What heater do you use?

[30reef]

I just set up a 30g cube SPS and just recently, I had to put a heater in the sump. I already had a Visatherm 250w heater which is made by Aqurium Systems. I have had it for quite some time and from what I understand, it is an excellent heater and very reliable.

Does anyone have any experience with a Visatherm heater?

What heater would you recommend?

Would it be better to turn the heater's thermostat all the way up and use a Ranco controller to turn it on and off? I use a JBJ chiller so I can't use a dual controller though.

Thanks.

[sjm817]

Set the temp on the heater a couple of degrees higher than the external controller's. This way, if the controller malfunctioned, the heater would not cook the tank.

[30reef]

Thanks sjm817, I did not think of that. There's a bit of double redundancy there. A Pro-Heat II titanium heater has an IC thermostat which is cheaper than a Ranco. Are the Pro-Heat heaters any good?

[Maximus]

The short answer is NO!! The Won Bros Pro heat is absolute garbage. Lots of people have had failures with them. I recommend a heater with a Ranco temp controller. I use Finnex heaters myself connected to my AC3.

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8672394#post8672394 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 30reef
I just set up a 30g cube SPS and just recently, I had to put a heater in the sump. I already had a Visatherm 250w heater which is made by Aqurium Systems. I have had it for quite some time and from what I understand, it is an excellent heater and very reliable.

Does anyone have any experience with a Visatherm heater?

What heater would you recommend?

Would it be better to turn the heater's thermostat all the way up and use a Ranco controller to turn it on and off? I use a JBJ chiller so I can't use a dual controller though.

Thanks.

I use visi-therms too and I like them. But, I do use an Aquacontroller to control it. I wouldn't use a heater without a controller of some kind, imo.

[30reef]

Thanks for the info. I will order a Ranco in the morning. I think I saw them on Ebay for about $75 bucks. That's cheeper than restocking the tank if the unthinkable happens.

[XtrmCHoPZ]

Go with the stealth line of heaters. They are made by the same people that make visitherms, but they are shatterproof and black. They blend in with the background better. Ive serioulsy dropped them on concrete and they still work perfect. I would definitely reccommend the stealth heater over ANY other conventional aquarium heater! look into them