# Heater for a 120G



## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

I just picked up a 400W Hydor Theo Submersible Heater. Would this be enough for a 120G Long? I am placing it underneath the crazy fast flow of the Eheim 2250 outflow.

Currently I have 2 200w submersible heaters at opposite ends of the tank. One of them seem to be working overtime.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Yes but take it back. Those are horrible heaters. If only for the fact that they can burn your fish because they get to hot.

Forget that its an unreliable piece of junk- just the first thing is enough for me.

a 300 Watt good heater will be enough in a warm room. If the room is not warm, you may need something like the 2 250s. I like to use only one heater whenever possible


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

I ended up getting 2 Visi Therm Stealth 250w heaters. However, it says it can raise the ambient temp by 18 degrees F up to 75 gallons. Would one be enough to raise the temp by 4 degrees F on a 120 gallon? The room temp is around 75-77F. I guess that's the perfect temp for Tangs but I have the heater set to 79F.


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## Katalyst (Jul 29, 2007)

gunnerx said:


> I ended up getting 2 Visi Therm Stealth 250w heaters. However, it says it can raise the ambient temp by 18 degrees F up to 75 gallons. Would one be enough to raise the temp by 4 degrees F on a 120 gallon? The room temp is around 75-77F. I guess that's the perfect temp for Tangs but I have the heater set to 79F.


A much better choice then the Hydor's I have two and no matter what temperature I set them to, they remain at 83 degree's in my basement! Needless to say they'll be replaced next week.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Katalyst said:


> A much better choice then the Hydor's I have two and no matter what temperature I set them to, they remain at 83 degree's in my basement! Needless to say they'll be replaced next week.


Ya Hydor seems quite the dud...

The Visitherm Stealth Heaters you got ought to be ok.

I would suggest that, because you can not see inside and judge their condition, you change them every year for safety


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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

I use Visitherm in all my tanks and never had an issue with them becomming to hot. In fact you can handle them in the aquarium (while in water) while they are one with no problems. Thus if they can be handled as such you are pretty sure that they will not inadvertantly burn your fish.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

I set my Hydor to 79F and the reading at the other end was always 80F. Maybe it needed recalibration. So I set it to 77F and the temp at the other end stayed at 80F.

However, my issue with the stealths is definitely the lack of light. I don't know if it's working or not. I put one in last night set to 79F and the temp never changed from 75F. There were bubbles all around the heater which I don't think is a sign of working. I changed it with the other one and hopefully it won't be the same. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

I wonder if I have to calibrate the Heaters. That could be the issue too. I should raise it a bit and see if that helps.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

WTF is going on with heaters nowadays? Years (decades) ago when I had several tanks, heaters would 'just work'. Now it seems they have to be constantly monitored.

At this point, I'm looking for an external temperature sensor that I can hook up to a PC that will generate an alarm if the temp. is + or - a given amount from the specified temp. Seems kinda silly but it seems that we are going backwards instead of forwards.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Actually, they already sell those LCD Thermometers that come with alarm built in. It turns out that the heaters both worked fine. They just needed some calibration. The temp was a constant 75F when I set the heater to 78F. When I changed it to 79F, the temp went up to 76F. So I guess both of them did work. I have both of them now in the tank so they shouldn't have to work as much.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Glad you got ur heater problem sorted out.

I'd still like to interface it to a pc. During the summer we go up to the cottage a lot and if a heater goes wacko and decides to stay on solid on Friday night, I'd like to know that before I get back Sunday night to fish soup. A quick email to my Blackberry would alert me to call my son to get him to look at it.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Cory_Dad said:


> WTF is going on with heaters nowadays? Years (decades) ago when I had several tanks, heaters would 'just work'. Now it seems they have to be constantly monitored.
> 
> At this point, I'm looking for an external temperature sensor that I can hook up to a PC that will generate an alarm if the temp. is + or - a given amount from the specified temp. Seems kinda silly but it seems that we are going backwards instead of forwards.


A**M**E**N to that brother. What the HELL is going on with this cheap trash equipment they're trying to sell us these days?

Remember when you could go through the hood of a '47 ford with a JAGER heater and the heater would still be like new?

Or throw an Eheim 2217 down three flights of stairs (by accident) with no concern?

What the heck is going on? If anything people are more careless and zoned out today than 15 years ago so wouldnt we need more reliability? Not less?.

I still remember the first time I got a 'new' jager heater when i was used to the real ones.

I opened the box and I was like "huh? Whats this? That's not right..."


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Oh, you mean the 'new and improved' ones?

How many times have I read that on a package and thought "Great. I'm now paying more for something that's not as good as the previous one."

All the manufacturers are trying to cut costs wherever they can. So they go to that country that's holding the 2008 Olympics and gets some hole in the wall factory to churn out 10,000 of product X for $.25 per with no quality controls what so ever. And we schmucks buy it throwing our national work force out of work. Then we complain our social systems are over burdened because the jobless rate is so high and we're on our 3rd product X cause the previous 2 are in a garbage dump.

I now know what my dad meant when he told me that he "can't afford to buy cheap stuff".

And so ends our sermon for Thursday, May 23, 2008.

I need to get to bed....


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

*Oh, you mean the 'new and improved' ones?*

yes 'improved' 

*I now know what my dad meant when he told me that he "can't afford to buy cheap stuff".
*

yup. Generation shiny we are. If its shiny, we'll buy it. I think we all need somebody from the 20's/30's generation to go HEY! >insert sermon< once in awhile and keep us straight

Have you SEEN the latest iteration of the so aptly named "Marineland EMPEROR" filter?

It was hardly an emperor before.Definitely not now. Marineland Tribal Warlord maybe... Or Marineland big bully... Maybe it should be labeled "OR you could buy a canister filter"


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Being a n00b to the jobby, I guess I wouldn't know about those things.  However, the Stealths are working quite well right now and look much better than the glass ones.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

gunnerx said:


> Being a n00b to the jobby, I guess I wouldn't know about those things.  However, the Stealths are working quite well right now and look much better than the glass ones.


Give it time grasshopper, give it time...


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Cory Dad: Are you familiar with X10 home automation? We've used it for lights and water monitor. UGLY website: http://www.x10.com/


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Tabatha said:


> Cory Dad: Are you familiar with X10 home automation? We've used it for lights and water monitor. UGLY website: http://www.x10.com/


Ugly is just a word. What that site is, words cannot describe.

After much searching I found a temp sensor they were selling, for $109!!! I want to monitor 4 tanks. I can replace a lot of fish for $436.

Remembering that Google is our friend, I found:

http://martybugs.net/electronics/tempsensor/

and they reference a $3 sensor. Just a tad cheaper...


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