Heater questions

[wunderlong88]

I am looking to set up 2 heaters with a controller on a 180 gal. tank (+ 40 gal. sump). After a lot of research I thought I was going with Jager Eheim. When I looked at them at BRS the reviews were so bad and I rethinking my decision.

Any thoughts about Jager Eheim? Is the Jager E series better? I didn't see them on BRS but on reviews on youtube. They are new with some improvements so I'm not sure why they haven't replaced the Eheim.

I am open other ideas. I am looking for budget/reasonable price and longevity as much as possible. I had a tank 20 years ago. I guess I was lucky because I bought a cheap freshwater heater, no controller, through in the sump and in 5 years never had a problem, never replaced. Didn't know heaters were such a problem as it appears to be these days.

My return pump does have a temperature sensor so it will be another layer of safety for overheating but I do want to have a controller that will turn off if the range becomes too high. I know inkbird is popular, but again I saw a lot of people having problems. Controller ideas are welcome, too!

Thank you!

 

[redfishbluefish]

I've been using Eheim Jagers for years.....my favorite heaters. They have much thicker glass. My only complaint is that they are long.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Your comment about reviews made me go to the BRS site and read them. Seems like all have to do with using the heaters without a controller. If you don't use a controller, you are playing with fire. All heaters, regardless of brand, will fail. A controller will save you from stuck ON and running two will save you from freezing your fish. I run both my heaters on a controller and the tank stays at 78.0 to 78.3....and that's what I have my controller temps set at.

 

[FUNGI]

Just IMO (biased as I run them), look into Hygger heaters.....

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

i use them on an inkbird controller- seem fine

 

[landlubber]

30 years on ehiem jager heaters and (knock on wood) have never had a detrimental failure.

 

[Uncle99]

I no longer use them as the use contact points to turn off/on, these, will fail at some point.

I use digital on/off heaters with glass guards which have no moving parts + the INKBIRD in my 180, for years.

 

[W31Olds]

I like my Finnex Titainium using Inkbird controller

 

[wunderlong88]

For about 220 water volume what wattage do yall recd for each heater?

 

[W31Olds]

I run a single 300 Watt on my 180 but it depends on the temperature of your house mostly in the winter.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

for my new tank i bought 2 of the titanium brs heaters. They got decent reviews but they require a controller. We’ll see how they do

 

[Prowler66gt]

I run this and am happy so far.

600W Titanium Aquarium Heater w/ Helio Controller - Redundancy Bundle​

 

[MikeReefs]

I am looking to set up 2 heaters with a controller on a 180 gal. tank (+ 40 gal. sump). After a lot of research I thought I was going with Jager Eheim. When I looked at them at BRS the reviews were so bad and I rethinking my decision.

Any thoughts about Jager Eheim? Is the Jager E series better? I didn't see them on BRS but on reviews on youtube. They are new with some improvements so I'm not sure why they haven't replaced the Eheim.

I am open other ideas. I am looking for budget/reasonable price and longevity as much as possible. I had a tank 20 years ago. I guess I was lucky because I bought a cheap freshwater heater, no controller, through in the sump and in 5 years never had a problem, never replaced. Didn't know heaters were such a problem as it appears to be these days.

My return pump does have a temperature sensor so it will be another layer of safety for overheating but I do want to have a controller that will turn off if the range becomes too high. I know inkbird is popular, but again I saw a lot of people having problems. Controller ideas are welcome, too!

Thank you!

Love my jagger been using the same one for years, just upgraded my tank and purchased 2 250w jaggers and hooking them up to an ink bird. I will never use any other heater

 

[wunderlong88]

for my new tank i bought 2 of the titanium brs heaters. They got decent reviews but they require a controller. We’ll see how they do

I'm in Texas so not super cold and keep the house about 63 to 65 at the coldest.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am looking to set up 2 heaters with a controller on a 180 gal. tank (+ 40 gal. sump). After a lot of research I thought I was going with Jager Eheim. When I looked at them at BRS the reviews were so bad and I rethinking my decision.

Any thoughts about Jager Eheim? Is the Jager E series better? I didn't see them on BRS but on reviews on youtube. They are new with some improvements so I'm not sure why they haven't replaced the Eheim.

