Just a thought on heaters: my systems run from 250 gallons (fish tank, clarifier, and biofilter) to 350 gallons. I use a 1000 watt aquarium heater and thermostat I get off of Ebay or Amazon and they work just fine. So far I've had several for at least three years. Even if they burn out soon I still got a goid bang for my buck IMHO.
One of teachers at a school I supply a system to bought a much more expensive heater from aquatic ecosystems and it was a piece of junk. Was wired by a licensed electrician and stopped working in a short amount of time. No clue what happened but I dropped in an aquarium heater and it just sits there unplugged.
And 1000 watts is a lot of watts, but mine seem to be off much of the time once the temperature reaches a certain level. My thinking is the higher wattage uses less juice vs. a smaller unit that is continuously running. I could be wrong on that though.
Oops looks like they went up just a little since I last bought one.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1000-Watt-Titani...=item35e56b97bf
