!@#$ Heaters!

JC Pollman · #1 09/04/2005, 05:44 PM

I have 4 dead heaters: 2 ebo jager heaters that leaked, and 2 Won Brothers heaters in which the thremostats stopped working! Heaters are probably the least technical piece of equipment we use - and none of them seem to last.

Any suggestions on heaters?

xtrstangx · #2 09/04/2005, 05:49 PM

My Hydor Theo have been working well for the past 3 months. They are glass though. I stuck mine between the baffles in my sump so it *shouldn't* break.

I have heard a negative review or two about them, but there really isn't any equipment that hasn't gotten a negative review.

RyanH · #3 09/04/2005, 06:26 PM

I have had the same experience. Have used all kinds of heaters and they all suck. I think maybe a controller is the solution, but they are pretty expensive.

swashbuckler · #4 09/04/2005, 06:29 PM

i heard hydor heaters are horrible... but that goes for all the rest too.. they all suffer from poor reliability...

Steven Pro · #5 09/04/2005, 06:34 PM

All heaters stink. I have yet to find a brand that has a good record and I have used a ton of them. So far, my favorite has been Aquarium Systems Vistherm, but I have had some defective ones of those as well, although a smaller percentage. I have taken to replacing my heaters every two years as a preventative.

bertoni · #6 09/04/2005, 06:53 PM

I like Tronic heaters beacuse they have failed off, rather than cooking the tnak, so far. I use a thermal shield, a simple DIY controller, and keep multiple heaters in each display tank.

acanthurus4lyfe · #7 09/04/2005, 08:43 PM

i like the visatherm titanium heaters. have had one for more then 2 years with no problem.

tylernt · #8 09/04/2005, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RyanH
I have had the same experience. Have used all kinds of heaters and they all suck. I think maybe a controller is the solution, but they are pretty expensive.

$25 isn't expensive:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/show...threadid=39723

bdogfish · #9 09/05/2005, 12:27 PM

I have an jebo that dates back to 1996 and it is still working. It sat for 3 years and have been using it since. Maybe the newer models are not that realiable???

michaeldaly · #10 09/05/2005, 12:40 PM

My Jebo heaters thermostat is about 4 degrees C off

bertoni · #11 09/05/2005, 12:45 PM

You can adjust the calibration on them if you want. There's plastic button on the top of the unit that you can pull up to rotate the temperature gauge. At least mine work that way.

Codeman00 · #12 09/05/2005, 02:22 PM

I agree that hydors suck. I bought two of them and set them to 79 degrees. I noticed they never turned of. 79 degrees to them is about 90 degrees. I put them at the lowest setting (70 degrees) to get about 79 degrees.

Paul79936 · #13 09/05/2005, 03:17 PM

I use a Ranco temp controller with mine for that reason. I set the heaters to about 82 and use the Ranco to set the tank temp.

swashbuckler · #14 09/05/2005, 03:19 PM

my ebo is always 2-3 degrees off... my visitherm was always dead on.

Zoalander · #15 09/05/2005, 03:57 PM

Hydor is the biggest junk. I like Visitherm.

Tomzpc · #16 09/05/2005, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by acanthurus4lyfe
i like the visatherm titanium heaters. have had one for more then 2 years with no problem.

Ditto, mine are going on four years without a hitch.

Umm...nevermind...just realized that mine are Via Aqua's.

wbeavers · #17 09/05/2005, 06:41 PM

I use a ranco setup like this.

http://diyreef.com/shop/index.php?cP...c9dda8587f75cf