-safe into my controller I am building that if (temp >= 82F) { heaterPower = 0};

If my temp ever gets over 82 a latching relay will cut power to the outlet that runs the heaters. When temp gets below 75, It will send another pulse to latch the relay again and restore power.

The Ranco is the easiest choice. The Reefkeeper is amazing for what it does, but the lite version is less than what I want and more than I want to spend. The Reefkeeper Elite is AMAZING, but at a price tag of $500, a little high in my book.

[Skyhigh]

how about NO HEATER!!!

[goodgreef]

No heater??? What chew mean?

[jimsflies]

The most catastrophic way a heater can fail is being stuck in the on position...for this reason it makes sense to have two small heaters. Ideally the heaters would be sized such that if one stuck in the on position, it wouldn't be able to boil your system.

Unless you run air conditioning in the summer, you likely can take the heater right out of the system to avoid the chance of it turning on and staying on. If a heater fails in the off position, you'd likely notice it before any thing too terrible happened to your tank. Reefs can usually tolerate cooler temps better than warmer temperatures.