My temp has dropped the past 2 days, slowly.

[Biff0rz]

I live in Michigan and temps have started to drop. Last night it went into the high 30's, today is mid 60's.

My DT (233g) and Sump (60g?) are in the basement which is a walkout. The sump is located near the basement floor which is cement, however, I placed 1/2" wood planks under the long edges of the sump so air could travel under the sump vs resting directly on the floor. The DT is on a stand ~4ft off the ground.

My heater is new (bought on 7/23) and is a 300W Eheim JAGER. I watched my heater wattage/amps today when I noticed the temp had dropped suddenly and about 2* over the past few days. Nothing was out of the ordinary but I do notice that the heater is running non-stop and the temp finally bottomed out around 76.8. It hasn't been able to bring the temp higher than 76.8* today.

Apex programming on the heater outlet:

Fallback OFF
If Tmp < 78.0 Then ON
If Tmp > 79.0 Then OFF

Is it just under-powered and I should add a second? (besides the obvious reason of having a second heater)

Note, I verified the temp with two other thermometers, one being on my Sicce SDC return pump.

 

[josephxsxn]

We are almost exactly the same but I have a smaller setup 167gal DT, 40g sump. I also live in Michigan and my tank is in my walk out basement.

My heater is huge compared to yours, in fact I had a 300watt I decided not to use just because I was concerned it wouldn't cut it. Today I am using a 800watt finnex titanium in my sump on an inkbird controller.

My belief is your under powered.

 

[Biff0rz]

We are almost exactly the same but I have a smaller setup 167gal DT, 40g sump. I also live in Michigan and my tank is in my walk out basement.

My heater is huge compared to yours, in fact I had a 300watt I decided not to use just because I was concerned it wouldn't cut it. Today I am using a 800watt finnex titanium in my sump on an inkbird controller.

My belief is your under powered.

Yea, I had that suspicion. I was planning to buy this controller soon:


How does that brand/800w hold up?

 

[josephxsxn]

I think it does great, I have only had 1 bad one out of the 6+ I have bought; it evently had a grounding problem. One was powering a tray for two years where GSP grew over it.

 

[HB AL]

If your current heater is functioning properly and can’t warm the tank higher than 76.8 then you definitely need more wattage.

 

[SteveEreef]

Ive found that generally you want between 3-5 watts per gallon for the heater. Here is a good calculator to figure the correct size heater if interested. I would also suggest two heaters instead of one big one. It sure did get cold last night in MI!

Heater & Chiller Sizing Calculator

Aquarium calculator; Estimate the size (power) of heater and chiller required for an aquarium.

www.hamzasreef.com

 

[jda]

I use 4x 300w Ehiems in Colorado in the winter in my 240g (and 80g sump)... similar except we have drier air and more evaporation. You need more heaters.

Keep the temp probe and at least one heater in the tank. The rest can go in the sump. This way, if you lose the return pump, your tank will stay warm.

If you do not want the apex handling all of this wattage, or don't have a high amp outlet, then get a Ranco - they are more reliable and can handle a lot of heaters. Make sure that you set your Eheims so that they do not stay on if the Apex fails on, which some of them have done.