Best Saltwater Aquarium Heater? You choose!

jasonrusso

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Eheim Jager has my vote too.
I just recently set up two 10 gallon tanks. One for feeders, one for QT. The Eheim has a temp swing of 0.7°. An Aqueon Pro has a swing of 1.4°. I don't think either would cause an issue, but the Eheim is more accurate.
 

jasonrusso

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Beginner , last week I went on a rock and was just picking up various items to start my saltwater tank and as I was leaving petsmart I said I need a heater !! I sought out and looked and most I didn’t like then ended up picking up a Eheim 150w ! I have a 36 Bow so I’m definitely over sized but I’m ok with that and by reading quite a few of these comments in the thread it seems I picked a good one and Eheim has a good reputation!
Remember, the wattage is based on temperature rise over ambient. I have a 150 watt in a 10 gallon in my basement, but the ambient temp is 50°.
 

Hybrid Ken

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Eheim Jager. split the total amount of watts needed between two heaters and in a perfect world on a separate controller if not one set a degree cooler then the other. Replace every two years, three tops.
 

Nicole Sarnowski

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I have one heater in my sump right now but I do have the one I started my tank with and ungraded to this flat heater. Not sure of the name brand because my sister gave it to me. My biggest problem as of now is keeping a steady temperature in the winter. We heat will a wood stove so my aquarium temperature fluctuates some. It doesn’t fluctuate in temperature by big degrees just a degree or 2 . So is this really bad and is there anyway to control it better??
 

Hybrid Ken

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I have one heater in my sump right now but I do have the one I started my tank with and ungraded to this flat heater. Not sure of the name brand because my sister gave it to me. My biggest problem as of now is keeping a steady temperature in the winter. We heat will a wood stove so my aquarium temperature fluctuates some. It doesn’t fluctuate in temperature by big degrees just a degree or 2 . So is this really bad and is there anyway to control it better??


That sounds like a Cobalt Aquatics heater. If it is they has touted as one of the better ones for being spot on with temp settings. If I were in your situation I would most likely get up to three heaters each one being rated to heat half the actual volume of water (100 gallon take would mean two heaters rated for a 50 gallon tank) that gives you more power with less chance of cooking the tank should one get stuck in the on position. The best of all worlds a third heater of the same size backing up the two should one fail to turn on.
My tank can swing a degree or two in a 24 hour period but it is a slow swing. Steady is always better but if it isn't a drastic and fast shift I don't worrie as much
 

Nicole Sarnowski

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So I have read that you want to keep the tank water between 72 and 78 degrees and I usually keep my temperature around 77 degrees. It can fluctuate one to 2 degrees in either direction depending on the weather outside and if our wood stove is cranking out heat. I was wondering if this is okay or no?
 

Hybrid Ken

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So I have read that you want to keep the tank water between 72 and 78 degrees and I usually keep my temperature around 77 degrees. It can fluctuate one to 2 degrees in either direction depending on the weather outside and if our wood stove is cranking out heat. I was wondering if this is okay or no?
my office tank (24 gallon) can go from 78.6 to 79.4 with no apparent ill effects. I would be sure any fish or coral you put in are not too temp sensitive.
 

Bigboned

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Can I ask - what’s the consensus on the Eheim one that is a fixed temp rather than the normal one that you turn the dial on?
 

Westside Guy

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I run 2 200(w) Cobalt Aquatics Electronic Neo-Therm Submersible Aquarium Heaters in my 120 mixed reef and absolutely love them. In my opinion what separates them from the rest, is they have a super flat design with an easy to set "one touch" control system. The advanced electronic thermostat is accurate to ±0.5° and includes a LED that displays both the Set Temp and Tank Temp simultaneously and has a Set temperature range from 66° up to 96°. For ultimate safety and reliability, integrated thermal protection circuitry shut the heater down before it can overheat and its shatterproof outer casing make the Neo-Therms virtually indestructible. and they fit perfect in my sump with my @reef Octopus Regal Intl Protein Skimmer.

Screen Shot 2018-03-10 at 9.38.11 PM.png


My LFS recommended the Cobalt Aquatics Electronic Neo-Therm heater and I placed their 200w model in my sump this week. I have a RS Reefer 250 with 56 gallons in the display and 11 gallons in the sump, it came preset at 76 degrees and I left it this way and it seems to be working perfectly. I had considered other heaters but really liked the flat design of this heater.
 

427HISS

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We have a Cobalt in one of our smaller 29g Biocube tanks. The others have two different company's heaters and both failed in a years time. NO problem the the Cobalt after three years. The problem, their real expensive and are not for large tanks.

With that said, were setting up a in-wall 125g, so should we check out titanium heater ?
One in the sump and a second in the tank. So maybe the Finnex Titanium Heaters maintain water temperature controller ?
What wattage of each ?

''Recommended up to 120 Gallons''
So two 500w ?
 
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JAM-MAN

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One of the most important and dangerous pieces of equipment to use in your reef is a heater! Get a good one and all is well. Get a bad one and you could kill your tank!

In your experience what is the BEST aquarium heater you have used for your reef to date and why?

WhichHeateristheBest.jpg
None, basically. Bundling the "controller", thermocouple and heating is a recipe for disaster. I started using a separate Johnson commercial controller with replaceable temperature sensor (heat shrink the sensor with adhesive marine shrink wrap) as a controller. Set low and high temps, and the controller controls a 120 V outlet. Set your heater in the middle of the low and high range. Much better built and no more expensive that aquarium models.
 

Westside Guy

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I decided to lower the temperature on my Cobalt Aquatics Electronic Neo-Therm 200w to 74 degrees. My living room during the day gets warm and I only need the heater as backup protection at night when I go to bed and lower the temperature on my AC in my condo.
 

JAM-MAN

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So do you just set the thermometer 2 max temperature and let the controller decide when to turn them on and off

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD
Example: Set controller ON at 77 deg. OFF at 80 deg. Set heater at 78 deg. Heater thermostat fails in on position, controller cuts power. Fails in off position, need another heater. Aquarium controller + two heaters better option but for lone tank in remote location this works.
 

JAM-MAN

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So do you just set the thermometer 2 max temperature and let the controller decide when to turn them on and off

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD
Example: Set controller ON at 77 deg. OFF at 80 deg. Set heater at 78 deg. Heater thermostat fails in on position, controller cuts power. Fails in off position, need another heater. Aquarium controller + two heaters better option but for lone tank in remote location this works.
 

jasonrusso

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A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 73 38.2%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 64 33.5%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.1%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.7%
  • Other.

    Votes: 1 0.5%
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