# Heater in sump



## dcskmy (Mar 8, 2013)

Quick question: how to determine the proper heater to use in a sump? Let's say DT 50 gal, sump 15 gal. Should I be using a heater rated for 50 or 15 or 65?


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

You will get some heat production from your pumps and your lights. However you will also have to consider what happens on really cold days and how warm or cold your space is.. Heaters are rated to do a certain amount of temperature rise in the number of gallons listed, which is normally based on ambient room temperature to 78 ish degrees so if the room is colder, you may require more heater capacity to get the temperature to where you want to keep it.
Use a heater rated for the overall water volume of the entire system. However this is where you will get differing opinions.
I prefer redundancies in my heaters and don't rely on just 1, in case it fails. I also had a situation happen where I bought I large kickass heater, and it kept short cycling but overheating the tank. You want the temperature to remain constant, not go up and down, as the heater turns off and on.
Don't use a heater rated for 15 gallons, it won't do the job. The difference between 50 and 65 gallons isn't a lot, but I expect the heater you're looking at is either a 150 or a 200 watt heater, correct?
Consider the other factors noted and make a decision. You will probably be ok with either.


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