Heaters...lets talk about the "other" brands...

[emartin]

Has anybody used any heaters from brands other than Ebo Jager or Visi-therm? (I haven't, which is why I am asking)

What are your thoughts on these other brands? Would you recommend them over the Jagers or the Visitherms?




I'm personally looking for feedback on these brands/models:

Azoo Titanium Heaters
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3743+19369&pcatid=19369
^I personally consider that brand a cheap brand, but I've only used some of their products. But, for the price, I'd be willing to give them a try. But I can't find any reviews online for them...

ViaAqua Stainless Steel Heaters
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3743+8172&pcatid=8172

ViaAqua Titanium Heaters
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3743+20161&pcatid=20161

Fluval M Series Heaters
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=22123

Hagen Elite Heaters
http://kensfish.com/hagenelitesubmersibleheaters.html

Won Glass Heaters
http://kensfish.com/wonglassheaters.html
^I'm not sure I'd personally want to even be in the same room with a Won Glass heater...that cheap price (and cheap brand name) scare me... Nevertheless, anybody use them?

Deep Blue Quartz Heaters
http://kensfish.com/deepbluquartzsubmersibleheaters.html
^From my understanding they are a very popular aquaria-lighting company, and the price looks good.

I'm leaning towards one of the two titanium ones I mentioned; I need new heaters for my 265g and my visitherm stealths (3 heaters, 600watts total) did a pretty horrible job keeping the tank warm (I blame inaccurate/uncalibrated built in thermostats).

Anybody keep any of those brand heaters? Have any bad experiences with them? Or are some of them very well built and worth getting?

 

[Alleycat]

I'm not sure of your forum policies on rating equipment but I'll throw in my 2 cents and appologize if I break a rule.
I loved my ViaAqua titanium for the first year, strong and sturdy, but the thermostat crapped out on 3 models I purchased. I didn't have succes when I asked about a warranty, but not having a proof of purchase I guess is my own fault.
Yes, the Won heaters are cheap. I bought one as a trial along with 2 stealth in May.... 7 months later and all are still working without any problems. I should go and check this morning as I may have jinxed myself.

 

[Andrewtfw]

I am running Deep Blue heaters in a few of my tanks. They have been running for about half a year now without issue. The price is right and if they were to crap out, it would not set me back to replace them.

 

[MonteSS]

Not sure why you would stray from a proven Name brand heater and take a risk to save $5-$10??

...Bill

 

[Cartel]

On a big setup I will always do titanium heaters from now on. I love mine and to be honest no idea what brand it is I'll check tomorrow.

For glass heaters I have had really good luck with the visitherm models but I'm bad about breaking them myself. I hate stealths though since 2 have burned up on me. Right now however I'm using Rena composite heaters which have turned out nice as well. I know this isn't really what you asked but just my heater experiences. I do know I won't be cheap on a heater. Too many bad stories out there.

 

[bschuhart]

I've had a 300w ViaAqua Titanium Heater in my 65g since March, works perfectly. I also have a 300w Won Bros Titanium in my 110g, been running for about 5 years, no problems.

 

[Prince]

I have a azoo titanium heater that sucks. It sticks off sometimes. If I move the theromstat box it clocks off and on. I took it out. I an currently using hydor Theo's. They work but aren't accurate. I also have one new and one old stealth. They both work great. I also have a Rena smart heater that works great.

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[emartin]

I've had two 250watt heaters (original visitherm stealths, BEFORE marineland bought them out) fail out on me...I forgot to shut them off and the BUILT IN safety auto-shutoff feature didn't kick in. The water level was too low (water line was below the heaters; I was working on netting fish out to move the tank to another part of the house) for the heaters to pose any threat to me or the fish thankfully, but I noticed a burning smell and some smoke; I looked at the heaters and behold, they were melting... So much for thermal plastic!

And because it was late at night in the middle of winter and 65F in that room, I had to run to Petsmart and pay their insane prices for heaters ($45/ea). For some reason I didn't think to call Visitherm to demand a replacement or refund, I just threw the heaters out.


I've also had one 250watt heater (visitherm stealth) be as much as 10F off calibration...it wouldn't even turn on if placed in a cold tank (you can tell when they're on in a tank; you can see 'heat waves' coming off them) unless I had the temperature set ridiculously high (like 90F on it's thermostat).


Then this past week I *think* I felt an electric current...a very small one...in one of my 75g that has two 250watt heaters in it (it's in a cold garage). I immediately unplugged the two heaters and am going to guinea-pig test myself later this week. I had an ammonia spike in that tank from a dead fish in it (killed off by the others) so I could've just felt an ammonia burn because I did have a small cut on my hand from earlier in the day (more likely since the other fish were fine)...whatever it was it surprised me.



I've never had one of the newer model Eheim Ebo Jager heaters fail on me...I have them in fry tanks, in my puffer tank, etc... And I would not put them in the puffer tank especially if I didn't trust them. Mine have never lost calibration since I got them in 2007-2008, never overheated or failed on me, and when I forgot to unplug them when doing water changes they always shut off like they were supposed to.

