PDA

View Full Version : Do I need 4 rancos to heat my tank?


brad
02/05/2016, 09:34 AM
I have a 270 gallon display upstairs, skimmer, refugium, reacors, etc in the basement. I currently use a lot of heaters, and throw them out when they get stuck. With small heaters, 1 stuck is not a big deal. I have heaters both upstairs and down. Should the return pump turn off (planned or not) the water temperature drops fast if I have no heaters in that tank.

I want to use a Ranco for increased reliability. I am tempted to buy heaters without thermostats, so I don't throw them away as often. This means no redundancy, so I'd need 2 Rancors. Since I'd heat both the tank upstairs and down, I'd need 4 Rancos. That seems like overkill.

FishyFishy69
02/05/2016, 09:37 AM
Definitely overkill. Ranco's are extremely reliable. I would (and do) run only one. They are not like the cheap stuff in the aquarium industry, they are industrial quality.

If you are worried about it, just do two and forget about anything else. They won't disappoint.

brad
02/05/2016, 09:49 AM
2 in parallel, 1 upstairs and 1 downstairs kills everything if either sticks on or sticks off.

2 in serial, up or down, is bullet proof as long as the return pump runs, but the tank without heaters gets cold fast without the return.

brad
02/05/2016, 09:51 AM
If I use the Rancos, any advantage of multiple heating elements?

Pitter98
02/05/2016, 09:53 AM
Four words for you: Hot Water Loop Heat.

Run a long PEX line from your hot water tank with a Grundfos hot water recirculation pump (bulletproof pumps) and coil up about 30-40 feet in your sump and never worry about throwing out another heater. Control it with a Ranco (they are also bulletproof) or two if you are really worried, and you are good to go. I've been running a hot water loop on my 150g tank for about 3 years now and it's the best thing ever. Costs way less than thousands of watts of electric heaters on your bill also. Will cost you a couple hundred bucks to set up, but add up all of what you've spent on junked heaters and it's probably worth it.

brad
02/05/2016, 10:12 AM
Four words for you: Hot Water Loop Heat.

Run a long PEX line from your hot water tank with a Grundfos hot water recirculation pump (bulletproof pumps) and coil up about 30-40 feet in your sump and never worry about throwing out another heater. Control it with a Ranco (they are also bulletproof) or two if you are really worried, and you are good to go. I've been running a hot water loop on my 150g tank for about 3 years now and it's the best thing ever. Costs way less than thousands of watts of electric heaters on your bill also. Will cost you a couple hundred bucks to set up, but add up all of what you've spent on junked heaters and it's probably worth it.

I actually have another thread on here about this. If I stay in the house a while I will use this for the downstairs and a heater set 1 degree lower upstairs. Are you running your hot water back to the cold water input?

Either way, the problem with the Rancos is the same - I need 4 if I want 2 sets with redundancy.

BlackTip
02/05/2016, 10:18 AM
Curious, why the tank without a heater gets cold so fast?
What is the ambient temp in your home?

Pitter98
02/05/2016, 10:36 AM
I actually have another thread on here about this. If I stay in the house a while I will use this for the downstairs and a heater set 1 degree lower upstairs. Are you running your hot water back to the cold water input?

Either way, the problem with the Rancos is the same - I need 4 if I want 2 sets with redundancy.

At first I ran it back to the cold water input at my kitchen sink, but the problem I ran into was that if I wanted cold water at my kitchen sink while the pump was running, it was darn near impossible to get. I ended up running the return line back to the drain line on the hot water tank and I like it much better now. Able to get hot water instantly a good portion of the time at the kitchen sink and can still get cold water all the time. Haven't been able to notice an increase in my gas bill even with the added heat draw for the tank.

I only run 1 Ranco on mine and haven't had any problems. Should I run 2? Probably, but it hasn't been an issue for me yet. I would be much more concerned about the heater sticking on than not coming on. Corals can handle a temperature drop much better than getting cooked. For redundancy, I would just run 2 Rancos on the hot water loop (with the 2nd to shut it off in an overheat condition) and just run a regular heater upstairs set a few degrees lower in case it doesn't come on.

brad
02/05/2016, 10:44 AM
Curious, why the tank without a heater gets cold so fast?
What is the ambient temp in your home?

The other day I caught my wife turning on the Air Conditioning when the ambient temperature was 58F. She said she wanted to excersise without getting sweaty.

We usually keep it between 62F and 68F.

brad
02/06/2016, 10:25 AM
Four words for you: Hot Water Loop Heat.

Run a long PEX line from your hot water tank with a Grundfos hot water recirculation pump (bulletproof pumps) and coil up about 30-40 feet in your sump and never worry about throwing out another heater.

Which Grundfos are you using?

Pitter98
02/06/2016, 09:52 PM
Which Grundfos are you using?

Running this model (or something very close to it):

http://www.amazon.com/Grundfos-595916-Horsepower-Comfort-Recirculator/dp/B000JG81AQ

It's a Grundfos UP15, but I only paid about $60 for it used on Ebay. I think the timer on mine was broken, but it didn't matter because I didn't want the timer anyways - it is set to always on and controlled by the Ranco. You can also use a Watts pump (they are almost as good):

http://www.amazon.com/Watts-500800-Recirculating-System-Built-In/dp/B000E78XHG/

They are $200+ pumps regularly, but if you keep an eye out on Ebay, you can find some good ones for pretty cheap. Just make sure you get one that has the threaded connections designed to be hooked up to your faucet taps (not the big cast iron flanged ones).