|
Dominic,
The basic formula for heat is: 4W-to-8W/per gallon/per 9deg of difference between ambient temp and target temp. The low draw of 4W represents a well insulated tank -- acrylic or thick glass (like your 400 will have) and the higher draw of 8W represents smaller tanks (think 1/4" glass on a 10G nano.) So, if your room is 50 (COLD,) and you want your tank at 77, you would multiply 12*400G = 4800W. If you can raise your ambient temp to ~65, then you only need around 2000W of heater. So, you have to decide which is more expensive; a dedicated 220V circuit and a 5000W heater, or heating oil?
I'm running a large submersible heater from Aquatic Ecosystems. They specialize in aquaculture supply, but sell to the general public. They have a pretty extensive line of heater options. For my system, which will come in around 480G running volume (as opposed to theoretical volume of each container) when the display is up in January, I'm running a 1800W/120V single unit. They also make 220V units that go up into the 2000-4000W range. I keep my basement between 60 and 65 here in CO (where it was -11 yesterday) and still haven't seen temps this puppy can't handle on the 250G I have running currently (sump and fuge.) I figure that when I get the display cranking, I may need another 1000W heater to be safe.
IMHO, you are better off going with a good sized commercial unit rather than a bunch of little consumer units. That class of unit is meant to have MTBF ratings in the years rather than months...
Another option if you are also looking for a chiller for summer is to look at a "heat pump." When I had my 600G display up in CA (1000G of running volume) I used one of these bad boys. It's basically a bi-directional chiller -- it can extract heat from the refrigerant when the water is too hot, and it applies heat to the refrigerant when the water is too cold. AE will also have these units listed from the likes of AquaLogic.
Hope that helps...
--Sean--
|