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Best Heater for the best price?

5K views 45 replies 16 participants last post by  love-my-fish 
#1 ·
I think my old heater broke and Im now looking to replace it.

Any advice at whats a good brand/model and whats a good price?

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Price is going to depend on the size heater you need in addition to the brand. I personally like the Eheim "Ebo" Jager heaters and the Rena Smartheaters. Steer clear of Penn Plax heaters.
 
#3 ·
From soup to nuts on the heater market. I don't think anybody has found the answer at a price that most of us think right. I've decided to pay more upfront and hope it will average out to be cheaper in the long run. Things I find go wrong with heaters are mostly related to the points failing. I'm trying a heater that has a titanium tube for good heat transfer and a remote temperature probe so that it measures the water temperature rather than being inside the tube where it can only measure the air temp and relate that to the water temperature. That keeps the contacts from opening/closing so often which is a primary reason they fail. Also with no setting knob on the tube it can be fully sealed with no shaft breaking through the seal. The big item to me is that the contacts or whatever method they use is in a control box outside the tank. That makes for all the room they want to make bigger, more reliable contacts. I'm hoping it is worth the extra money. I'm sure there are other makes/models with the same but the one I'm using is just listed as titanium heaters at PetSolutions.com. Priced at $34.99 for 100Watt 10" up to $41.99 for 350 watt. Won't be able to tell what I have until one breaks down so I can autopsy.
 
#5 ·
I have two 55 gallon tanks. I heat each of them with a single 150 watt heater and have had no issues.
 
#6 ·
Unless you have a really cold room situation, I would definitely go with less. One of the main problems with heaters is the contacts. They arc each time they open and close and one common failure is they weld themselves shut. This puts the heater on full until you discover it. Having lower wattage gives you more time to notice the problem before you cook your fish. If you need 200 watts to keep the temp up, I would go with two one hundred watt heaters.
 
#8 ·
Regarding Penn Plax - they're supposed to have a lifetime guarantee, however I think they're just relying on people not keeping their receipts, nor actually following through with trying to replace them. I owned three of them. Two died in the first 10 months of operation (one stopped working, one stuck on and very nearly fried my fish). The third was 100W and couldn't get a 10g tank more than 8° over room temp even when turned all the way up.

I didn't have my receipt for the first two, so I was SOL. On the third one, I was still within 14 days of purchase, so the store took it back. I have no idea how their customer service is at the manufacturer. But, three heaters that either died or didn't work properly within one year tells me to stay away.
 
#9 ·
My experience with PennPlax is a little different. I've had the heater I'm using in my 30g for about 7-10 YEARS and it still works well. Then I just bought a JEBO 100w for my 20g and it works pretty well, but on mine at least, the temp is a little high...about 2 degrees. So set it around 2 degrees lower than you want the tank heated.An advantage is that it was only $20. Then my third heater is a TopFin and it is ****!!! They have those 'low to high' settings, so you never know what your setting the tank to for the first couple days. I had one of these recently stick on 'on'...so just stay away from these.
Good luck,

Manoah Marton
 
#10 ·
I find all the heaters that have adjustments through the top to have problems. It is just almost impossible to have a moving item going throught the seal that will last very long. If the top slips too low in the tank, water enters and shortly after the heater fails. If the water level gets too low the heater may shut itself off as advertised but it often bends the bimetal spring so that it no longer controls the temperature or even worse, the tube can due to the heat.

I found the name on the heater I use. ViaAqua which is made in China. That may not sound good but it is the only heater with the features to make it last that costs less than an arm and a leg.
 
#12 ·
While the pictures don't show most of the features, it does appear to be the exact same but at a better price. Looking at the pictures the control is the same logo placed the same with the same dial and hanging hook at the end as well as the indicator light in the center. If they are not the same there should be a patent question somewhere.. I like the price you found.

One of the things I like is putting the heater down in the tank far enough so that it does get out in the air during water changes. That can definitely ruin a heater if you don't remember to cut the power before changing water. When they are in the air and plugged in, they overheat and often bend the bimetal spring that controls them. They can appear to work after that but not very well. With the contacts outside the tube that doesn't happen either way.

Seems to be a very good find that I would recommend, especially at that price.

Mine was here:
https://www.petsolutions.com/Via-Aqua-Titanium-Heaters+I16971630+C1021.aspx
 
#16 ·
When looking more closely today, I found something that I had overlooked before. The control box has screws! Wow, now that looks like something I can take apart. I've had the theory that the control contacts might be bigger and designed to fail less often. Guess I better take it apart and see what's in there.

First rule of DIY-- If it's working, don't take it apart until you are sure you can put it back together!!
 
#18 ·
PfunMo said:
Unless you have a really cold room situation, I would definitely go with less. One of the main problems with heaters is the contacts. They arc each time they open and close and one common failure is they weld themselves shut. This puts the heater on full until you discover it. Having lower wattage gives you more time to notice the problem before you cook your fish. If you need 200 watts to keep the temp up, I would go with two one hundred watt heaters.
+1 - I use a 100 watt Rena (fairly inexpensive) to heat a 75 with about 15 gallons in the sump. It's held the temp strong in a room that was 60F. It began to struggle at 58F and below.
 
#20 ·
jchild40 said:
+1 - I use a 100 watt Rena (fairly inexpensive) to heat a 75 with about 15 gallons in the sump. It's held the temp strong in a room that was 60F. It began to struggle at 58F and below.
I wanted to drop the temperature as part of a treatment for illness and realized that my pump is putting off some heat, leaving little for my heater to do. So, while I have had great luck with this heater, even in some cool temps, others may need more wattage. I don't think much more though.
 
#22 ·
One of the problems of a heater with a control on the heater tube is that they will leak at some point if they are submerged. If you think of the problems of trying to seal a moving shaft that's under water, you can see that most sealants we use will not work. The best they can use will have to be solid enough to take the wear of the shaft rubbing each time it is turned. They can't use something like silicone to actually glue the hole shut. At some point the rubbing on the seal will take enough off that it will leak and the heater will fail.
 
#23 ·
years ago, like 10 years ago; the Tronic heater was 100 % accurate dead on. It kept temperatures within 1/2 a degree. It was amazing.

Then at about 1-2 years old, they would suddenly start leaking, and the temp would climb higher and higher. I had like 6 of them back then, and they all failed in the same manner.

The Visitherm I have had mixed results with. Some last, some don't. Some hold tempertures with in a tight range, others don't. So I stayed away from them recently.
 
#24 ·
The Jäger heater is on that I have had great results with, very accurate and durable. So far the Visitherm and Rena smart heater I found only last about a year, good thing about the last two I mentioned is that the dealership I bought them from exchanged them for me without any hassle.
 
#25 ·
The only heater I trust for my tanks is Ebo Jager. End of story. I have 2 of the old green ones which are still working well, as well as 4-5 others. Before I found E-J, I cooked fish several times, and when I upgraded to a 150 6 or so years ago, got talked into the new-fangled titanium heater, which did not last 6 months. Upon return, the proprietor of the store apologized and stated they had a ridiculous return rate on them.

IME, buy once, and cry once as they are not the cheapest option, but can you afford to take the chance?

My heaters have always been fully submerged, and not one E-J has failed me yet.
 
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