Cichlid Fish Forum banner

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!
 
#27 ·
I've mentioned the heaters I like on a couple different occasions and at one point someone asked if it was the same heater as Commodity Axis had available. I did not know but they looked the same in ads. The only difference seemed to be the lower price at Commodity Axis. I just got a couple of these heaters from Pet Solutions and they have Commodity Axis mentioned on the box. Same heater, lower price and cheaper shipping so that's where I'll look next time. I'm fairly slow to change things but over time, I will change out most of my heaters if these work out as well as I think.
 
#28 ·
the blur said:
The old greens ones, that I still have running, yes.

How are the new ebo's ?
My newest one is probably 3 years old at this point. I don't believe I have any since they were bought out by Eheim.
 
#31 ·
I can agree with what blur says but take it a bit further. I like to look at the reasons heaters fail and then look for a design that does away with those reasons. Taking the contacts out of the heating tubes does a lot for failed contacts. Taking the adjustment off the top of the tube lets the tube be truly sealed as it does away with the problem of trying to seal around a moving shaft. A fully submerged heater does away with the problem of heaters coming out of the water when water is lowered on water changes. Most heaters warn they should not be run dry. That is one sure way to distort the temperature setting springs. They do say they shut down but what they don't say is that they may be ruined in the process.

If my new heater of choice only lasts a year, I will be back to dump on them big time but for now they seem good.
 
#32 ·
I've had a jebo heater for a few years on my 55 and it seams to work well... You can get them for less than 20 shipped on ebay. I think the key with the adjustable heaters is not fully submerging them, but only to the min water level line. Just my 2 cents
 
#33 ·
PfunMo said:
I can agree with what blur says but take it a bit further. I like to look at the reasons heaters fail and then look for a design that does away with those reasons. Taking the contacts out of the heating tubes does a lot for failed contacts. Taking the adjustment off the top of the tube lets the tube be truly sealed as it does away with the problem of trying to seal around a moving shaft. A fully submerged heater does away with the problem of heaters coming out of the water when water is lowered on water changes. Most heaters warn they should not be run dry. That is one sure way to distort the temperature setting springs. They do say they shut down but what they don't say is that they may be ruined in the process.

If my new heater of choice only lasts a year, I will be back to dump on them big time but for now they seem good.
...and I'll let you take chances with "unproven" new designs while using the tried and true EboJager. :D :D :D

FWIW - I agree with you on the water changes/levels being a culprit in shortening a heaters life. I have mine on the power strip I shut off when doing water changes (along with sump pump etc), which alleviates the "O carp" moment just before the heater goes "BOP"
 
#34 ·
I agree with both those thoughts but only up to a point. For myself, I have found I have to do anything practical to avoid mistakes. With heaters there just seems to be lots of ways to make those small mistakes and ruin them. Keeping them above the water line is good but only until the suction cups get sloppy and dunk the thing. Big fish help this happen but it happens when I move the top or if I'm moving wires underneath and behind the stand. I get done with some small item and find the heater hanging two inches under water. Too late to kick myself. Turning off the power works but only as long as I remember to do it. Sorry to admit it but I think they call what I'm looking for ---"Idiot Proof".

I like to look at the design and see if it is really an improvement or just marketing BS. I took the cover off the heater I mentioned and was impressed with the electronics it used. Rather than a simple set of bimetal springs it actually uses a nice electronic circuit board with real components--diodes, transistors, coils and relays. Looks like a nice board that was run through a wave soldering machine rather than an individual lead solder job. Very nice clean well built board.I really like the relay as it is a totally molded unit. Part of me says I would like to tear it down and see the contacts but I'm settling for the feel of it. When it pulls up, I can feel the movement which should indicate a nice hefty sets of contacts. I can't see it but I can feel it.
 
#35 ·
PfunMo said:
Too late to kick myself. Turning off the power works but only as long as I remember to do it. Sorry to admit it but I think they call what I'm looking for ---"Idiot Proof".
a Mountain biking buddy of mine and I don't believe "Idiot Proof" exists. What you are searching for is "Idiot Resistant"... :D
 
#38 ·
Unfortunately we all have some that last a long time and others have the same that bummed out. If it were more uniform in performance we could get a better idea of what was best. In my case the Hydor Theo was the one that put me on the chase for better. Once the rubber around the top gets dried out and a bit brittle it will not stand up to the occasional water dip that happens. Where the shaft goes through the top rubber, it rubs away at the seal and at some point it leaks. Once water is seen inside the tube with the electronics, I stop using them. I've never had one actually turn that water to steam but it seems something to avoid. I think the sudden steam might have enough pressure to blow the top off and let the whole thing open to water. Being around the oil industry, you probably have a good idea of how quick steam can turn ugly.
 
#40 ·
I think with the reliability issues of almost all heaters, the only way to go is the way PfunMo suggests and get two of a smaller wattage. IMO the redundancy factor is hard to argue against. It may cost a little more up front but catastrophes are less of a problem. It may not be idiot proof but if I am involved nothing is.
 
