Eheim heaters

[Cjbear087]

So I have just bought a Eheim Jager (Heaterstat) 300W heater without realising that there were newer Thermocontrol E heaters. Am I missing much by not buying the newer one? Also will the 300W one I bought be enough for my 90gallon tank for roughly 32C? Thanks

Edited Saturday at 03:48 PM by Cjbear087

[Tony s]

On 9/14/2024 at 11:38 AM, Cjbear087 said:

Also will the 300W one I bought be enough for my 90gallon tank for roughly 32C

I would add another. Just to be safe. And an inkbird controller to link them together. With the inkbird, a basic heater will work fine. So, you probably wouldn't notice the upgrade. That's a lot of hot water to rely on just one heater.

[Cjbear087]

On 9/14/2024 at 5:03 PM, Tony s said:

I would add another. Just to be safe. And an inkbird controller to link them together. With the inkbird, a basic heater will work fine. So, you probably wouldn't notice the upgrade. That's a lot of hot water to rely on just one heater.

I’ve spent a lot of money on this setup so I will do it soon, but it’ll be fine for now right?

[Tony s]

On 9/14/2024 at 12:16 PM, Cjbear087 said:

but it’ll be fine for now right?

Yes. Long term a second heater would be best. Especially for discus. They'll stay more stable with 2 heaters. If you only have one and it fails that could cause serious stress. And discuss don't handle stress well.

[Cjbear087]

On 9/14/2024 at 5:32 PM, Tony s said:

Yes. Long term a second heater would be best. Especially for discus. They'll stay more stable with 2 heaters. If you only have one and it fails that could cause serious stress. And discuss don't handle stress well.

Ok. Does the second heater have to be the same wattage? I have some spares but they aren’t 300W

[Tony s]

On 9/14/2024 at 12:42 PM, Cjbear087 said:

Does the second heater have to be the same wattage

Don't think so. They just won't be able to heat as much. Maybe put them in an area you know you have low flow or a bit of a dead spot. Just for an assist.

[Cjbear087]

On 9/14/2024 at 5:53 PM, Tony s said:

Don't think so. They just won't be able to heat as much. Maybe put them in an area you know you have low flow or a bit of a dead spot. Just for an assist.

Perfect. Appreciate the help as always

[mynameisnobody]

This all depends on what temp the room is. What’s the temp of the room? What’s the target temp? 

[Cjbear087]

On 9/14/2024 at 6:02 PM, mynameisnobody said:

This all depends on what temp the room is. What’s the temp of the room? What’s the target temp? 

Room temp is about 25C, target is about 32C

[Retrophyllum_minus]

On 9/14/2024 at 12:03 PM, Tony s said:

inkbird controller

I've heard about these lately. Are they worth it? I am definitely worried about the fail rate of the Eheim heaters I have. And all commercially available heaters. Sigh. 

[johnnyxxl]

The pet hobby in general has gone the way of most of the world with disposable stuff and encourage you to buy every year or so.  Bentley did a great video explaining how this came about. 

This is why I don't have a heater for my tank.  I know many people won't keep the house at a temperature for some fish but most barbs are good in the mid to upper 60s up 

[Tony s]

On 9/15/2024 at 5:07 PM, Retrophyllum_minus said:

Are they worth it? I am definitely worried about the fail rate of the Eheim heaters I have. And all commercially available heaters.

I believe they are. Especially when running multiple heaters in one tank. That being said, i don’t have one. I absolutely should, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. But I don’t raise a temperature sensitive fish. And the ambient temperature of my house is 76 degrees inside. So even when my heaters fail, nbd. Winter is different, inside temperature drops to 72. But, again, I’m not trying to keep temperature sensitive discus. 

[Retrophyllum_minus]

On 9/15/2024 at 7:19 PM, Tony s said:

I believe they are. Especially when running multiple heaters in one tank. That being said, i don’t have one. I absolutely should, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. But I don’t raise a temperature sensitive fish. And the ambient temperature of my house is 76 degrees inside. So even when my heaters fail, nbd. Winter is different, inside temperature drops to 72. But, again, I’m not trying to keep temperature sensitive discus. 

Yeah ambient temperature in my house is a little funny. Living room (40 gallon tank and where my heat is in the winter) is warmer in summer and colder in winter (but not by much) 74 in summer give or take and 70 in winter roughly. The bedroom which has the AC unit, where the 20 long tank is is usually 67-70 in the summer and 74 ish in the winter. I have a 100w eheim in the 40 gallon and a slightly smaller one in the 20 (forget the wattage I'd have to check). 
 

either way, I'd love to have a little bit of a sense of security that my heaters won't break and cook my tanks.

[Tony s]

On 9/15/2024 at 7:51 PM, Retrophyllum_minus said:

I'd love to have a little bit of a sense of security that my heaters won't break and cook my tanks

That’s the beauty of the inkbird system, it takes control of the heater away from the heater controls. It uses a double sensor to activate the heater. Keeping the control from the mostly disposable heater. It’s more reliable because it’s only a sensor, it doesn’t have to contain the heating element too. Now, there are a lot of people who keep their room temperature around 78 to 80. Then no heater is required. But I’d just couldn’t handle that in the winter. 

[Retrophyllum_minus]

On 9/15/2024 at 8:53 PM, Tony s said:

That’s the beauty of the inkbird system, it takes control of the heater away from the heater controls.

Yeah I'm going to have to get this I think. I'll look into it. 

[Retrophyllum_minus]

On 9/15/2024 at 9:25 PM, Retrophyllum_minus said:

Yeah I'm going to have to get this I think. I'll look into it. 

The only issue I'm seeing is I don't know if my Wi-Fi will stand up to it – I have really bad Wi-Fi and no high-speed Internet, which is not available where I live. Internet service in general can be spotty.