it is cold! check your heaters!

Rogger Castells · #1 01/02/2008, 10:54 PM

I am having some fun with this weather, but, I just realized that I don't have a heater hooked up to my tank, I've never really need one.
My tank is partly plumbed outside so I need to ensure that the water don't get too cold tonight, just thought I share this with you guys in case you are in the same boat.

db_triggerfish · #2 01/02/2008, 11:06 PM

i pickup one tonight hook it up to the Reefkeeper 2, tested to see if the controller would shut it off, if it got stuck on and it worked like a champ.

Rogger Castells · #3 01/02/2008, 11:10 PM

cool

A.T.T.R · #4 01/02/2008, 11:14 PM

well
i dont have any heaters
but my frag tanks are outside
temp of room is 68 degrees at 61 percent humidity!
tanks temps are stable
i added an extra pump to my one tank (100 watt pump same thing as 100 watt heater.) the tank normany runs at 72 and is maintaining that
my sps tank im not worried about it runs 78 normaly and seems to be maintaining
i do have a blow torch ready ( can heat the room FAST!!)

Fish2reef · #5 01/02/2008, 11:27 PM

My last heater was in my tank back in high school (class of '82)

db_triggerfish · #6 01/02/2008, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by A.T.T.R
well
i dont have any heaters
but my frag tanks are outside
temp of room is 68 degrees at 61 percent humidity!
tanks temps are stable
i added an extra pump to my one tank (100 watt pump same thing as 100 watt heater.) the tank normany runs at 72 and is maintaining that
my sps tank im not worried about it runs 78 normaly and seems to be maintaining
i do have a blow torch ready ( can heat the room FAST!!)

How can any tank outside maintain a safe temperature tonight? It's already 44 degrees, good luck.

A.T.T.R · #7 01/02/2008, 11:52 PM

well with out ac the gradge gets really hot ( in the 90s) ( even when cooler outside)

it should be fine. temp isnt dropping in the room much ( 660 watts of equiptment and no outside airflow with a higher humidity should keep it warm. halides are onat night

A.T.T.R · #8 01/02/2008, 11:55 PM

also added another tank of 90 or so gallons.. that should help keep the air warmer ( water holds heat and should take a while to cool down exchanging heat to air ( not much but should be enough till the full morning sun hits the building.

ReefWreak · #9 01/03/2008, 12:24 AM

Thanks for reminding us!

I just drove down from NC this morning. It was 7... count it, SEVEN... degrees outside when I left. It was snowed in, and we drove our car through the freakin packed snow. Brother had to run back to the room in shorts and a t-shirt through the snow cause he forgot his phone in the room, couldn't drive to room because car couldn't get up the shallow hill cause of packed snow, etc. Fun times at 5:30 AM....

Anyway, yea, heaters, remember that stuff. important stuff!

andyr45 · #10 01/03/2008, 01:03 AM

Thanks fot the reminder Rogger. I made that mistake last winter with the outside chiller and lost everything to a cold snap. This time I'm ready, two heaters and no troubles. The parrots are inside tonight as well, chillin on the pool table.

Rogger Castells · #11 01/03/2008, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by andyr45
Thanks fot the reminder Rogger. I made that mistake last winter with the outside chiller and lost everything to a cold snap. This time I'm ready, two heaters and no troubles. The parrots are inside tonight as well, chillin on the pool table.

Nice, hey at least you can put the birds inside the pool room, Carlos (invertigator) has a horse in his back yard, last I heard he was going to get the blanket over the horse, I highly recommended that he gets the horse inside the house, preferably in his bedroom (that should keep him warm)

gasman059 · #12 01/03/2008, 06:57 AM

My home a/c heater was on all night and this AM tank temp 77.5
only a .5 degree drop from the normal 78 .
No heater in the tank.

gasman059 · #13 01/03/2008, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rogger Castells
Nice, hey at least you can put the birds inside the pool room, Carlos (invertigator) has a horse in his back yard, last I heard he was going to get the blanket over the horse, I highly recommended that he gets the horse inside the house, preferably in his bedroom (that should keep him warm)

he sleeps with the horses anyways- he's from the third floor HAVANA

saltwaterfishlover · #14 01/03/2008, 07:51 AM

1 word for this morning

shrinkage

Fish2reef · #15 01/03/2008, 08:30 AM

I heard Carlos slept in the barn and the horse in the house.

jessp · #16 01/03/2008, 09:20 AM

as long as he doesn't wake up w/ the horse head in his bed he will be alright

Ludwigia73 · #17 01/03/2008, 10:35 AM

Shrinkage, try disappearage! Can't find it! uhhh, the thermostat that is... yeah, that's it!

Good thing I haven't set up the tank yet... I never use a heater. This time I would have needed it... woke up to the house at 58 degrees! The heater's on, but it doesn't seem to be working.

A.T.T.R · #18 01/03/2008, 10:58 AM

well

prop tanks

are fine

as of right now the one tnak is 71 and tthe other is 75 ish ( not far off from the norm baraly 1.5 degrees
room is 60 degrees but halides arnt on ( turned them on this mornng to start warming it up)
tonight tho i may need to buy a space heater

jeffbrig · #19 01/03/2008, 11:12 AM

Our house was 66 this morning. Christy ran the heat for a little bit while getting ready for work, but I switched it off when she left. It's 67 in here right now. The tank - holding steady at 79 before the lights come on and no heater. Gotta love acrylic...

invertigator · #20 01/03/2008, 12:33 PM

I knew Pulumbo would remind me of his "FAMILY" cutting off horse heads and putting them in bed with people! Anyway, I just got a new AC unit a couple of months ago since our old one was ready to kick the bucket, and I wanted to make sure my AC did not die in the middle of summer and I would end up cooking my fish. My house is always between 70 and 72 and I have LED lights and don't require a chiller for the 210.

When the new AC was installed I guess no one thought to check the heater portion, and you guessed it, this morning I woke up to a 60 degree house and the heater in the tank could not keep up.

The temp went from a very stable 79 to 74. The AC guy just left, it took him a second to find out what had been overlooked during the installation. I heated small pots of tank water on my stove and dripped it in one at a time. I have not been able to get higher than 75 degrees. AC is back to normal and the heater in the tank is on as usual. You guys think I will have a problem with the 5 degree swing in one night? So far everything looks good.

Ludwigia73 · #21 01/03/2008, 12:36 PM

5 degrees isn't much of a problem, just don't bring it back up suddenly. If you take it up about a degree an hour, it should be fine.

djmicl · #22 01/03/2008, 12:42 PM

My house was at 65-66 this morning. Tank was at 70. Maybe my heater is not working properly. I increased the temp last night but lately my tank is around 73-75. Too cold? During the summer it’s normally around 76-77 with fans running.

What size heater should I use on a 55 gallon tank?

pedromatic · #23 01/03/2008, 07:49 PM

I like my house at 74, so I keep heaters in my tanks to keep the temp a stable 78 at night. You guys with the larger tanks may not need it, but 90 and 55 can swing pretty quick. The heaters only come on periodically at night. Last night house temp 65, tank temp 78.