# Heaters



## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

I need to get a couple of new heaters .I had one stop working in my wife's tank so .I need to replace that and get a spare. I'm wondering what people are using and why they are using them. I have only used the ebo jager heaters with all my tank. but find they need to be calibrated are a while and I'm starting to find that annoying. So I would like some feed back on what people are using would be great.. Thanks


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

I hear the smart heaters are pretty good. Myself, I have Marineland Visotherm heaters on mine they work well from my experience and a little cheaper priced. Plus they have a lifetime warranty as opposed to Ebo-Jager's 1 year


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

any one using Titanium Heaters?


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## Pamela (Apr 21, 2010)

I really like the Fluval digital heaters. I've been using one for about a year & a half and haven't had any problems with it.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Not sure about the new Ebo-Jagor yet. Bought two for my SW set up 12 years ago. Crack one, the other one is still running as new.

I heard they don't die.


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## taureandragon76 (Apr 21, 2010)

The one ebo I have is at least 10-15 years old I think. It's green.


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## seanyuki (Apr 22, 2010)

Hi Dave......too bad Jager don't make the green ones any more....Ebo Jager can be calibrated and worth getting.....I have both Ebo & Rena Smart heaters.


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

i use a marineland stealth heater...so far so good...


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i second the fluval digital heaters theyre awesome, really easy to see whats going on, they arent an eyesore, and they have two thermometers for less screw ups. i use em in both my tanks and i think aquaman has like 6 of em in his house lol.

o and they have a 5 year warranty, longest i could find at the store when i was looking after my other heater broke down


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

I'm using titanium heaters but you will need a heater controller as most of the titanium heaters have no controls/thermostat.



bonsai dave said:


> any one using Titanium Heaters?


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## Ra's al Ghul (Apr 28, 2010)

I like the stealth heaters, I only use them know these things are bullet proof. They also blend in to a black backround.


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

hydor external heater or the rena smart heaters are my choices.


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## H . (Apr 23, 2010)

bonsai dave said:


> any one using Titanium Heaters?


with controller or without controller?

I had bad experience with those controllers brought from States. specially on big Wattage system ( 500w - 1000w ).

For fairly small discus tank, eheim will be a great choice because their heaters are safety at least! I've been using eheim heaters for lots of discus tanks more than 15 years, never have any problem.


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## teija (Sep 30, 2010)

I've managed to destroy too many so now I just use Stealth heaters. They are blonde-proof!


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## mdwflyer (Jan 11, 2011)

Bump,

Anybody try ViaAqua?
http://www.bigalsonline.ca/Fish_Temperature-Control_Heaters_Titanium-Heaters_9481217_102.html?tc=fish

I like the idea of having the temp sensor separate.


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## hgi (Jun 13, 2010)

What I don't understand is how anyone can see any other heater better than the Fluval E series......


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## ninez (Apr 21, 2010)

hgi said:


> What I don't understand is how anyone can see any other heater better than the Fluval E series......


+1 on the fluval E
even tho it heats up tanks slowly but it's safe (slowly increase temperature is better for fish)


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

No more stealth pro for me. Inline heating for me.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

I like my fluval E's as well. I did wish there was a way to shut off the lcd backlight tho. Neat at first, then a little distracting after. It does serve a purpose tho to let you know if there's an issue with the temperature. 

Otherwise, titanium heaters with ranco controller.


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## hillmar (Sep 25, 2010)

Have any of you guys ever try setting the temp to 86 on the fluval E heaters? I've got a new one that won't go higher then 82 no matter what how high I set it. Just be flashing Blue for hours on end.


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## seanyuki (Apr 22, 2010)

Just curious the Fluval E series heaters.....what is the max/highest temperature setting for it?


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

I use ebo jager I was thinking of a fluval E series for my discus tank but I don't like that it only can do 82df.


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## Maxxxboost (Jun 29, 2010)

Wow, heaters are so expensive 

I just exchanged my Stealth pro for a Ebo jager Eheim one but it is too long for my tank so i plan to go refund it.

