aquatic mouse

I'm saving for a 180 gallon tank and trying to add up the cost. I've read I need 5 watts per gallon. That would be 900 watts! It seems very high to me. So I'll need 3 300 watt heaters? Is that right?

mathas

That sounds about right to me.

Jehmco offers 500W and 1000W titanium heaters, and they have inline plumbing modules if you plan to use a canister filter (or filters). I plan to upgrade to an inline 500W for my 90g in the hopefully-not-too-distant future.

http://jehmco.com/html/heaters.html

aquatic mouse

I'm not going to have a canister filter, I'll be using a wet/dry filter. Will those titanium heaters still work? Can I put a heater right in the wet/dry filter? I'd rather not have it be seen in the tank. I've only used Visi-therm, Cascade, & Stealth heaters. Stealth are all I use now, as they've been dependable. Are Jehmco dependable? This will be a FOWLR tank.

mathas

I'm not experienced enough with wet/dry filters to feel comfortable answering that question. Hopefully someone who is will see this thread.

I don't know that Jehmco actually makes the heaters, I believe they just sell them. As a company, Jehmco is great... I've sent product questions at 6:00am on a Monday and had John respond within an hour. I'm sure if you called or emailed, he could answer that with more certainty.

Ken's Fish also has higher-wattage heaters at reasonable prices, if you don't need Jehmco's inline modules.

Tony G.

If it is a saltwater tank and if you're using a sump you could put the heaters in the sump

aquatic mouse

Yep it'll be a saltwater tank. That's excellent news (that I can put it in the sump). The less visible equipment in the tank the better.

I do think that 1000 watt Titanium Heater w/ ETCI Controller on http://jehmco.com/html/heaters.html looks like it'll be perfect. Has anyone used heaters with controllers before? I haven't. Are they difficult or self explanatory?

mathas

I haven't used one with an ETCI controller (yet!), but I have used heaters with controllers, and they're quite self-explanatory.

omnitheforsaken

I can't help you with your situation but I wanted to say congrats on the 180 gallon. I couldn't imagine trying to handle a tank that size.

aquatic mouse

Well, I don't have it yet. Wish me luck. I need it for Steve, my stars & stripes puffer. I'm looking forward to the challenge of a 180.