But, there are also lots of people who say they've had Eheim's newest models (not just their older models) of heaters cook their fish tanks... In my opinion that is a better outcome than Visitherm's/Marineland's most recent problem of exploding heaters, melting heaters, and loss-of-calibration issues...since it seems that Eheim's Ebo Jager heaters only failed with a small amount of people...but one member here has had two fail on him cooking two tanks full of fry...!


This is why I want to start looking at other brands. Am I going to discard my current heaters? Absolutely not...but I do want to look at other brands. I think it's stupid how with heaters it's popularly viewed that any heater other than a Visitherm or Ebo Jager is an accident waiting to happen...


So that's why I started this topic. Not for people to give feedback on Visitherm/Marineland or Jager heaters, but to mention their experiences on "other" brands of heaters. Currently the top two I am looking at myself are ViaAqua's titanium heater, and Hagen's Elite and Fluval M series. I know people who have the Fluval E Series heaters in their stingray tanks that swear by them (not only for reliability but for their protective cases that prevent fish from being burned by contact with the heater).

And Hagen makes quality products...both their namesake line of products (AquaClear power filters, never had one fail (had a few DOA new ones but they're easy to exchange) and their Fluval line (I find it kind of funny that they are competing with themselves with heaters).

And my LFS and Reef keepers I know locally swear by the ViaAqua Titanium heaters...(and a couple reef keepers I know locally also say to never put a visitherm stealth heater in a marine tank, so I am assuming there's a history of those heaters not doing well in marine environments (maybe from the high conductivity of the saltwater and coraline algae perhaps covering up the thermostat and preventing accurate readings)).

I like the look of the Fluval M series, those appear very well built.... Take a look:

I know that the way a product looks is not a good indication of how it works, but that looks like a very well-designed heater and according to FosterandSmithAquatics it is a brand new heater too just out this year. Supposedly Fluval guarantees it for life and has "long lasting suction cups"...but "long lasting" can just mean a couple of months! So far the best/longest-lasting heater suction cups I have ever come across were Eheim's Ebo Jagers...they never wear out on me (Visitherm's suction cups seem to go bad after about a year).

 

[emartin]

I am running Deep Blue heaters in a few of my tanks. They have been running for about half a year now without issue. The price is right and if they were to crap out, it would not set me back to replace them.

Would you put them in tanks full of expensive wildcaught fish though? Or they haven't earned/been used long enough to earn your complete trust yet?

I may pick up a smaller wattage one next time I order from KensFish to give it a try in one of my growout tanks...I'd rather lose a tank full of replaceable fry than lose a tank full of the wildcaught parents...

 

[emartin]

I just noticed that the Fluval M series heaters are NOT submersible beyond certain depths...so now I am not sure I am interested in them anymore...

Why the hell Fluval made a new line of heaters that aren't 100% submersible, when Hagen's Elite+Aquaclear heaters are submersible, is beyond my understanding. (Fluval is part of Hagen)

So now it looks like I am just looking at either getting a ViaAqua titanium heater, a titanium heater from jehmco (I already have a controller laying around somewhere), or two Ebo Jager 300watt heaters.

I don't want to invest in new stealth pro heaters (because they've been exploding in people's tanks) and I can't risk an explosion cracking my 265g or breaking a seam and that much water soaking through the wood floor and certainly compromise it's structural integrity. I've never had problems with the Eheim Ebo Jagers before, but I've had 2-3 visitherm stealths fail on me, another had a broken thermostat, and marineland's customer service in my opinion sucks.

 

[ezrk]

We have looked at three different solutions:

Eheim Jagers - actually seem pretty good once I figured out how they worked with the thermostat adjustment.

Visitherms - thermostats on these just sucked. No real relation between the temp on the thermo and the tank...

In the end I bought Jehmco temperature controllers for both tanks, pricey but then boiling the fish is a leading cause of fish accidents and this prevents that...So far I have found them to be rock solid, they come with what should be a very good themostat and temp controller and the quality of the thermostats in the heaters themselves is no irrelevant.

Should I replace the heaters in the future I would probably just get titanium ones to go witht he controllers.

 

[danger_chicken]

I just noticed that the Fluval M series heaters are NOT submersible beyond certain depths...so now I am not sure I am interested in them anymore...

I was going to mention that. I have two 100w and they work great and look good. The box says they are submersible but they are not. I'll be selling them in a few months when I'm done rearranging my tanks. I replaced all my heaters 6-7 months ago with Fluval E Series (and 2 M Series) I love the E Series. They are expensive but I was tired of dealing with heater issues. The color display makes checking temp at a glance easy. I accidently unplugged one the other day and noticed the display on the heater was off from across the room. If not for that I would have froze my favorite fish. IMO it's already paid for its self. If they last for years they'll be well worth the money.

The Hydor in-line heater is the most steady/accurate heater I've ever owned.

