What heaters work

[JMorris271]

I just lost a tang due to a tank overheating. I have 2 good dependable heaters for my 120 but am not having any luck with finding one for my 10 gal Qt's.
Can you tell me what you have used that works for you?
Thanks a lot.

 

[kcinnick]

Eheim Jager.

I am running Finnex titanium heaters on my DT. I am 99% sure I am picking up eheims for my QT's.

 

[whosurcaddie]

A cheap controller like this can save you a lot of headaches. You can use any heater you want with it.

http://www.amazon.com/Catalina-RF-1000-Heat-Controller-Auarium/dp/B008OSXWLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454135304&sr=8-1&keywords=reef+temperature+controller

 

[mvallee_ma]

I have also had good luck with Eheim Jager's one the temp is dialed in it maintains very well.

 

[dendrite]

+1 eheim jager. Dial it in/ calibrate and stays steady. I have used them for years, and just bought a 100 W for a 29 gallon frag tank

 

[CStrickland]

+1 on the controllers.
I think of heaters as not if they will fail, but when.
Ranco controllers are very popular, and have a good reputation.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Another vote for Eheim Jager

 

[hobbzz]

Eheim

 

[RayAllen3422]

I had a bad experience with eheim but many people love them. For larger tanks the heaters are huge so make sure you look at the sizes. The 300 watt is almost 20 inches long.

 

[cloak]

I really like the Aquaclear/Hagen heaters myself. The one I'm currently using has got to be about 12+ years old now and hasn't skipped a beat. Just set it & forget it.
No matter which brand you go with though there's bound to be some bad apples. GL.

 

[H2OCulture]

Eheim Jager. Rock solid performance. Just check the length, but the smaller sizes should be more than enough.

 

[reefsnfish]

check out the brs video on heaters week 8. My aqueon pro has been rock solid for the past four years. I might switch it up though on the next tank upgrade.

 

[reefwiser]

I never ever use a heater without fail safes like the Ranco controller. It is a must fail safe it would have saved your fish. All my heater have are run with a Ranco attached. Even Qt ones. Better safe and sorry.

 

[cymen]

I picked up an Eheim Jager 50w for my QT and it can't hold the temperature like my Finnix or another brand (it doesn't come on at the right temp and goes up too high before shutting off). But I suspect I got a bad one. I'm testing it out on my water change batches to see if it's just an initial glitch. I've had Jager in the past and sure, they were fine but honestly, this is just like good cars -- they all are going to have a percentage bad. You can get a controller but those go bad too. You can add monitoring that pings you when temp goes off. My plan is to go for the last and add two smaller heaters so if one goes wild, I have a little more time to react.

 

[TimeConsumer]

Another vote for Jager + controller.

 

[JMorris271]

Lost a tang, card, and a clown because my heater clocked off at 86. I dread checking the tank in the am.

 

[JMorris271]

It is possible that the water was stratified as I had only 1 air stone to circulate the heated water. After moving the air stone to the very bottom of the tank the thermometer shot up 2 degrees in less than 1 min where there it settled I added another stone and had no other losses last night.
So yesterday I ordered 2 Eheims and 2 power heads for the TT and QTs.

 

[clsanchez77]

+1 on the Eheim Jager plus a backup controller of some kind.

 

[fishchef]

Another vote for Jager + controller.

Yes, a controller is a must. Heaters are cheap by comparison with the 1000's in corals and fish. Had a Ranco for years. Never a problem.