I am open other ideas. I am looking for budget/reasonable price and longevity as much as possible. I had a tank 20 years ago. I guess I was lucky because I bought a cheap freshwater heater, no controller, through in the sump and in 5 years never had a problem, never replaced. Didn't know heaters were such a problem as it appears to be these days.

My return pump does have a temperature sensor so it will be another layer of safety for overheating but I do want to have a controller that will turn off if the range becomes too high. I know inkbird is popular, but again I saw a lot of people having problems. Controller ideas are welcome, too!

Thank you!

Finnex or via aqua titanium units

 

[redfishbluefish]

I'm in Texas so not super cold and keep the house about 63 to 65 at the coldest.

I originally was going to say two 250's, but since you keep the house fairly cool, I'd go with two 300's. Make sure they fit....they are long.

 

[landlubber]

I no longer use them as the use contact points to turn off/on, these, will fail at some point.

I use digital on/off heaters with glass guards which have no moving parts + the INKBIRD in my 180, for years.

Truthfully, between digital and thermostat heaters there is no right answer as electronic ones aren't foolproof either.
The last one I used to heat my NSW was in perfect condition yet still exploded in my mixing container 8 months after purchase and made a heck of a mess.

 

[Pistondog]

I am looking to set up 2 heaters with a controller on a 180 gal. tank (+ 40 gal. sump). After a lot of research I thought I was going with Jager Eheim. When I looked at them at BRS the reviews were so bad and I rethinking my decision.

Any thoughts about Jager Eheim? Is the Jager E series better? I didn't see them on BRS but on reviews on youtube. They are new with some improvements so I'm not sure why they haven't replaced the Eheim.

I am open other ideas. I am looking for budget/reasonable price and longevity as much as possible. I had a tank 20 years ago. I guess I was lucky because I bought a cheap freshwater heater, no controller, through in the sump and in 5 years never had a problem, never replaced. Didn't know heaters were such a problem as it appears to be these days.

My return pump does have a temperature sensor so it will be another layer of safety for overheating but I do want to have a controller that will turn off if the range becomes too high. I know inkbird is popular, but again I saw a lot of people having problems. Controller ideas are welcome, too!

Thank you!

As some else pointed out in this thread, the failure point is the bimetal element sticking on after years of switching,thousands of times.
If you use them as safetys, set to turn off a couple degrees above the controller setpoint, they will not be switching often.
I use them in this manner rather than other electronic heaters as i believe the bimetal design is less likely to fail thru repeated power cycles of heat on/off as commanded by the controller.

 

[Badblackdog]

I am looking to set up 2 heaters with a controller on a 180 gal. tank (+ 40 gal. sump). After a lot of research I thought I was going with Jager Eheim. When I looked at them at BRS the reviews were so bad and I rethinking my decision.

Any thoughts about Jager Eheim? Is the Jager E series better? I didn't see them on BRS but on reviews on youtube. They are new with some improvements so I'm not sure why they haven't replaced the Eheim.

I am open other ideas. I am looking for budget/reasonable price and longevity as much as possible. I had a tank 20 years ago. I guess I was lucky because I bought a cheap freshwater heater, no controller, through in the sump and in 5 years never had a problem, never replaced. Didn't know heaters were such a problem as it appears to be these days.

My return pump does have a temperature sensor so it will be another layer of safety for overheating but I do want to have a controller that will turn off if the range becomes too high. I know inkbird is popular, but again I saw a lot of people having problems. Controller ideas are welcome, too!

Thank you!

I run an Inkbird controller and I love it. It controls 2 heaters for redundancy. It has an App so you can see the temp of your tank at any time. It will also send notifications if anything is out of range. My tank’s temp stays very stable no matter how cold my wife runs the AC.

 

[wunderlong88]

As some else pointed out in this thread, the failure point is the bimetal element sticking on after years of switching,thousands of times.
If you use them as safetys, set to turn off a couple degrees above the controller setpoint, they will not be switching often.
I use them in this manner rather than other electronic heaters as i believe the bimetal design is less likely to fail thru repeated power cycles of heat on/off as commanded by the controller

I'm planning on to Jager Eheim heaters. Can you explain clearly to me how to set them and the controller? Not sure I follow you.