The ones i want are like $70 or so expensive
I guess it's a small price to pay to prevent explosions 

I'm torn between

Rena Smart heater
Hydor Inline heater
Fluval E
Or Titanium heater

Any input? my tank is 55 Gallons and i plan to get a 200W heater


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

hydor inline gets my vote. If it explodes it doesn't explode in your tank.

Also less clutter in the tank and easy to adjust the temp if you ever need to. It also has TRUE automatic shut off and you don't need to worry about it during water changes.


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## mdwflyer (Jan 11, 2011)

Why did I not do more research on heaters in the first place.... I'm running a 135g 72X18 african tank with a 30g sump. The stealth 250's are going to petsmart for credit as soon as I can find a replacement.

I've been reading reviews like crazy, but not finding most of them that helpful. Some of the better ones "This heater is really tough, my son plays lightsaber with it and it still works great!", or "I dropped the temp controller in my tank and it shorted out" Very helpful...

With 135 gallons of water in the kitchen/family room I am really not interested in having anything blow up/out whatever. Bi-metallic strip inside of a glass tube, while it worked reasonably well for a long time, mainly because there wasn't anything else. I like the idea of having the temp sensor solid state, and or remote from the heater.

Having said that, I'm considering:
Fluval E
ViaAqua Titanium
JBJ True Temp Titanium

Also like the idea of a separate temp controller and even thinking about building up a PID Temp controller.

Thoughts?


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## davej (Apr 28, 2010)

> Also like the idea of a separate temp controller and even thinking about building up a PID Temp controller.


Check out the Digital aquatics controller from JL aquatics.
Digital Aquatics Reefkeeper Lite Aquarium Controller (L1)
They keep your temp rock steady, I couldn't be happier with mine. They also can control your lights and pumps.


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## Maxxxboost (Jun 29, 2010)

I just picked up a Fluval E series 300W heater.

It is small compared to the ebo jagar that i have.
Little bit more expensive but i think it will be worth the money since it has a 5 year warranty.


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

hgi said:


> What I don't understand is how anyone can see any other heater better than the Fluval E series......


What i don't get is why would you pay more to get the fluval E series when the ehiem heaters are just as good or better and have been around longer than the fluval's. I have had 2 ebo jager heaters last over 5 years before they kicked the bucket. I know a few people who have a hard time getting the fluval heaters above 82.f. Right now on my 3 tanks I using eheim heaters and a 300 watt jbj titanium heater with a controller and it's working great.


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## hgi (Jun 13, 2010)

^^

What I don't quite understand is why people spend $1000's on their tank, stand, filters, lights, fish, food, maybe even plants and c02 set ups then cheap out on a heaters.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Here's my theory. The stealth has problem because the unbreakable housing will not break.

Leak --> steam --> pressure --> boom !

I am thinking of Titanium heater as well. If they ever leak, may be the titanium will not explode like a plastic tube. What if the end caps blow out like a bullet under pressure ?

Would I rather have a cracked glass tube or should I be worried about a timed bomb - literally?

I think CSA should put that in their testing procedure.


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## hi-revs (Nov 3, 2010)

would a heater actually "blow up"?

sorry for being a noob, but ive never really thought of this before.
say, theres cracks along the housing of the heater, would it eventually shatter? or literally "blow up"? and dare i ask, what happens when it actually "blows up"?


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

hi-revs said:


> would a heater actually "blow up"?
> 
> sorry for being a noob, but ive never really thought of this before.
> say, theres cracks along the housing of the heater, would it eventually shatter? or literally "blow up"? and dare i ask, what happens when it actually "blows up"?


yeah the stealth pro i had blew up


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

it blew the top right off and put a crack in the side of it


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## hi-revs (Nov 3, 2010)

jay_leask said:


> it blew the top right off and put a crack in the side of it


is it only the stealth heaters that blow up, or do all heaters tend to do this?


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

as far as i know just the stealth actually blow up, i thought i had a thread on here with pics that show the crack.


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## Grete_J (Oct 5, 2010)

I only skimmed through parts of this, but would like to hear more feedback on the fluval heaters if possible. Likewise, I'm wondering if anyone aside from myself has had issues with their Ebo's?


