Heating consistency.

[Cozwey]

I have a question regarding keeping a constant heat in your tank. I now have the ability to program my new controller with more accuracy. My question is this.
Should I program my heat to come on at 77.5 and go off at 78, or should I get the numbers closer to have less change than half a degree?

[Pife]

That sounds close enough. I have a 2 degree span on mine.

[Cozwey]

My heater barely runs when I keep it that close. I am using a 500watt titanium for 110 gallons of total water.

[phillrodrigo]

Mine also has a 2 degree span I believe its 78 to 80

[disc1]

If you put them too close you will end up with the heater constantly kicking on and off and on and off and that's not great for the heater. A few degrees swing is natural and fine.

[Cozwey]

I will adjust a little. Thank you.

[hogfanreefer]

Newb question. Is there some reason not to set the default on your controller to on and just setting a top temp to turn off? I've adjusted my heaters so that they will only go past the upper temp cut off if they "stick on".

[Cozwey]

Not sure. I am just writing the code based on what makes sense with the Apex language.
What you are saying is always have the heater set to on.
Except that when top temp is reached it will shut off.
Seems to me that off would be the final statement in the code and it won't come on again.
Or it will come on at say .1 below your max temp.
That would be on off on off on off. all the time.
I am pretty new at controller code.

[hogfanreefer]

Not sure. I am just writing the code based on what makes sense with the Apex language.
What you are saying is always have the heater set to on.
Except that when top temp is reached it will shut off.
Seems to me that off would be the final statement in the code and it won't come on again.
Or it will come on at say .1 below your max temp.
That would be on off on off on off. all the time.
I am pretty new at controller code.


I see what you mean.

What I've done is adjust my heaters to keep my temp around 79.5 degrees. The controller is set to turn off the outlet if the temp is greater than 82 degrees so it should only intervene if the heaters fail in the on position. Then I set up an alert if the temp falls below 76, which should notify me if the heaters fail in the off position. So me heaters are really controlling the temp, the controller really isn't controlling just serving as a fail safe.

Tagging along for a better way.

[Cozwey]

I had some issues with heater that had internal temp controls. I had 2 fail that were purchased at the same time. They were only 2 months old. I have since switched to the titanium as they are more reliable IMO.

[sleepydoc]

Heater failure is generally due to thermostat / controller failure, independent of the composition of the casing. A titanium tube can just as easily have a cheap thermostat. That said, if a company spends the money to make a Ti casing, an extra dollar for a better controller isn't going to matter much, and your customer base is likely willing to pay for it.

I'm in the process of making an arduino controller. My plan is to have the on/off temp 1° F apart just to prevent excessive cycling, then to set the thermostat on the heaters to a degree or two higher than that, so if my controller should fail, the heater thermostat will serve as a backup.

[Cozwey]

I see what you mean.

What I've done is adjust my heaters to keep my temp around 79.5 degrees. The controller is set to turn off the outlet if the temp is greater than 82 degrees so it should only intervene if the heaters fail in the on position. Then I set up an alert if the temp falls below 76, which should notify me if the heaters fail in the off position. So me heaters are really controlling the temp, the controller really isn't controlling just serving as a fail safe.

Tagging along for a better way.

Very interesting. I have been waiting for my Apex to come (which it has this week) I purchased a Ti heater W/O a controller thinking the Apex would be fine for this. I like the idea you have with using the controller for the heater and the Apex as the fail safe.


Very nice.
I was trying to save a buck or two and not spend the extra for the heater control. I wish I had now as your way provides more options.

[Cozwey]

Heater failure is generally due to thermostat / controller failure, independent of the composition of the casing. A titanium tube can just as easily have a cheap thermostat. That said, if a company spends the money to make a Ti casing, an extra dollar for a better controller isn't going to matter much, and your customer base is likely willing to pay for it.

I'm in the process of making an arduino controller. My plan is to have the on/off temp 1° F apart just to prevent excessive cycling, then to set the thermostat on the heaters to a degree or two higher than that, so if my controller should fail, the heater thermostat will serve as a backup.

Also very cool.
I have to say reef tank controllers are very cool.
Apex in particular ROCKS!!!!!:thumbsup:

[Barro777]

I was always wondering about the benefits of going out of one's way to keep a constant temp. Water temp in the ocean fluctuates daily and seasonally, sometimes considerably, correct? Anyways, my span is 77-80 for the heater operation, however it can get up to 82 on hottest days in the summer with the heater shut off. None of the tank inhabitants complained so far. Or perhaps I'm just not listening :)

[Cozwey]

I was always wondering about the benefits of going out of one's way to keep a constant temp. Water temp in the ocean fluctuates daily and seasonally, sometimes considerably, correct? Anyways, my span is 77-80 for the heater operation, however it can get up to 82 on hottest days in the summer with the heater shut off. None of the tank inhabitants complained so far. Or perhaps I'm just not listening :)

I agree that the normal fluctuations in nature would make sense to mimic. I also think that keeping a more stable environment in a reef tank makes sense.

So I think that what I will do is to try and control the amount of energy I am consuming to a minimum by reducing the frequency that my heater is on yet still allowing for small fluctuations in temp. IE 77-79.
During the warmer months my condo has AC which presents a different challenge.

[sleepydoc]

My understanding is that most if the parameters in many of the world's reefs are remarkably constant. I don't know specifically how constant temps are, but from what I've read, it's within a few degrees.

[DolphinzFan]

I have a Apex and this is what mine is set at. I also have 2 heaters just to make sure.

If Temp > 80.0 Then ON
If Temp < 79.5 Then OFF

The heater will turn on at 79 (actually 78.9) and heat until the water rises to 79.5 (actually 79.6) then turn off.

[bnumair]

i agree with a statement above. if you leave them too close then heater will constantly turn on and off causing the device to fail at some time very soon. leave atleast a 0.5-1F window. i have mine set to come on at 76F or below and then off at 77F. So when temp hit 76 controller turns heater on and brings the temp to 77 then turns off.

[sleepydoc]

It also depends on how accurate your thermometer is. If you have a thermometer that only reads to 0.5º F, trying to maintain a 0.5º window is pointless. Most controllers have thermometers that are accurate to 0.1~0.2º F, but it's something to keep in mind

[Spyderturbo007]

If you're worried about the heater kicking on and off quickly, you could always use the Defer command with the Apex.