Cali Kid Corals

Reliable heaters - brands you trust and ones you should ignore ...

Vincerama2

Vincerama2

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Hi guys, I'm considering replacing my heaters. I usually use ebo jaeger glass heaters, but that's old school now. I'm sure there is not huge tech jump in heaters, but I was wondering if there are any RELIABLE and reasonably priced ones out there. And which ones are utter crap to avoid.

I'm thinking I might get a heater controller to turn them on/off instead of relying on the built in never-accurate thermostats (maybe leave those a touch higher, and let the controller deal with the temps).

My tank is set to 78 degrees through trial and error, with two heaters in the DT and one in the sump. Obviously the DT ones are the important ones. The one in the sump is sort of a backup in case the DT ones fail ... however I don't even check them so for all I know one of them is already broken.

V
 
Unfortunately, it seems even the old reliable name brands have switched to cheaper manufacturing.
I have not seen any brands lately that do not have at least a few negative failure reviews.

What I do:
Use titanium
Less likely to shatter.
Use two smaller heaters.
Redundancy if stuck off, and may not quite cook your tank if stuck on.
Use heaters where the temperature sensor and control is not embedded in the tube.
Keeps the heat away from sensitive electronics.

I use JBJ True temp, but am not particularly advocating that brand.
I use Apex to control temp.
 
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Vincerama2 said:
Hi guys, I'm considering replacing my heaters. I usually use ebo jaeger glass heaters, but that's old school now. I'm sure there is not huge tech jump in heaters, but I was wondering if there are any RELIABLE and reasonably priced ones out there. And which ones are utter crap to avoid.

I'm thinking I might get a heater controller to turn them on/off instead of relying on the built in never-accurate thermostats (maybe leave those a touch higher, and let the controller deal with the temps).

My tank is set to 78 degrees through trial and error, with two heaters in the DT and one in the sump. Obviously the DT ones are the important ones. The one in the sump is sort of a backup in case the DT ones fail ... however I don't even check them so for all I know one of them is already broken.

V
Click to expand...

Ironically I just bought a titanium heater instead of the glass one... what a difference. I found the temperature stays consistent and does not fluctuate as much with the glass.

In regards whether it get one with a controller or not, I would get it with a controller for redundancy purpose.

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Ranco temperature controller and Neotherms run on every tank I don't have an Apex on and it has never failed me with a tank crash.

I've used both the single stage controller and the 2-stage (great if you have two heaters or you have a heater and a fan for cooling).

Amazon has the single stage and the cheapest I've found the two stage is at Supplyhouse (https://www.supplyhouse.com/Ranco-E...RvQeil2Vb4LsdIU11ufywgSs7x6WqUJUaAoLMEALw_wcB). Only caveat is that it does require you to do a little self wiring.
 
I've not had much luck with titanium heaters, eventually the controller does crap out, or the epoxy ends weaken in some way allowing water in and bzzt that expensive smell.
 
I used a titanium heater for 14 years and it finally died this year. My back up titanium heater for salt water mixing is now in the main tank. Glass heaters can shatter if on and out of the water or maybe I dropped it.
 
I don’t run any heaters without ranco or aqua logic controllers
5 gallons to 500 gallons
I’ve seen them all...
Splurge
Get a controller
Regardless of the heater
 
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