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i really like the Fluval E series heaters because its so easy to see if somethings up in the tank with that light up digital display (red if too hot, blue if too cold, flashing if its out by more than 5 degrees, green if its good, LF if it needs more flow going over it), however ive heard people that like to keep their tank at higher temps like 86F complain about them and recommend taking the guard off, i have no complaints but i keep my tanks at 80


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## kelownaguy (Jan 1, 2011)

The cheapest Chinese heaters I can find on ebay.
250 watts for $7 shipped to your door.
Every bit as good as the "name" brands.

I`ve had ebo jagers stick on.

Used to like the thermal compacts-they leak eventually.


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## deepRED (May 22, 2010)

There was a massive recall on the Stealth heaters. The problems should be fixed now, but personally I don't think their quality control is really that great. Sure you may have one that works fine, but a ton of people have had issues with these heaters. Anyways this has already been discussed elsewhere on this forum and many others.

In my experience, Ebo-jager heaters are the best for reliability. I have 5 of them, ranging from under a year to over 10 years old, all of them still working. The two I use in my saltwater mixing bins are probably closer to 13-14 years old, and still work perfectly. I'm sure some people have had their issues with these as well, but really, no product is perfect. Overall I think they are very good. 
The one downside for me is that they are quite long. The 300W barely fits into a 24" tank vertically.

The hydor inlines are good for tanks under 100 gallons. Downside is the price, and if you're running it with your canister filter, it may slow the flow down a bit and make priming a little more work( especially if you have to run a couple in series). I ran one on a 150 gallon discus tank, and needed to add a secondary heater to keep up.

I'm using a couple of these heaters currently:

Aqua Heat Titanium Heater (300W)

They seem fairly accurate and have worked perfectly so far, but I can't say how reliable they are as it's only been a couple months. 
They are distributed by sunlight supply, which generally sources out pretty solid products. 
You can find all types of titanium heaters online such as on ebay ( some are cheaper), but dealing with a local company is huge when it comes to warranty protection and customer satisfaction.

To me, reliability is key in such a crucial piece of equipment. When you think of it, it's actually a relatively small cost to buy a good heater when compared to how important a role it plays in our systems. As someone who has thousands of dollars in livestock, spending the extra cash on a good heater is a no brainer.


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## Grete_J (Oct 5, 2010)

I've returned my Stealth Bombers due to the recall, went and bought some Ebo Jagers and now get to go back to King Ed in hopes that they'll return/exchange them. Since I've had 2 faulty Ebo's, I'm looking for the better, more reliable alternative. If that means spending the extra $$ so my discus don't freeze or fry to death, so be it. I've been hearing mixed reviews on ti heaters though. It would seem as though the E series Fluval's are probably the way to go (?)


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## deepRED (May 22, 2010)

Grete_J said:


> I've returned my Stealth Bombers due to the recall, went and bought some Ebo Jagers and now get to go back to King Ed in hopes that they'll return/exchange them. Since I've had 2 faulty Ebo's, I'm looking for the better, more reliable alternative. If that means spending the extra $$ so my discus don't freeze or fry to death, so be it. I've been hearing mixed reviews on ti heaters though. It would seem as though the E series Fluval's are probably the way to go (?)


I've never used the fluvals, but have heard good things. Do some searching on some the bigger US forums. There's usually never a shortage of opinions there. 

The titanium heater I linked is being used on a 100 gallon discus tank. Temperature is rock steady, so far so good. 
Long term, I guess we'll find out.


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## mdwflyer (Jan 11, 2011)

Via Aqua 250w Titanium. Not because it's titanium, but because it's not controlled by a bi-metalic strip. Temp sensor is separate from the heater.


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## kelownaguy (Jan 1, 2011)

Also a Hydor Hydrokable with a waterbed heater thermostat.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

So far I have had good luck with the Aqua Heat Titanium Heater (200W) and they are fairly inexpensive in relation to other good heaters.

Respectfully,

Stuart


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## dean9922 (Apr 21, 2010)

I to am a firm believer of using the best heater to protect our fish. I bought the fluval heater also and could not get the temp over 82 degrees in my 76 gallon. I am now running the eheims in all my tanks and have had no problems other then having to calibrate them when they were first set up. If they should drop off, I would certainly look at the titanium's they sell at Jehmco, as I do like the controller on the outside of the tank......JMO


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