What is the best heater out there? i assume its not like lights where personal opinion plays a part im just looking for the best heater keeps the water warm and wont boil fish. Any advice is welcome. I recently had a heater fail and heat up the whole tank to maybe more than a 100 degrees so im really looking for something with a fail safe as well
Best Heater?
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I like Finnex Titanium. I under size and double up for redundancy. Does it cost more sure. Does it offer the protection I need, sure. I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for. I would guess the single most failed item in an aquarium is the heater.
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Bayareareefer18
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Whatever heater you choose you should also use a heater controller. It's not if they will fail it's when. A heater controller will save you lots of trouble.
I agree with two smaller heaters as well.
I agree with two smaller heaters as well.
Ehiem on a Ranco or other external controller. The thermostat in the heater and the controller offer redundancy to keep your tank from boiling.
No heater is super duper reliable, as nothing that is so cheap should be... so have a few heater and run them on a secondary controller and you are all set.
No heater is super duper reliable, as nothing that is so cheap should be... so have a few heater and run them on a secondary controller and you are all set.
SALTY 75
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Awsome thank you. And yeah this is my second heater fail this year the first one stopped working and the tank got cold this one never shut off and literally steamed the water off of it when i took it out of the tank like a hot pan on the stove. I will totally be checking those heaters out. How are they on temp control?
I’ve had ehiem heaters for years. I’ve had one failure, but I’m not sure if it was the heater or the surge protector and it was a few years old. They are cheap, but you’re supposed to replace any heater annually or within a reasonable time(shame on me but I don’t). My good luck with them, their cost, and supposed constant replacing keeps me going back to them.
don_chuwish
Smells something fishy
+1
Loads of threads on this topic. Most recently from BRS - kinda done as part of their new product release. I think their twist on the InkBird controller, plus Finnex Titanium heaters AND Apex is a great combo.
I have two InkBirds with a Finnex heater connected to both, Apex has overall temp control - giving power to the InkBird when needed. The InkBirds just guard against going too hot - i.e. if the Apex temp probe went bad or whatever.
Redundancy!!
As mentioned I would also recommend a controller. Not all heaters are correctly calibrated and something to shut your heater off before you have a fish fry is definitely a great idea. Don’t know about Neptune, but some controllers need replacing annually as well. With Neptune you may not have to or you may just replace the temp probe every so often.
SALTY 75
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Thanks alot, sounds like i will be going with a finnex titanium heater. Do you guys recommend a chiller? If there are already a ton of threads on this then if someone links it or something ill check it out.
SALTY 75
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good to know, i think thats what happend this time is my temp prob broke so my eel was acting wierd but everything else was fine so i didnt think it was the temp. But then it all got worse
I would still put that finnex on a Ranco or InkBird controller. Single thermostats are not too safe, IMO.
Depends on your lights, pumps, etc... and house temperature. I live in SC close to the coast. We have higher temperatures, but my AC keeps up with everything and my lights and/or equipment aren’t overheating my tank.
My tank never fluctuates more than two degrees over 24 hours. I'm fine with that as I run 4 80 watt t5's and 4 kessil lights that put off a bit of heat and I don't use a chiller. Plus my house stays around 68-70 at night. I would recommend getting a temp gun to calibrate your tanks temp to any controller you buy.
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don_chuwish
Smells something fishy
The Finnex Titanium don't have any internal thermostat - if they have power they produce heat. So you have to have some kind of controller with a separate temp probe. Other heaters that get top marks like the Eheim Jager can technically be used on their own - but there is always a risk with that single point of failure.
Some finnex heaters come with a controller and temp probe. If you want a safety check you could get the inkbird, ranco, bra controller as mentioned or even an Autoaqua sensor. The Autoaqua has a wider range before it cuts power to the heater, but it may last longer if it’s not constantly turning off and on every hour. I don’t believe any heater to be completely accurate out of the box so checking it with a thermometer is a must. If price is no object I’d go with a good titanium heater and a controller. Most controllers are $40-$50, but the heater can get expensive. If you’re on a budget I’d go with the controller and ehiem heater. The only downside to the ehiem is their size.
warpdrvr
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I bought the BRS 300 watt titanium heater hooked to an Inkbird WiFi enabled controller. Tells me over temp, under temp, and if it heats continuously over a range I set. Can control with my iPhone. Got both for under $100. Got the Inkbird from Amazon and the heater from BRS. Been very happy with both
I went thru three ehiem's and they all eventually got condensation on the inside within a year. I've been running these two finnex heaters for about a year now and I don't see needing to replace them anytime soon.
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