Heater Location & Size

[Dannzig]

I have a 30g sump for my 90g tank. I was thinking about putting a heater or 2 in the return section of the sump. Should I take into account the total volume of my setup for the heater size, or just the sump. My thoughts were to go with 2 200w heaters in the return area of the sump. Any suggestions? :question:

 

[bjohanson1234]

You would go for the total gallon size. The water is circulating through out. I would also suggest two small heaters that way if one gets stuck on, it wont heat your tank as fast. Giving you more time to catch the disaster.

I would also put them in the area of the sump that the water from the main DT is coming into. That section maintains a constant level. Whereas the return section changes due to evaporation. You run the risk of the water level going down lower than the heater in that secton. Which would probably destroy the heater.

 

[Lizardgi]

I highly second two smaller heaters. I have two. When I went on vacation, I had them on separate outlet circuits. One of them had tripped off, but one stayed on, keepin the tank warm enough to keep things alive until my brother caught the issue. Had it only been one heater, it could have been much worse!