Titanium heaters for controllers, what brand?

[jcardona1]

Looking at heater controllers, got it narrowed down to Ranco units. As far as titanium heating elements go, are there certain brands to stay away from? whats good and whats bad? also, i hear a lot of stories of titanium heaters going out. was the controller the problem or was it the heater itself?

thx!

 

[jcardona1]

nobody?

 

[dmopar74]

i can tell you the ranco controllers are excellent, and deff not the problem. i have been told that the catalina heaters are good titaniums but still go out on a regular basis, even wit a ranco controller.

 

[Pharaoh]

Ranco controllers are top notch. As far as heaters, I bought blueline heaters. They work well. I think the big thing with titanium is to make sure you have plenty of watts. From what I understand, they burn out when you undersize the wattage. It cause them to work too hard and overheat.

http://www.aquadirect.com/store/product.php?productid=21405&cat=1035&page=1

 

[jcardona1]

Ranco controllers are top notch. As far as heaters, I bought blueline heaters. They work well. I think the big thing with titanium is to make sure you have plenty of watts. From what I understand, they burn out when you undersize the wattage. It cause them to work too hard and overheat.

http://www.aquadirect.com/store/product.php?productid=21405&cat=1035&page=1

thanks for the link man. so how much is enough? 3wpg? more?

 

[ado124]

Lol, J...I swear we're like doing the same thing at the same time...I've been looking for a controller as well and thought I'd splurge on a purty controller and got a Digital Aquatics reef keeper lite.

When buying heaters, its always best to have more than one right? Just in case one craps out.

 

[agassizi]

When buying heaters, its always best to have more than one right? Just in case one craps out.

that technique has saved me more than once lol.

 

[Pharaoh]

thanks for the link man. so how much is enough? 3wpg? more?

I'm running 1.5k on my 400 gal central setup and it is WAY too much. I will probably take the 500 watt of of it when I setup the 500. Now, keep in mind that all of my tanks are acrylic and have lids. My 125 does not have lids and it is glass. It stays at 79* even when I do the hour long auto water change. It never moves. 3wpg should probably do it. Bigger never hurts. LOL

 

[jcardona1]

I'm running 1.5k on my 400 gal central setup and it is WAY too much. I will probably take the 500 watt of of it when I setup the 500. Now, keep in mind that all of my tanks are acrylic and have lids. My 125 does not have lids and it is glass. It stays at 79* even when I do the hour long auto water change. It never moves. 3wpg should probably do it. Bigger never hurts. LOL

thanks for the help man. so im thinking of 1500w for a tank in the 400g range, a 1000w and a 500w. now i know rancos are good, but do you know what model i need to control these two? i cant really tell what i need by reading the descriptions!

 

[Pharaoh]

thanks for the help man. so im thinking of 1500w for a tank in the 400g range, a 1000w and a 500w. now i know rancos are good, but do you know what model i need to control these two? i cant really tell what i need by reading the descriptions!

I really think you would only need a 1K at the most. My systems stay really warm all the time, but 1.5k would hurt as a precaution and to keep the heaters fresh.

Go here: http://www.jehmco.com/html/temperature_controller.html

You want the ETCI-1R. Don't forget to add the extra plug in for $7. Saves you from having to use a power strip.