heater

[codydemmel4]

I am looking to buy a heater for my 55 gallon tank.

I was wondering if anyone used any of these cheap ones from ebay before?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/500W-Adjust...-Tank-Water-/301576525660?hash=item46375c975c

 

[FishN00b83]

when it comes to heaters I would NOT play around. I would go with a eheim jager or something similar. Cheap heaters have cheap thermometers and when they break, they'll boil your tank. Good heaters are not expensive and I would invest in

 

[thepotoo]

If you have a controller on the heater, go for it. If the switch breaks, it'll be in the "on" position, but the controller should be able to cut power to it.

If you don't have a controller, you definitely need to spend the extra few bucks and get an Eheim or Cobolt heater.

 

[BrandonFlorida]

A guy on here named Bent uses a rancho controller as a backup plan which is a really good idea if you are in need of using heaters..

 

[g_langley]

+1 Eheim Jäger. Reliable.

 

[MondoBongo]

when it comes to heaters I would NOT play around. I would go with a eheim jager or something similar. Cheap heaters have cheap thermometers and when they break, they'll boil your tank. Good heaters are not expensive and I would invest in

+1 sage like wisdom.

i would also add that a controller for you heaters is a great idea. as previously mentioned by Brandon, the ranco controller is a cheap but effective piece of insurance.

i have mine hooked up to my apex, which is also very effective, but not nearly as cheap.

to add some perspective, i've been in the hobby for about 4 years, and have already had 3 (decent quality) heaters fail on me. so it happens more often than you might think. now all three of those heaters were the same brand, which i don't use anymore for obvious reasons, but the potential exists.

the rancos look to start around $50. that's cheap compared to how much fish and corals cost.

 

[FishN00b83]

I would not cheap out on a heater even with a controller, it's just not worth it. A 300W jager heater is what 30 bucks? What will you save in the end 15? A heater is one of the cheaper pieces of equipment required for a reef tank, why try to save money? In the OPs sig he says he has a reef tank with SPS. With all the money invested in a tank like that, why cheap out on a 30 dollar heater? Do yourself and your tank a favor and invest in a good heater.

 

[jd371]

What ever heater you get make sure you hook it up to a controller. I have a Ranco, but the sensor on it failed recently and ordered a replacement, so I had to get a back up quickly and ordered this from amazon. It's only been a week on it, so I can't comment on longevity of it. Works fine and is cheaper than the Ranco.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LWSPE78?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

 

[g_langley]

What ever heater you get make sure you hook it up to a controller.

I've not got a controller, but hopefully the chiller will tell me when something is wrong as it will be on *a lot* !