 

[emartin]

I just noticed that the Fluval M series heaters are NOT submersible beyond certain depths...so now I am not sure I am interested in them anymore...

I was going to mention that. I have two 100w and they work great and look good. The box says they are submersible but they are not. I'll be selling them in a few months when I'm done rearranging my tanks. I replaced all my heaters 6-7 months ago with Fluval E Series (and 2 M Series) I love the E Series. They are expensive but I was tired of dealing with heater issues. The color display makes checking temp at a glance easy. I accidently unplugged one the other day and noticed the display on the heater was off from across the room. If not for that I would have froze my favorite fish. IMO it's already paid for its self. If they last for years they'll be well worth the money.

The Hydor in-line heater is the most steady/accurate heater I've ever owned.

Just out of curiosity how do you know the Fluval M series isn't fully submersible? While I found two major online retailer websites that say it isn't fully submersible (ThatPetPlace and FosterAndSmithAquatics), nothing on the packaging (I saw one in person today) says it isn't submersible (nor does it specifically say it is), and Ken of Ken's Fish just told me in an email earlier today that they are fully submersible.

Did you have one fail on you or shut off after fully submerging it? Or condensation get inside the heater?

I sent Hagen an email asking them if the heaters are fully submersible or not, and if not then why. If I don't get an answer by 3pm on Monday I'm going to call them. If they confirm they are submersible for me I'll be ordering those as I am way more impressed with their design than any other glass heater I've used/seen so far.

Let me know about how you know it isn't submersible. I don't doubt it, but I just want to double check it since I can't find any information directly from Hagen/Fluval online that says it is or isn't fully submersible. I don't understand why a company like that would make a heater that wasn't submersible in this new decade...

 

[Prince]

Their is a water line on the heater just below the temp settings

 

[rich_one]

Pretty simple for me. I hate the Visa-therm Stealths. I love the Jagers. I just ordered one of the deep blue quartz, out of curiosity, because Ken's Fish had them at such an incredible price, so I thought, why not try 'em out and see... especially since I have a Jager on stand-by just in case. I was intrigued... go figure! LOL...

-Rich

 

[emartin]

Pretty simple for me. I hate the Visa-therm Stealths. I love the Jagers. I just ordered one of the deep blue quartz, out of curiosity, because Ken's Fish had them at such an incredible price, so I thought, why not try 'em out and see... especially since I have a Jager on stand-by just in case. I was intrigued... go figure! LOL...

-Rich

Let me know what you think of the Deep Blue heaters...that company is really interesting to me... I've heard great things about their light fixtures and tanks, and so far nothing bad about their heaters. I'm going to wait though to see what people say about them first.

Their is a water line on the heater just below the temp settings

Are you sure it isn't just a minimum water level line? I just got off the found with Hagen's Customer service, they said the heater is 100% fully submersible including the cord and that FosterandSmithAquatics and ThatPetPlace are incorrect to say they are only partially submersible.

I thought it didn't make sense...why the hell would a good company like Hagen, who already has three other brands of heaters on the market that are 100% submersible (Hagen Elite brand and Hagen AquaClear brand and hagen Tronic brand heaters), make a heater that wasn't 100% submersible here in the 21st century?

I didn't record the conversation to get it 'on the record', but I did send an email via their online support system and when I get a reply tonight or tomorrow from them I'll post it here.

I'm going to go ahead and order two 300watt heaters to give them a shot, they're going to be hooked up to a temperature controller just in case for the first week or two though.

 

[rich_one]

Let me know what you think of the Deep Blue heaters...that company is really interesting to me... I've heard great things about their light fixtures and tanks, and so far nothing bad about their heaters. I'm going to wait though to see what people say about them first.

Okay... I have the heater. It is called the Deep Blue Heat Stik. Couple of cool things right off the bat:

1. I love the location of the temperature settings on the thermostat. Instead of being on the top, where you can hardly see it when you have most tanks, and you can forget about seeing it if you have a discus tank, the settings are on the side of the heater tube, near the top. And the temperature markings are big and visible. There are circles on it, and they turn red as you turn the thermostat dial. The highest red circle is the set temerature. Nice... I like this feature already!

2. You know how most heaters have the little red light, that lets you know it is on? This one's blue! LOL... I know... I'm easily entertained.

3. Tube is made of shatter resistant quartz.

4. Fully submersible.

Well... I'll let you guys know if I ever have any issues with it, or if the temp and thermostat seem far off or whatever.

-Rich

 

[Prince]

Are you guys buying the Deep Blue Heat stick locally or online? What store has them besides amazon?

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[rich_one]

Are you guys buying the Deep Blue Heat stick locally or online? What store has them besides amazon?

Posted via mobile.capitalcichlids.org

The best price I know of is at www.kensfish.com.

Ken is awesome, and really, about the only place I buy my supplies online, personally.

-Rich

 

[rich_one]

Oh wow... I just noticed something. These idiots packaged a 200 watt heater, in a box that says 150 watt heater. Oops! LOL...

-Rich