Heaters

[stevolough]

Any of you have any experience with the Helio PTC Smart Heaters - from Innovative Marine ? Just brought home a pro heater from Petco that lasted an hour. Can’t believe the most important piece of equipment is so difficult to get good, dependable quality​

 

[AZReef13]

I am running one right now on My IM40, That was the same reason I bought one. Had 3 other heaters go out, on a 4 year old tank. The really cool features is that they will shut off if temp gets to high, or if it gets dry, Plus you can buy extra elements if the one you buy only comes with one.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I stick with eheim for heaters, I have 2 of them, 1 of them has lasted me 10 years. They have never failed me.

 

[Jeffcb]

I looked at them, they are very expensive. Currently having good luck with my JBJ 800. Also have used a Cobalt for about a year on small tank but Neo-therm are hard to get. If an Eheim would of fit I would of chosen that. Hard to beat Eheim.

 

[Scorpius]

Aqualogic or Ranco controller and Eheim heaters.

 

[Gtinnel]

I stick with eheim for heaters, I have 2 of them, 1 of them has lasted me 10 years. They have never failed me.

I realize I'm in the minority when I say this but I have had nothing but issues with eheim heaters. I have owned two and they both failed within a year.

 

[PeterC99]

I’m using a IM PTC 400W smart heater on my 90g and love it. Has 2 200w heater elements that have a smaller footprint and fit very well in the sump. Keeps temps very stable at +/- .1 and according to my Apex uses less electricity than my old BRS 300w. Does this by using only one 200w heating element when small heating adjustments are needed. Very happy with these heaters and would recommend.

 

[stevolough]

I’m using a IM PTC 400W smart heater on my 90g and love it. Has 2 200w heater elements that have a smaller footprint and fit very well in the sump. Keeps temps very stable at +/- .1 and according to my Apex uses less electricity than my old BRS 300w. Does this by using only one 200w heating element when small heating adjustments are needed. Very happy with these heaters and would recommend.

That’s the one I’m looking at. How long have you had it? I can deal with the money if it’s of good quality. If I buy a separate controller with two heating elements I’m over half way there price wise anyway. Can’t seem to find any warranty information. Was there anything in the packaging?

 

[PeterC99]

I’ve had mine for about a year now. Comes with standard one year warranty but since it’s a new product, I paid for the 3 year warranty option. Definitely good build quality, you can tell just by the magnetic holders for the heating elements. I recommend the product and don’t worry about heaters anymore.

 

[stevolough]

I’ve had mine for about a year now. Comes with standard one year warranty but since it’s a new product, I paid for the 3 year warranty option. Definitely good build quality, you can tell just by the magnetic holders for the heating elements. I recommend the product and don’t worry about heaters anymore.

Thanks for your input

 

[Scorpius]

Spend your money an aqualogic/ ranco controller. Use any heater you want as they are considered wear items and should be replaced periodically.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

After spending way too much on cobalt & eheim heaters the past 4 years, I've decided to just keep several cheap chinesium heaters around with redundancy for my display tank. I have two plastic heaters in the sump with two more as backups on the shelf. I just replace them every 12-18 months. Of course I use a Apex for control.

I miss when heaters actually lasted years, the last time I did the saltwater game, 15 years ago.

 

[Scorpius]

And if you're like me you run 2 smaller wattage heaters so if one fails on/off you have time to react to the failure.

 

[gotblur]

I have had no problems with the Helio 700 on my Waterbox 135.4. My apex says that it stays within .3 degrees all the time even in the heat of summer. Been running it for about 8 months. After having heater controllers and heaters (3 in less than a month) failing this was well worth the cost. They are on sale on IM's web site at the moment.

​

 

[C_AWOL]

Eheims with a ranco are bullet proof provided theres enough room for the eheim heater. 3 year warranty + industrial heating/cooling controller that can be weather proof is very hard to beat

 

[stevolough]

Eheims with a ranco are bullet proof provided theres enough room for the eheim heater. 3 year warranty + industrial heating/cooling controller that can be weather proof is very hard to beat

That’s why I’m wondering if it’s worth it to just spend the extra money. If it lasts a few years it’s cheaper then replacing everything on a a yearly schedule and certainly piece of mind is worth something

 

[C_AWOL]

While I do replace my heaters regularly for extra piece if mind, my ranco nema 4 is about 11 years old now and runs as the primary on/off vs relying on the heaters thermostat. From memory I bought it for <$150 and im sure many others here can speak for its longevity + value as well if that helps.

I think the ranco along with a recently retired sicce hf 16 are among my longest lasting pieces of equipment (I've replaced eb832s far more frequently than I would like and they cost like double for comparison)

 

[REEFTIDE]

I stick with eheim for heaters, I have 2 of them, 1 of them has lasted me 10 years. They have never failed me.

Lots of fancy heaters come on the market but the Eheims have yet to fail me as well. Such good quality from them and only a degree or two off


To OP, the Helio heaters seem nice and have the thermostat which is pretty nice as well. If you have something like an Apex you likely will either not necessarily need the redundancy or thoroughly appreciate its addition, depending on the type of reefer you are lol.

Ultimately you can't really go wrong with most heaters on the market until the one year mark and thats when they either fail or dont. At that time the thermostat seems like an awesome add on

 

[Scorpius]

Also, having a separate heater controller and heaters keeps you from having to buy a whole new setup should a heater fail or the controller itself.

 

[Kodski]

I'm gonna chime in here with the Eheim as well. I've used somewhere between 5-10 eheim heaters over my aquarium career. I've never had one fail. I will admit, they are not usually accurate out of the box, but once adjusted they keep my tanks at a consistent temp. I'm talking about the temp indicator on jagers being adjustable. I live in the midwest where it gets quite cold and my heaters usually kick on year round, save for maybe a month or two. I have yet to use a heater controller, though I think it will be a new piece of equipment for me soon just to be safe. I think with a heater controller and a few eheim jagers, its hard to argue their performance and durability versus cost to something like a Helios or BRS heater. If I had the money, I'd love to try a BRS titanium heater, but I honestly don't think there is enough difference to justify the cost of upgrading.