Heaters in the sump

Great idea if you have large enough over flows.

 

Very very true grasshopper.

 

nice thread I am pondering where to put my heater at the moment. I do have a corner overflow & a sump, hmmmm.

 

My sump wasn't hooked up to my display tank while I was cycling a new Protien skimmer. So the day before yesterday I moved my heater to my return section in the sump to heat the water to match the display tank when both were equal I opened the valves from my overflow and return and the next morning my temp had dropped 5 degrees frm 78-9 to about 73-4. Could it be the fact that it gets colder up here overnight and my lights being off for 14hrs along with the 500gph flow being too much for the 250w heater? Thanks for your input so far. I do have another heater I can put in the DT but was hoping to keep everything but powerheads out for esthetics.

 

I'm not too sure on the overflow placement. What happens if the return pump stops? Yes, the heater keeps heating but the overflow will drain and then the heater is out of water and could explode (and if it doesn't it still won't help heat the water any).

 

The will remain in the overflow once the back siphon stops. It will be contained there in the overflow and not the main display or sump. True enough the main will be affected since the overflow will have inadvertent contact with the display water but yet it is still under water.

 

I have my three heaters in the Sump. I have a 300, a 200 and a 50 (being replaced with a 500 next week). they are all controlled by my temp controller so they cycle on and off at the same time.

with the cold temps this past week, and the garage located sump, I had to cover it with a foam cover and some towels to eliminate the evaporation. otherwise it would fluctuate 2 degrees cause the heaters would not keep up. I have about 225 gallons total water volume.

 

My sump is a remote sump in my basement and I keep 4 300w heaters in there. If my return pump fails I'm screwed but the most likely cause of that happening is a power outage and I wouldn't have heat anyway.

The best place to put them is where the water level stays constant. In my return section, the water level can vary so I don't keep mine in there.

I've seen people put them in the overflow section of the DT which is a cool idea cause it keeps them hidden. I've never done it because mentally I had a block against heating water going down to my sump and fuge. The water has to be heated through the entire system so I think I'm going to move one or two of mine from the sump to the overflow. thanks for the idea again.