Recomendations for heaters.

Montezuma

New member
So I have had trouble with a few heaters in the past. Im wondering what heaters people recommend. I would like to try the ones that arent glass, but its not a must.

Thanks.
 
marineland stealth are real good and reliable heaters. hydor has a "heatpump" thing out. its a powerhead that passes water through a heater. also renaxp heaters are good. they pass water through the inside of the heater and the thermostat is good on them.
also the fluval has a new heater out. it has a lcd display and a temp probe that should be placed away from the heater. it seems to give the most "even" heat. i would try the new fluval ones. but u can go wrong with a stealth.
 
IMO a great heater is a titanium one with a seperate controller.

Whatever you do, I wouldn't suggest buying one of those Visitherm Stealth heaters that many rave about. I know three people locally who had them start on fire and lost all livestock. HTH, GL!
 
+1 for not a fan of the Visitherm Stealth's. I had one split and one just stopped working for no apparent reason. HTH!
 
Click my red house... there is an article about heaters that should tell you everything you need to know. In a nutshell, they are ALL junk and need to be used in conjuction with a reliable commercial grade controller (such as a Ranco)
 
So, if someone where to get one of these ranco controllers, which one would you need for a 100g (75g DT/30g Sump)system, and what heating elements would you use? Can I use the one controller with several elements?
 
I also dislike the Stealths. Two of them have leaked electricity on me, confirmed with multimeter after isolating them both. They just scare me. Go for the Jaeger.
 
Originally posted by pmrossetti
They're all terrible. Must have a Ranco and then a titanium will be best of the lot.

I agree that a titanium heater with either a Ranco or a DC8 hooked up to an aquarium controller as a backup is the best choice.

I also use two smaller heaters rather than one large one for redundancy in case one fails.

Joyce
 
Very Confused

Very Confused

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15577281#post15577281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Macimage
I agree that a titanium heater with either a Ranco or a DC8 hooked up to an aquarium controller as a backup is the best choice.

I also use two smaller heaters rather than one large one for redundancy in case one fails.

Joyce

Forgive my ignorance, but the only experience I have with aquarium heaters is the submersible glass type I had in my freshwater setups. I haven't used any controllers before. Am I understanding it all in thinking that you just need a controller:

Ranco ETC-111100-000 Digital Temperature Controller:0-10V Output
Single Stage Digital Temperature Controller. -30° to 220°F, 120/240VAC. 0-10V DC Output.

And a heater:

2010-300W JEBO Aquarium Heater 300W

Can you plug more than one heater into the controller?
 
Yes, that is the Ranco single stage controller. Be sure to purchase the prewired one:

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

You may also want to purchase the Dual stage Ranco shown here, as it will also control your chiller:

http://www.rancoetc.com/ranco-etc211000000-stage-prewired-temperature-controller-p-110.html

Even if you don't need the second stage for a chiller now, upgrading is pretty common in this hobby and it can help cut the expense of upgrading if you can use your existing equipment.

I prefer titanium heaters such as this one, as they will not break in your aquarium or if you pull it out by accident:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=20161

Yes, you can plug two heaters into the controller plug. You just have to use any common wall adapter plug that will turn one outlet into two.

Joyce
 
I got a couple of those titanium heaters, I was also going to get the stealth heater but they have really bad rep so I better stay away from them.
 
All heaters have a bad rap. The only ones that get pretty consistent good reviews are the Eheim-Jager. I've used them and they are good heaters. I would recommend them above any that I have used.

I just replaced a pair of Finnex 300W Titanium heaters. They failed a couple of times and it was time to try something else. They always did fail off which is better than most which fail on.

I control the heaters with an AC3. The internal thermostat on the heaters are set for a couple of degrees higher than the controller.

The Eheim-Jager heaters were too physically big for my application. Jeremy of Premium Aquatics recommended that I try the Hydor Theo heaters. He said that they have been having good luck with them. I got a pair of 300W versions. They are advertised as shatterproof heaters. I cant report on them yet since this time of year my system maintains 78 - 79 degrees with no heating (or cooling). They wont start to kick in till the weather gets cooler.
 
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