[Doogy262]

I am in the process of setting up an 85 gal. Discus tank and am about to choose the heater.because I live in Mich. where it is a balmy 11 degrees and I like a cool house[63-65] I want to get two 200 watt heaters and the controller for safety.Any input on the heater choice[thinking jager] watts and can the controller be plugged into a power strip and both heaters run off of one controller or does that make me sound like I'm 11 yrs. old lol

 

[Freemananana]

Well! The heater controller is rated at 300w, so running 2 200w heaters (essentially in parallel) would be 400w. You'd be exceeding the posted limit, defeating the purpose in my opinion.

 

[PlantedRich]

Exceeding the specs would be likely to toast some part of the controller. There may be a fuse but then there might not. The rest of the plan sounds okay as far as using one controller to power two heaters but the controller has to be rated higher. The little cheap Chinese version is often rated for 10 amp so you can get around 1200 watts through them safely. The power strip also needs to be rated for more than the total current draw. As a general rule the power strip is likely to be fine but does need a look to be sure. The elcheapo strips I have are rated 15 Amp or 1875 watts so I might assume most would be okay for two heaters.

 

[WaterLife]

For heaters, Aqueon Pro heaters seem to be the best out right now. Look up reviews on Eheim Jagers as there are quite a lot of negative reports on their recent heaters.

There is this heater controller Amazon.com : Finnex Temperature Controller Digital Heater : Aquarium Heaters : Pet Supplies
That's the digital one, it can handle up to 800W (combined wattage among heaters). There is a analong version of this controller as well for a bit cheaper. Check around and look on eBay for them ("Finnex heater controller analog/digital").

After having recently looked into heater options and heater controllers/thermostats as a safety measure, I decided to go with a DIY heater controller. Check out PlantedRich's recent thread on how to do one. Definitely worth getting a good set up to protect what you have put money in (your tank).

 

[Doogy262]

Thanks for the replies.The HC-0810M Finnex controller suggested by waterlife lookd perfect and according to reviews many use two heaters in one tank set at the same temp.so if no one sees a problem with this idea i am going to go for it.

 

[Freemananana]

Thanks for the replies.The HC-0810M Finnex controller suggested by waterlife lookd perfect and according to reviews many use two heaters in one tank set at the same temp.so if no one sees a problem with this idea i am going to go for it.

Looked good to me. I say go for it.

 

[Doogy262]

Went for it,found two Aqueon Pro heaters on a place called Jet for just t33.00 with a first time buyer discount of 15%and the controller on Amazon.Thanks