best heater. is there 1 more superior than another

[tbettis]

buying equipment and just wanted to know

 

[Spuds725]

I bought a couple of WON Titanium heaters after my last heater stuck on... I'm very happy with them... keep the temperature in a nice tight range-- I've only owned them for about 6 months.

I also have one of these to monitor the temp-- you can program it to alarm if the temp reaches a high or low level that you set.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=RB1313

I would get this if you are worried at all about the reliability of the heater-- also very easy to read and the alarm feature makes it nice to not have to constantly check your temp (I still check it daily)

 

[AllenFord_SC]

Only bad thing about the WON heaters is they are infamous for having faulty thermostats which can cause the heaters to stay stuck on. I prefer the ebo jager heaters but run them with a controller. I don't really think any heater can be considered fault free. I would always recommend a controller for any heater you use. Here is a link about the problems with WON heaters:

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_optRe...cription=WON+Pro-Heat+IC+Heater+250+W+11.75in

 

[Spuds725]

I like mine (so far) but obviously take the above into account... mine maintain my temperature between 80.0 to 80.5.

I run with a 200W and 300W heater-- one in the tank, one in the sump 150 gallons of water (approx).

I also bought a temp controller (as insurance) for my heaters... it is set to kill power to the heaters at 84 degrees if they stick on.... it costs me $120 but I think of it as insurance...

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=_A6

Alot of people will use 2 heaters-- in case one fails the temp will raise or lower slower... that in addition to the alarm I linked to a few posts back would provide you with adequate protection IMO.

 

[BlackOnyx]

I would use titanium ones too, and use 2 smaller one's in case one goes postal it wont have enough power to cook your tank

 

[NCreefwannabe]

I have the visotherm heater in my tank right now, Everything works great, and I like it because if for some reason you pull it out of water or the water gets to low they auto shut-off.

 

[hans1976]

Finnex Titanium......seperate controller with a seperate heat sensor (so your heat sensor is not sitting right on your heater, hense giving you a false reading).

 

[salt newbie01]

I think ebo jager are very dependable - I've been using a 200 watt on my 75 gallon for 15 years! :eek1:

knock on wood it has always maintained great temp and I have never had any problems with it.

just my .02
Patrick

 

[Dan Thrash]

the jager heaters aren't shatter resistant though....right? that would be one of my concerns too as i've heard plenty of horror stories about busted heaters.

 

[ledford1]

Titanium Finnex heater with the controller is a fine way to go IMO. I would suggest Finnex if you have a sump.

If no sump and you care about how the heater looks in the display tank, I like Ebo-Jagr. I'd also be willing to try out the Visi-therm Stealth heaters.

 

[hisc1ay]

I have an Ebo-Jager that's a few years old. It works pretty well, and when I had asked the same question back then, that's what people told me. I think titanium heaters were pretty new and still really expensive, but I see the price is better (or maybe it's just that I have gotten used to paying for stuff and am desensitized to high price tags. ). One thing to consider is that the Pro-Heat Titaniums have a +/- of 1 degree F, while the Jager heaters say theirs is +/- .5 degree.

FWIW, I am probably going with a couple Jager heaters for my 55.

-j

 

[gobygoby]

what about the visi-therm stealth heaters? they look pretty solid? anyone using these?

Goby

 

[Palancar]

I use 2 stealths with a controller. 1+ years later and so far so good.

 

[NCreefwannabe]

Yeah I have 1 as stated earlier, im about to get another one just incase, but works fine for me and a few friends.

 

[Wryknow]

The Ebo-Jager heaters are made of pyrex so they're really pretty shatter resistant. Pyrex is fairly tough stuff. I wouldn't drop them onto a tile floor or anything but I feel that they are safe enough from any aquarium inhabitants. Now if you're planning of keeping a large "smasher" mantis shrimp I would probably get the titanium

 

[Pandora]

EJ's all the way... the older green ones. They are practically indestructable, and don't have the thermostat sticking issue,otherwise I'd be all for titaniums.

 

[Lakeside518]

I recommend titanium heaters. Very accurate with the controller. Strong-unlikely to break. I switched a couple months back and is a great impovement. I had Visi-therms and there would be temp swings and over heating at times.. T-stat was unreliable after a short period of time.

 

[marilynrn711]

My won lasted 9 mos and then went crazy. Luckily I didnt loose anything and caught it immediately. I thought the same thing, everyone else has problems but me. 9 mos is no long to last.

I ordered the finnex titanium and the aqua-medic controller. The controller is on back order, so havent recd it yet.