#42 ·
The old Ebo-Jagers were really good. About 6 years ago I started using 2 500w titanium heaters. These heaters do not have an internal thermostat. I bought them at Jehmco.com. They are a good outfit. John is a great guy.

I bought 2 of the TSH-500-LC models. They are $46 each now. Here's a link:

http://www.jehmco.com/html/heaters.html

I got the ones with the 20 foot cord. I have them sitting on the bottom on the sand in my 180g wc moba tank.

You have to attach these heaters to a controller. I use a commercial-grade single stage electronic temperature controller. I use a Johnson controller like this one:

http://www.etcsupply.com/johnson-a419ab ... p-111.html

I have the Johnson controller mounted inside my cabinet and plugged into a surge protector. I have both my 500w heaters plugged into the Johnson by way of a double plug adaptor.

I set the low setpoint at 77 degrees and the upper setpoint at 79 degrees. During the summer when my home's AC is set around 73 degrees, my tank water slowly drops to the room temp. When the temp hits 69.9 degrees, the Johnson kicks both heaters on until the water heats up to 79 degrees and then the unit turns off the heaters. The cycle repeats itself as the water slowly cools down. When I do my weekly 50% water changes, my water out of the tap is often warmer than 79 degrees so I really don't have to worry.

During the winter, I like to keep my home heat temp around the same 73-74 degrees room temp. When my water temp drops below the lower setpoint of 77 degrees, the unit kicks on again until 79 degrees is hit.

My heating unit cost me about $150, but has been worth it to me. Just one of my wc mobas costs that amount. I have 10 wc adult mobas and usually several F1 fry and juvies in my 180g tank. Right now I have over 50 F1 fry and juvies and a wc momma or 2 holding eggs.

I know this set-up may not be for everyone. This set-up is very reliable and accurate. I use a Lifegard Big Digital Thermometer that I have attached to my wall right above my 180g so I can easily monitor my water temp, especially during water changes.

I have heard too many horror stories about boiling fish due to a stuck heater.

Hope this helps someone out there.
 
#44 ·
the blur said:
Biggest piece of garbag I have ever owned.

cjacob316 said:
so far, the best heater for the price I have found is the Hydor Theo heater. I have them in half my tanks and they do great.
My experiences would say different, I have had one bad one, the dial wouldn't turn, so i returned it and got a new one before it ever went into my tank, all my others have been great, and they are on the small side, not as bulky as the stealths or some others. maybe if you actually talked about what happened and how many of them had the issue then your post would be more viable. But as it stands, i think my experiences would hold more weight than you trash post.
 
#45 ·
I appreciate the input from RonR. He has a different spin on it as I don't have the type fish that warrant spending that much. We all have to find the level we want. That takes lots of different opinions to cover the different levels. While I don't reach the same thinking as cjacob on the Theo, I do agree with him that posts are more informative if they provide more detailed facts of what failed. So far every heater I've used had good points and bad points. The only way to sort them is to know the things that the adverts don't tell us. If you want to know the good points of a Ford, ask the Ford dealer, then go down the street and ask the Chevy dealer for the bad points! Got to get both sides of the story.
 
#46 ·
PfunMo said:
I appreciate the input from RonR. He has a different spin on it as I don't have the type fish that warrant spending that much. We all have to find the level we want. That takes lots of different opinions to cover the different levels. While I don't reach the same thinking as cjacob on the Theo, I do agree with him that posts are more informative if they provide more detailed facts of what failed. So far every heater I've used had good points and bad points. The only way to sort them is to know the things that the adverts don't tell us. If you want to know the good points of a Ford, ask the Ford dealer, then go down the street and ask the Chevy dealer for the bad points! Got to get both sides of the story.
Hi PfunMO,,, Thanks for responding on another post regarding my heaters and so forth. Very helpful. This whole article is very helpful and as we all know people have different perspectives on heaters of what works or not. What i respect here is that someone actually pulled the thing apart and tried to explain to everyone how they all worked. I'm sure that most of us have no clue what's inside or how they work at all,, except that you set a temperature and it heats the water. I myself never even asked.....

i use several heaters and brands.... I'm not going to mention my best or worst...I've used jager's, older and newer style, hydor's and now stealths... My biggest issue is that none of them seem to keep accurate temperatures.... I checked my water temperatures,, i know overkill, with 3 different thermometers to make sure my thermometers are not giving me false readings. Almost all of them i have to adjust up or down significantly to get them to the correct temperature i want..... The newer Jager i just bought and the newer stealth pro work awesome right now but who knows....
Anyways,, i'm at the point now where i want to try something else and i'm going to get myself one of these and see what happens.
PfunMO,,, I went to big als to see if they had these in stock up here in Ontario, Canada and guess what.. 1st thing the guy said was they were ****,, i said "what do you mean" he could not give me any solid answers except that he sold 5 of them and all were returned... Got to love that... So i'm going to order one and i will report back my thoughts,, short-term and long-term if the thread is and will be open....

Cheers everyone
merry xmas to all
Sheldon
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top