Reliable Heaters? (eheim jagers consistently crapping out)

[Enderturtle]

Hey folks

What's your GO-TO Heater?

I've been using eheim jager heaters since day one and I am not happy with the results. Right now my tank is sitting at 77.6 degrees when its suppose to be at 80.5 degrees.

40 breeder+20 sump+14 gallon satellite frag tank all plumbed together. I'm gonna clean the return pumps today to make sure this cold water isn't due to a slow return rate.

The house temperature is probably 58 degrees at its coldest time of the day for NOW. Will get colder i'm sure

I have TWO 150watt heaters in my sump and it seems they are struggling to hold the temperature above 80.

I've had to replace two eheim jagers since 2014.

Which heaters do you think are the best?

 

[wpeterson]

I've had good luck over the last year with the Finnex digital external titanium heaters. I bought two of the 300w models, one is in use and the other is my backup.

http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-200-Watt-Controller-Aquarium-80-Gallon/dp/B0036BENV2

I still like having a digital controller on the heater as the primary mechanism with the apex used as a failsafe to disable it in case of being stuck on.

If your heaters are failing or you have an issue, feel free to give me a call and you can borrow my spare 300w Finnex.

 

[jonmos75]

I have used eheim & Finnex....Cobalt are supposed to be good, but watch out as I think they had a few issues back on the 200w heater but not positive on the exact model...

 

[wpeterson]

I also had good luck with the Aqueon Pro line of heaters in our previous tanks:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042FSVQE

They have a rugged, non-glass body and a decent all in one heater design at about half the price of the Finnex digitals I use now. I still have 2-3 of these heaters working well after a year or use in our previous tanks. I use this 200w heater whenever I make a batch of saltwater in our brute.

 

[nly04]

I dont have problem with Eheim. I alway try to get the stronger heater for my system, I have 2 each of 300W for my 150DT plus 75g sump total about 190gal of water. Also do not to place the heater near the out put of the skimmer pump or drain.

 

[Enderturtle]

Why shouldnt you put a heater there?

Thats where I put my two heaters

 

[humu]

i've had good luck with my Ebos for about4-5 years... previously had Visitherm which killed some stuff when the thermostat crapped out on me (before I got a controller)

 

[Corallus]

+1 for the Aqueon Pro.
Took me three heaters to get one that held temps in anywhere near a reliable way. Now that I'm running with an Apex, I have the Aqueon thermostat set a degree or two above the Apex value as a backup.

 

[robert4025]

Have you try calibrating the Eheim heaters?

 

[Enderturtle]

You mean by turning the red ring? Yeah.

The heaters were heating my tank to 80 degrees a couple days ago.

Just today I noticed them struggling. Pretty sure they will continue to struggle.

 

[muhli]

Might be struggling because of the cold weather lately. I know mine is

 

[rygh]

Sadly, I don't think there is such a thing....
1) Price competition is just too strong, so even the best cut corners on the relays and components.
2) The environment is absolutely horrible for electronics.
High heat, hot/cold cycling, and corrosive conductive fluids = BAD

My preference is finnex, and replace them every 5 years.
And yes, on a controller, with heater set a few degrees up.

Thought process:
No glass.
Glass can shatter (due to design or an oops on my part) Which is a real mess.
Unfortunately, the others are more likely to leak.
Do not get it where the electronics are integrated in the tube.
Getting electronics away from the heat and water is a good thing.
Unfortunately, they then get cheap and do not seal the electronics well, so humidity can kill it.

 

[Enderturtle]

:/ but the thing that bugs me is.....it's only 60 degrees in my house!

Actually this 200 Watt heater my mom bought years ago for her Koi tank seems tough. I might just buy some random 200watt heater and stick it in there.

I really love the extra control from my apex in case the heater gets stuck on or doesn't work.

 

[Coral reefer]

I would try insulating the back of you tank/sump. Will save power and make less work for your heaters.

 

[Enderturtle]

I think I'll do that again. My stand has an open back and I use to seal the back using foam board and velcro.

 

[humu]

:/ but the thing that bugs me is.....it's only 60 degrees in my house!

Damn that's chillly! I feel a little guilty raising our temp to 69 degrees...

I used to keep my tank in the garage for a couple of years. And on the coldest of nights I needed to add a second 50w heater to supplement my 150W Ebo...

 

[Kensington Reefer]

I hate all of them
The thermostats are unreliable
But,
I use any of the higher end ones with an external controller
Aqualogic or ranco
For the peace of mind and the reliability vs a tank full of soup
Make the investment

 

[Coral reefer]

I like to use a reef keeper lite as temp controller. Affordable and can control your lights too!

 

[Nav]

I had cheap Amazon glass heater and switched to a 150w Eheim Jäger like 8 months ago with good results. I was always constant at 79.5 but it couldn't keep up recent extreme weather conditions so it keep dropping to 76 every night.

I added a second cheap 100w heater 2 weeks ago and it's back constant at 79.5. See my apex temp graph for the last month...

 

[wpeterson]

I should have mentioned this earlier, but ambient temperature plays a big role in how much heater wattage is required for your tank.

Here's a good calculator: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/HeaterChillerSizing.php

For my tank size at 70 deg ambient, I only need 225w to maintain. At 60 deg ambient it's 520w. At 50 deg ambient, it's 800w.

So in the same way it's often cheaper to cool the room your tank is in instead of chilling your tank, it's often true for heating as well. May be a lot more efficient to turn up the gas heat in the house than put a lot of electricity into a tank heater.