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View Full Version : Going from one 400W heater to two heaters of how many watts?


cherubfish pair
08/21/2015, 07:37 PM
My tank is in a garage where it regularly gets below 60*. I'm using a 400 watt heater but I think I could of gotten by with a 300 watt. I want to go to two heaters on this tank and I don't know if I need two 100 watt heaters or two 150 watt heaters. I want to go with a brand of heaters that this is the only choices.

NewOne81
08/21/2015, 07:49 PM
If it were me I'd go with 2 150 watt heaters if 300 watts total is what you need, maybe even a 150 and 200. I like having 2 heaters in my system. Each at a wattage that, should one fail in the on position, they arent powerful enough on their own to cook the tank. If one fails in the off position, at 150-200watts each they can still buy you enough time to notice and get a replacement before critical mass sets in. Cant have too many fail safes on a tank!!

cherubfish pair
08/21/2015, 08:12 PM
I just checked the website and they do have the heaters with the features I'm looking for in 200 watts for the same price as the 150 wattage.

If I put two of the same wattage heaters in my tank, do I set them at the same temp?

NewOne81
08/21/2015, 09:33 PM
I would set them at the same temp. You could always check on them periodically to see if one seems to be running more than the other and adjust if necessary. Many of heaters ive seen say to allow for up to a 2 degree +/- offset of what the heater is actually saying the temp is because the calibration might not be on point.

Zacktosterone
08/23/2015, 09:00 AM
2 400 Watt heaters :P

vette.tech
08/23/2015, 05:41 PM
At the very least get a ranco to control them

nuxx
08/24/2015, 03:00 PM
2 300s.

ca1ore
08/24/2015, 03:05 PM
if you need 300 to maintain temperature, then I'd go with dual 200s. That way, a single stuck on heater cannot raise the temperature excessively (except perhaps during the hottest months of summer); and a dead one will not mean excessively low temperatures.

A heater controller IS a very good idea. I set the three heaters on my tank at slightly different set points via my apex.

nuxx
08/24/2015, 03:21 PM
We run 2 300s on our 650 gallon system... we're in Texas though...