Heater question for large tank

[MG21]

What heaters are you guys using on your large reef tanks? Looking to purchase a reliable one for my 240. Thanks.

[steve the plumb]

I use the Aqua medic with there controller(bio therm)

[burris]

If you want reliability, don't use the internal thermostat of any heater sold for an aquarium. Use an external controller. I've used a Medusa 2-stage for a long time and but there are many on the market. The Medusa is nice because it shuts down and sounds an alarm if the temperature probe becomes disconnected. These days I would invest in a good computer/controller that can handle more than temperature.

[rlabriola]

i use 3 500W cheapy heaters connected to my Aquacontroller...no complaints

[MG21]

Thanks for the help.

[steve the plumb]

This is the second time my heater went nuts for some reason the controller(Aqua Medic) will go from my 80 degree set point to 100 degrees.I don't know why it did this.I hooked it up to my Aquatronica controller so this won't happen again.I guess better safe than sorry.

[pwhitby]

I also use an external controller, an aqualogic one. I set the upper point on each of 3 400W heaters at 82, the controller kicks on at 78 off at 80 so if its sticks ON for any reason the heaters internal thermostats will turn them off.

BTW..this is on 800 total gallon system.

Paul.

[MG21]

Ended up going with finnex with external controller.

[Red Sea Purple Tang]

I have three 250w Stealth Heaters. Haven't went with a controller as the tank is in the rec room (3/4 underground), so the fish room temp remains pretty constant.

[steve the plumb]

The Aqua Medic has an led display gives you your set temp and your tank temp but for some reason the set temp went to 100 degrees by itself.This has happened once before and I caught now again.The thing is I had it on celius it switched to ferinheight on its own.I don't know why it did this.When it switched it went to 101 degrees for some reason when it goes nuts it goes to that temp.I don't know why it switches on its own.It has been a pretty reliable unit.

[pwhitby]

Steve...do you have a cat? Mine woukld play with buttons for me. Took me ages to figure it out, but at night my controller would flash and he would bat at the buttons.

-just a thought.

Paul.

[jnarowe]

I have gone through several Jalli elements and controllers, and through discussion with a lot of fellow reefers, I wouldn't buy anything other than a Medussa/Aqua-Logic controller. Check Aquatic-Eco for the better quality heaters. This is no place to skimp! And, I also have my controllers hooked into my Neptune System so that if they were to stick on, the Neptune would cut the ower. That has never happened though. They have all failed OFF.

[steve the plumb]

No I don't have a cat.I don't know whats going on but twice it went to 100 degrees for no operant reason it doesn't make sense because its a pretty decent heater.I now hooked up the heater to my controller to be safe.

[robster]

The Aquamedic and Won Brothers heater controller are one in the same and both have a bug that allows the set temp to be changed on their own. I have now owned both brands and both have the same issue. The Aqua Medic brand changed the set temp to 108 and I cooked my corals and all of my fish. By the time I figured out what was going on the temp was up to 95. Aqua Medic acknowledged the issue and gave me a refund. However, it doesn't appear that they recalled the controllers. The Won Brothers brand did the exact opposite and changed the set temp to 23 degrees. Luckily this was on my water change tank. Just sent an email to Won Brothers to return this one and going to try the Finnex contoller next. I now use a Ranco controller on my tank. I need something for my water change tank. I can't have the water heating up to 100 or dropping down to 32 in the garage on my water change tank. A classic sign that something is wrong is the temp keeps switching from F to C setting. Do yourself a favor and get rid of your Aqua Medic or Won Brothers heater controller.

[jnarowe]

what he said.

[gary faulkner]

Ranco controller.

Use any heater you want, plugged into the Ranco.

I use a combination of titanium and stealth heaters.

HTH

[steve the plumb]

My aqua medic just died on me so I bought an ebo jager and I am also using my won brothers.My set temps are at 81 or 82 degrees but both heaters are plugged into my controller(aquatronica) so thats set at 80 degrees.The controller is pretty accurate.