Best heaters on the market?

[acer]

I use a Ranco on my bigger setup , but also think 2 small heaters is safer than one large heater.

 

[Tswifty]

Here's a nice article.

Aquarium Heaters: What you need to know!

As mentioned above... Redundancy, control, and quality are 3 things to look for with a heater.

A few things I have learned:

• Split the load... Several smaller units rather than 1 large unit is better in case one fails for any reason.
• Aftermarket controller... Don't trust you're heaters... Ranco, or some type of controller such as an Aquacontroller which uses a calibrated temp probe is a must IMO. Also, stay away from all-in-one units. I've been burned (no pun intended) by units which have built in thermostats. Also, lots of poor reviews on those types failing.
• Don't submerge even submersible heaters the entire way (article).
• I'm a fan of titanium heating elements... durable... reliable... and I personally use the Blue Line Biotherm heating elements. Never had an issue in 2 yrs of use. I did use the ViaAqua Titanium Heaters w/ built in controller/temp probe... both units failed within a year.

Good luck.

 

[sabalough]

I use any decent brand name heater. I use several 150-200w heaters each set a few degrees apart. I replace 1/2 of them each fall (no heater is ever more then 2 years old) I started this after I cooked my lion fish due to a failing high power high end heater. It has worked for me for the past 8-10 years. I have had a couple of heaters stick with out any losses.

 

[Murphs205]

thats great reading TJ ,,,, thanks for posting that

http://www.etcsupply.com/ranco-etc111000000-prewired-digital-temperature-controller-p-87.html

i have done a lot of reading the last 3 days on this stuff , and this one here seems the controller that is the perfect fit in our hobby ,,,, and for Brewmasters around the world !! it appears they are widely used in Beer industry. now how can you go wrong there ? saltwater tanks and brew ..gotta love that

 

[BrunstuckyJoe]

thats great reading TJ ,,,, thanks for posting that

http://www.etcsupply.com/ranco-etc111000000-prewired-digital-temperature-controller-p-87.html

i have done a lot of reading the last 3 days on this stuff , and this one here seems the controller that is the perfect fit in our hobby ,,,, and for Brewmasters around the world !! it appears they are widely used in Beer industry. now how can you go wrong there ? saltwater tanks and brew ..gotta love that

No argument here.

 

[Murphs205]

Could someone who runs a Ranco controller chime in here and fill us in on how your heater system runs with this and what components you are using with this controller ? ...ie what titanium heater element. I see a lot of them say " can only be used with their controller". There seems to be a ton of confusion out there regarding one of if not the most important pieces of our tanks equipment. help some of us heater challenged folks out.

 

[BrunstuckyJoe]

I'm interested also....looking to fool proof my system.