heater thread: best, worst and otherwise

Gary Majchrzak

Gary Majchrzak

Team RC
I haven't purchased an aquarium heater in years. I can't even remember what brand I have and they're encrusted with calcium deposits so I can't see 'em. Heaters are constantly being mentioned as a source of problems here on RC. I want to purchase reliable replacements and avoid the lemons.
I'm pretty sure there's at least one brand on recall (?)
In any event... let's hear it: what are the best and worst heaters?
In my particular application heaters are on a (ACjr) controller and placed horizontally at the lowest point in my sump.
What units should I be considering? What to avoid?
 
The Stealth was recalled and would indeed be what I would consider the "worst."

I love my Fluval E Heaters.
 
Like Justin said, the Marineland stealth heaters were recalled. I had one, and it sucked, plain and simple. I don't know why I bought it to begin with, since I use eheim jager heaters in all my other tanks.

Needless to say, there's only eheim jager heaters in my tanks now. They're a bit long, but they work amazingly well. They're durable (the one in the clownfish tank is actually the old style model and has been in use for over 5 years straight with no issues), stong (have smacked rocks against the one in my 55 gallon tank accidently during re-aquascaping, and there was no damage and it still works well), and you can re-calibrate them (though the knob on top is a bit tough to pull out in order to do so....but it can be done). They're completely submersible, and when reading reviews, people have placed them in sumps, placed them horizontally, and run them off a controller with no issues. Mine are located in the freshwater tanks, in the clownfish tank, and in the sump on my 10 gallon saltwater tank. Plus, they're on sale right now at Dr. Fosters and Smith! :celeb1:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23726

The only thing I can't personally comment on is running them on a controller since I don't have one (yet, because they're expensive and I'm a poor student), but as I said, some of the reviews on different sites (thereeftank, , marinedepot, etc) state that they can be used with a controller with no issues.

My vote: eheim jager heaters :beer:
 
I guess one could draw many comparisons between you and my Ebos. Been around forever. Keep on truckin thru thick and thin. Covered in mineral deposits and salt water......
 
+1 on the Ebo Jägers. On my 180 gallon I use two 250 watters on a Ranco temperature controller. My tank temperature fluctuates by 1 degree because that's what the temperature controller allows.
 
The Ebo Jagers have been good to me. I have found that they are not always well calibrated. They are pretty easy to calibrate, though depending on model the little calibration popup can be hard to move. Continued use of controller is a good idea.

read up on finnex a while back and there were a lot of issues

Be Careful of how many heaters you plug into a port - I'm not what you have - neptunes page says 8 Amps per port which is 690 Watts. I generally try to to max things out :)


calibrate:
get heater
set to desired temp
drop in bucket with a small powerhead
wait until heater turns off
check temp, adjust.
 
I've had great luck with the Aqueon Pro. My first Aqueon heater was glass, but they're non-breakable now. I use two of them in my sump, controlled by the RKL and they're very steady and reliable. I bought them both on eBay at a good price.
 
Jagers are great except with my experience I heat my 125 with one and it got condensation inside the tube. Bought it from big al's and they returned it for me great customer service but this 2nd one I have now has condensation in it again. Just bad luck I suppose. I got it over the winter so maybe shipping it when it was so cold out caused it to form.
 
i agree brand is important, i also leaning towards using multiple lower wattage units instead of one high watt unit.

i purchased 3 of these Finnex HPS 300W heaters, 2 of the 3 failed within month before and after the warrenty. i like these heaters, as they are easy to use, have a large readout, and has a remote temp sensor, so i had to open it up to see why it failed.

the image below shows this unit failed due to the one lead from the thermo switch that has been crimped to the heating element to burn up over time. i am thinking "over time" becuase it was working all along. at 300W, these leads seem not hold up for long, maybe at 200W they will last longer, at 100W probably forever?



image.aspx
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Very interesting Lang!

I've had two 200w titanium Finnex heaters. No complaints there, other than 1 failing after the controller got wet. I had 2 Fluvals and one burst in my tank recently. I'm going to switch to the jagers.
 
No, it wasn't that one. oddly enough, it was one that I got from pet smart when I traded in my visitherm stealths that were recalled.
 
I'm a big Eheim Jager fan. I have one in my 6 gallon Salt, 20L Planted, 65 Goldfish system! I use to like the titaniums until 2 exploded on me.
 
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