Best Saltwater Aquarium Heaters for Winter 2020/2021

[robert teseo]

teco 1000 chiller/ heater combo. 3 years of perfect temps. never more than 1deg f variation

 

[Dryanimtt]

I have the BRS titanium heater with the BRS controller. Not a big fan of the controller though. But it works fine.

 

[InvaderJim]

Just setup an inkbird with dual Jager tru temps and love it so far.

 

[Leo_ian]

I have no heater Bcs if I did I would boil my fish and it would make no difference in temp.... I spend like $1000 extra on a chiller to maintain temp

 

[Mlawrence]

I'm running a Eheim Jager 150 watt in my 75 gallon tank. So far its been good once you find the right temp setting. Its very much off, But, its consistent when you set it by a temp censor. Satisfied so far!

 

[Lightspeed]

2 x Schego 300W titanium, with controller and am very happy

 

[Casket_Case]

Eheim Jager!!! Love it! Best heater ever.

 

[ReefLab]

Finnex titanium with ink bird on my display

Eheim jager with ink bird on my quarantines

1yr running each no problems

 

[Lex_510]

MOST of us will need a heater soon or have been using one all year. But during the next few months we will need them the most! We've had MANY similar threads about heaters and which ones are best but times change, technology changes and people change their preferences! So let's do it again! Answer the poll to please!

1. What brand of aquarium heater are you using right now and are you happy with it?

2. What brand do you think is the BEST aquarium heater brand?

Eheim, using for years

 

[laverda]

IMHO, there is nobody building what I would consider a reliable heater for the aquarium industry. Just no such thing on the market. Layering redundancy is the only safe way to go.

I agree 200%!

 

[Knr499]

Say Rev, you must have ESP (ESPN per Homer Simpson)

Heaters seem to be my bain/nightmare/project lately. And todays question came perfectly timed.

I have Finnex & Eheim heaters & have had decent luck w/them connected to my Apex. I purchased 2 Inkbird 306As for redundancy & thats where trial & tribulation came in. No matter how many times I calibrate the inkbirds they waiver out by almost a degree. So I set the Apex at low 78 high 79 and Inkbirds higher and lower and everything is pretty consistent.

Here's where "mad scientist" comes in. While buying frags from local reefer I notice "NO HEATERS". Turns out he's using waterbed heaters under his sumps & has for years - controlled off of his Apex. So I'm currently testing a 300w waterbed heater under my 120s sump and so far it's do-able. It draws less amps but takes longer to reach max temp settings... To be continued....

Definitely curious, I’ve thought of that before but I thought people would say I was crazy. Please keep Us updated on test results.

 

[Knr499]

Finnex titanium have always done good for me.

 

[Snuggs]

I have no problem with my Aqueon pro. Hold temp to +/- .5 degree. With that being said one went down after 6 years. No problem. LIFETIME warranty. Replaced in less than a week

 

[md2882]

I use a BRS 500w other my apex and BRS controller on my 120. Thinking about adding a small heater to slow cooling. So it doesn’t switch on and off 18-20 times a day

 

[tkd]

I have tried numerous heaters over the years. Some good, some not so good.

I have been running 2 - 100W Bulk Reef Supply Titanium Heaters hooked up to my Apex for some time now. I chose to go with a slightly lower wattage than what was recommended for my tank size. Both heaters are in my sump, one as my main and one as a backup and have a spare on hand if needed. They have been rock solid and reliable for me.

But then again, heaters are one of those pieces of equipment that are bound to fail at any given time no matter how good a heater is meant to be. Just my opinion. Always need to be prepared.

 

[725196]

I am in Florida so heaters are not used too often. Last year I used a cheap one I got at Walmart. I would plug it in on cold nights then unplug it when not needed. I think I used it a total of 5 days.

This year I have an Apex and just got a BRS 100 watt heater. I will be putting it in today. I didn’t get a controller as it won’t be used too often. On at 75.5 off at 77.

My old heater will go into my mixing station in the garage.

 

[Cell]

Eheim Jager 100%

Built like tanks and are rock steady once calibrated.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

I just ordered a backup BRS heater this morning. So far I've been happy with my BRS heater with an InkBird controller but past experience tells me to never trust a heater.

I'm currently shopping for a replacement heater for my nano tank. It's using a cheap fixed temp Aqueon but with some fancier inhabitants on the way soon, I want to make sure they are well looked after! It's hard to find high end heaters to fit nano tanks. Kinda curious about the new IM heaters but big $$$ for something unknown.

 

[Gravity]

I have a cobalt neotherm on my nano that has been running great for the last 1.7 years. Planning on replacing at 2 years.

Then I run a BRS titanium heater with BRS controller as the primary control with the apex as a backup on my frag tank. This setup is still new but I have been happy with the setup.

Haven’t tested to many heaters my self but based on my research I found these options (cobalt/BRS) to be very reliable.

 

[hotdrop]

Folks have 5-10k in Coral and it’s always a 50$ heater away from sudden death due to no good heaters on the market