Excited...new Heater!

[JustOneMore20]

I use Visi-therm stealths...you can have it out of the water w/out a problem. I have never taken mine all the way out of the water while plugged in, but have done water changes (50%) without turning it off. I only have one in my 55g and it heats great. I have not had problems with uneven distribution. Also, if you have a black background, the heater is easier to hide because it kind of blends in (except the red knob ). I like the stealths!

I am not impressed with Hydor heaters. I have one in my 10g and it is set on 71F but the tank is still 80F...have changed with cooler water, reset the heater, and still it is 80F. I will be replacing it soon.

 

[THUNDER]

The 29G tank that I bought, was a kit from WalMart, the heater was a Hydor. I did not know what the name of it until I looked at it recently, before I gave it away on FreeCycle. It was doing great until I noticed bubbles all around it suddenly. I got the Rena Cal at PetsMart and I am happy with it. I'll get the Visi-Therm for the 55G tank.

Thunder

 

[Lotus]

I've had pretty bad luck with most heaters. But I do almost always buy them online or at the LFS. I rarely buy from the chain stores... Last time I did, I had two heaters die within a week.

These days I only get the Jager heaters. The quality has gone down, but I still prefer them over others. If you want a great price on them, go to Kens Fish Home of Quality Fish Food, And Supplies At Excellent Prices.. The site's not the prettiest, but he has great price on heaters, food and breeding supplies, and the service is great.

 

[THUNDER]

Thanks for the extra resources. I'll for sure add that to my favorites listing.

Thunder

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Currently I'm running 3 Hydor heaters, one is a submersable 50W in a 10G, and the other 2 are combo units, heater, filter, and aerator, all-in-one. All 3 maintain my tanks at 79-80 degrees. I never go by the dial, I use my digital thermometers to set my heaters.

As for the best heaters, Stealth's are pretty good, but there's one better if you have a cannister filter, and that's the Hydor ETH's. The 200, 201, and 300 models. The 200 is a 200W with 1/2 inch fittings, the 201 is a 200W with 5/8 inch fittings, and the 300 is 300W with 5/8 inch fittings. I have the 201 and 300 models, and both maintain tank temps that do not fluctuate at all. None of the submersables I've used did this. As I outfit my tanks, one at a time, with cannisters, they will only be heated by these inline heaters. I'm very impressed with them.

 

[tessalion]

The 29G tank that I bought, was a kit from WalMart, the heater was a Hydor. I did not know what the name of it until I looked at it recently, before I gave it away on FreeCycle. It was doing great until I noticed bubbles all around it suddenly. I got the Rena Cal at PetsMart and I am happy with it. I'll get the Visi-Therm for the 55G tank.

Thunder

out of curiousity what do the bubbles around the heater mean? i have a cheap heater in my 55 (came with the tank, no clue what it is) that ill be replacing soon and ive noticed bubbles around it before...

 

[JeLeAk]

yea thats why i would spend $.63 and get the 2ndbest heater on the market

Jager Heater - 100 Watt at Big Al's Online

cheers

-Java

the LFS i shop at dose not carry ebo jager any more, they have had too many fry fish tanks, so they stopped carrying them, but they do like the old school green ones, they said once they were bought out the quality went down the tubes.. too bad too, because they use to be the number 1 heater you could get

p.s. all my green jagers still work like a champ *celebrate never had one give me any trouble

 

[THUNDER]

out of curiousity what do the bubbles around the heater mean? i have a cheap heater in my 55 (came with the tank, no clue what it is) that ill be replacing soon and ive noticed bubbles around it before...

Tess, I'm thinking a crack, maybe. Water seeping into the heater and the heat evaporates the water, thus the bubbles on the glass (inside).

I just found another version of Visi-Therm. So far, we've talked about regular and stealth. Now, there is a deluxe version.

Aquarium Heaters: Visi-Therm Deluxe Heaters

I'm trying to decide, stealth or deluxe.

Thunder

 

[GIS Guy]

Thunder,
I had a heater (just replaced) that had water condensation on the inside.
I was quite worried about it and the moisture began rusting the internal components.
My suggestion to anyone with moisture on the inside of the heater is to replace it.

 

[THUNDER]

Highly agreeable and advisable!

Thunder

 

[GIS Guy]

Here's an update:

The Visi-Therm that I was running went out.
Specifically I believe the thermostat went bad because the other day my tank was up to 90 and still heating.
The problem is that the temp was set only to 79!!

I took it to Petsmart told them the problem and had absolute no trouble exchanging it.
I was able to upgrade to a Visi-Therm STEALTH for a few extra bucks.

The previous Visi-Therm was only running since August 2006.

 

[tropicalfish]

:O

Impossible!!
well, you probably got a bad one...

 

[bala_aquarium]

Regular.
I have been pleased with the performance of this product so far.
It has maintained a very constant temperature of 79 degrees.
Maintained it in A/C, over night and with new CF bulbs.
No complaints thus far.

The Stealth is one step above.
It has a shatter resistant casing.
And _supposedly_ shuts itself off if out of water.
I would not trust that feature.

Ive tried a few times stupidly and on accident during water changes but yea it works

 

[Orion]

I like the stealth, but I think you are right to not trust that it will shut itself off when out of water. I forgot and left the heaters on one time during a WC and the heater got so hot it was evaporating the water as soon as any got on it.

Also just to echo what LWB said about the hydor ETH, these heaters are great. I've not used it long, but I really love it.