How big of heater do you think I will need?

[Tasher80]

I will have my 180 gallon tank plus around 50 below the tank. The basement can get around 60 degrees if I shut the heat off in the basement. How big should I go with the heaters? I know I should probably get two so if one dies.

[1spotpooalot]

People say 3watts / gallon but I think that this is very generic. It really depends on how much you will need to raise the temp in the tank. My tank (210 gal)is in the basement too where the temp can get down to 60 but, with all the pumps running on it the water temp rarley drops down too much. If I have no heat on my tank will stay at approx 66 degrees and since yours is a 180 assuming a few pumps are on your system, I would think you would be compareable to mine.
But to answer your question YES 2 heaters would be safe, but I have run my tank easily at 78 degrees with 1 350 wattWon pro heat Titanium heater. My LFS has them for 42 bucks with the dial in temp plug

at 250 gallons...to raise your temp by 10 degrees you will need 230 watts
At 250 gallons to raise your temp by 15 degrees...you will need 350 watts
20 degrees you will need 465 watts.....

I think 2 350 watt heaters will be fine if you hold a stedy temp without heaters at around63-65 degrees...JMHO

[Fly Guy]

I use 2 250's on my 225 and 1 on my 90. They didnt come on for more than 30 minutes a night all winter though......one would cover the 225 im sure for my circumstances anyway.

Titanium is my material of choice.


My chillers run a ton though

[know-it-all]

I have my sump in the basement and it has (3) 250w heaters in it
total volume is around 150 gal

[ReefNeck]

I would recommend 2 300W heaters. Brand/type is your choice but I personally prefer the "Stealth" heaters due to them being made of Plastic. No breaking even if you take it out of the water while plugged in.

If you go with the "Stealth" heaters, 2 X 250W will be fine for you.

[Reefyone]

You can use styrofoam to insulate the sump part of the tank - I had seen photo of the display tank, insulated from 3 sides, not too bad and functional.

For 90g tank plus 20g sump/fuge I'm using 2x250W Stealth heaters. Overkill, but - because if one will not work (or power outlet CGFI trips somehow, phey are plugged in the different lines), the second will do the job for a some time.