What's the Best Heater For...

[GlockFu]

What's the best heater if you plan to change it +/- 10 degrees fairly often?

I know people are big on the Stealths and the Ebo's. I've tried both and they work pretty good on the tanks where I don't need to change the temperature. BUT I have a breeding tank where I need to change the temperature +/- 10 degrees every month. I've noticed that these heaters dont like this at all. The thermostat on them gets broken really fast, after about 3-4 cycles or so and then to heat the tank to 82 I have to set it at 90 or something ridiculous like that.

I was thinking about getting an external thermostat... would that do better to solve the problem?

[Marc van Arc]

You could try Jäger/Eheim, imo the best heaters one can find.
However, I have no experience with the situation that you are going to use it for.
I take it they are available in the USA. Not really cheap, but very much value for money.

[zanderville]

I use external controllers on several tanks using Ebo Jag,Stealth, and Won stainless and find this to be very efficient.It makes temp changing easy on the breeder tanks

[apistomaster]

I use a low tech approach to this. I just unplug the heater for cool spell simulation then plug it back in.
I use Stealth heaters throughout but I am finding that over 10% are failing within 3 years.
I would switch brands but comparable priced heaters have similar failure rates.
Aquarium heaters are the most poorly engineered essential pieces of equipment sold for our hobby.
I have a box full of defective heaters that need to be recycled.
Many of the Stealth brand heaters have failed such that they heat but only to about 75*F. An odd failure mode.
Most other brands fail with the contacts welding so they never turn off.

[Birger]

I use Stealth heaters throughout but I am finding that over 10% are failing within 3 years.

I have been using ebo jags (with no trouble)but was going to switch to the stealth because of the supposedly unbreakable shell I only have two which are working fine for a year so far.

Many of the Stealth brand heaters have failed such that they heat but only to about 75*F. An odd failure mode

I think I would prefer this to the overheating problem.

Birger

[PlecoCrazy]

Hagen just came out with these. I saw them in an add in AFM.

http://www.hagen.com/uk/aquatic/addinfo ... series.cfm

Looks like the perfect heater but I have no experiences with them. It has me tempted though. That lever looks a lot easier to turn than the one on the stealths. Plus it has alarms to let you know when the temperature isn't in the range you have it set for. They are available through pet warehouse.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=19658

If you try one out let us know!

[apistomaster]

Those Hagen Fluval E heater do look interesting and have some unique and useful features.
It would cost me about US $750 to convert.
Jaeger heaters are the brand I trust most of those I have used but again, the expense is a deal breaker or me. (Discus like to spawn on the green tubes.)

Although I mentioned that many of the Stealth heaters have failed by only holding temps in the mid 70'*F almost as many have failed in the more traditional "stuck on" mode. I continue to use them because they are difficult to break through rough handling and they are pretty reasonably priced when they are on sale at one of the big on-line fish supplies dealers. I keep a few new ones on hand to allow prompt replacement. I wait for the sales.

I notice that aquarium equipment prices have taken quite jump recently. So many filters and heaters are such junk that I find it difficult to justify these price increases.

[TwoTankAmin]

I have Ebos, Stealth, Visis, Hydor inlines, and most recently Guardians by penn plax.

I have never been a big fan of penn plax but about 18 months ago I needed some cheap heaters for temporary use and didnt want to spend a lot. I was shopping online at kensfish and ran across the heater on his site.

They are large, do not have a graduated temp scale- so you have to adjust manually using a thermometer. But their desription on his site was most intriguing and they were pretty cheap. So I got one. I recently got numbers 4 and 5. One for an L-134 tank and the other for a growout tank for my keeper zebras. I also had swapped out an Ebo for a Guardian on a discus tank. They all seem to hold telps pretty stable thus far.

The Guardian heater is fully submersible and indestructible. The Guardian was designed to successfully pass 12 rigorous safety tests. This is a very safe choice for your fish. Listed below are the 12 reasons why.

1. Dropped 3 times from a height of 3 feet onto a hardwood sureface - No unsafe results.
2. Line Cord - Withstands 35 ponds of pulling force without components disassembling.
3. Line Cord - Heavy duty exceeds rated heater voltage & waterproof.
4. Thermal Protector - Resettable switch cuts off power if temperature exceeds 185 degrees out of water.
5. Double Insulated - No current leakage.
6. Was submersed in water, after reaching maximum heat - With no dielectric or physical damage.
7. Plastic parts flammability test - Won't Support combustion.
8. Metals and connectors mechanical - not soldered.
9. No glowing or flaming at highest temperature with heater out of water.
10. Dielectric tests - 2,500 volts with no insulation breakdown.
11 Heat aging - All elastometric seal materials heated to 212 degrees for 70 hours - No problem of hardness or flexibility.
12. Production line testing - Every heater is tested in production.

So far they have worked great. I dont know if they would work for your applications, but they run $13-$15 and go from 50 watt to 250 watt.

[Fishguy2727]

Apparently the Stealths work much better if you reset them occasionally. Simply turn them all the way up and then back down to the desired temperature. This helps them stay accurate and last longer.

I think in many cases simply unplugging the heater is a good option. Unless your rooms are really cold a heater won't be working much at 10 under normal temp anyways.

[AndrewC]

I use Stealth heaters throughout but I am finding that over 10% are failing within 3 years.

I have been using ebo jags (with no trouble)but was going to switch to the stealth because of the supposedly unbreakable shell I only have two which are working fine for a year so far.

Many of the Stealth brand heaters have failed such that they heat but only to about 75*F. An odd failure mode

I think I would prefer this to the overheating problem.

Birger

I am thinking on renewing the heaters in my fish hut and have been reading different threads on heaters.
Jager dos seem to be the better rated heater in the shops, but they also seem to have problems at times.

I have been thinking of renewing my heaters every two to three years, but from what i read and i have found, even new heaters can act up.
So basically a heater jamming on and cooking a tank is a con of keeping fish, something you can only cross your fingers and hope dosn't happen ?

[andywoolloo]

ve recently had two visi therm stealths malfuction. I am now not feelnig safe with them and prior recomended them to everyone. but i guess every heater can fail. and mine failed up wards on temp.

[PlecoCrazy]

While it requires some wiring I've gotten a couple of these and they work well. They even show when they are heating. If you had a chiller you could even have it run both but I have no need for that.

Ebay advert for Mini Digital Temperature Controller

[Mod Edit: Hide actual url that is about 2 miles long, avoiding to have to scroll sideways to see the rest of the first sentence --Mats]

[nvcichlids]

I love reading about the new items available. I have always had problems with heating tanks... I now have 0 heated tanks in my fish room (all stay right at room temp of 78) I do think when it does get colder outside though I may have to invest into some for the cooler months.

Plecocrazy - That item I had been debating on for a while, my brother in law is an electrician and he was talking about wiring one up on their 125 gallon aquarium soon.. I figured I would wait and see before jumping aboard!