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

emartin

Members
Well, I ordered two 300watt Fluval-M heaters from Kens Fish (he has them in stock just not on his website yet).

I just got a response back from Hagen regarding the heaters, it confirms what they told me on the phone and I made a screenshot for you guys:
hagenfluvalmheatersfull.jpg


So the Fluval-M heaters ARE fully submersible. On the phone they told me the cord can go underwater too. If you like them you'd might as well keep them. I really liked the design of them when I saw them in person last week.
 

UNCLERUCKUS

"THE ALL POWERFUL Q !!
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
FUNNY YOU SAID THAT BECAUSE I WAS CLEANING MY 150G AND BOTH MY 300 WATT VISI-THERM STEALTH HEATERS HAD CRACKED IN THE BACK AND CEASED WORKING. I CALLED AND WILL HAVE 2 NEW ONES SHORTLY. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE...NO RECEIPT OR BOX NEEDED. I BOUGHT THESE 3 YEARS AGO. NO $$ OUT OF POCKET FOR ME EITHER.:jumpy::jumpy: ILL UPGRADE WHEN THEY STOP REPLACING THESE.I MUST ADMIT THOUGH, THOSE TITANIUM HEATERS SURE LOOK NICE. ;)
 

mchambers

Former CCA member
Deep Blue

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.
Just added a Deep Blue heater to one of my tanks last night. Got it from Ken's, at a very reasonable price, along with food and other supplies. Ordered it Sunday evening and got it yesterday.

I have to say that the blue light is cool. The temperature control is pretty easy to use, and seems fairly accurate. Of course, the only thing that really matters is the reliability, which can't be judged yet.
 

rich_one

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

-------------------------------------------------

Now that I have been running two of these heaters for some time now, I have to say... I really like them. I kinda wish that maybe the thermostat had some different increments on the temp settings... but that aside, so far so good. A great priced heater that is fully submersible and has been performing great. Easy to see thermostat settings, even when in the water. And the blue indicator light is just too cool.

So far, this heater gets high marks from me, slowly winning me over from the more expensive Jagers. Still have to stand the test of long term time for that answer... but they are certainly on the road to that. They have already proven themselves better, imo, than the Stealth heaters... which I will never trust again.

-Rich
 

hurtmypony

Members
I had issues with the Fluval E Digital Heater, which was enough for me, an admitted novice, to be wary of the whole brand. The 300-watt variant just wouldn't put my 55 gallon tank over the 77 degree mark.

The emergency 200-watt Aqueon Petco heater I am using temporarily until I get something I am more confident in is keeping the tank at a nice 81 degrees. It is working hard to keep it there, but it is holding steady. The Fluval couldn't even reach that temperature at all with an additional 100 watts.

In my research for a new (redundant) heater, I hit Kensfish up for their opinion on the matter. Here's the truncated reply:

[FONT=&quot]The Via Aqua glass heaters are just as good as the more expensive brands that are out there.

We have just received in the Aqueon pro heaters and after a few weeks of use they seem very good. They are a thermal plastic case so there is no glass to break and they are made in Italy. Usually when products are made in Italy instead of China the quality is much better.
[/FONT]

I have decided to just purchase a local Jager, though. Though they are almost twice Ken's price, it gets close once you factor in postage, and I don't have to wait 8 days to get it.

To complicate everything, BigAl's received the heater return from me 12 days ago. I am still waiting for my refund. Those BigAl's guys were awesome all through the sales part for me. It sucks they haven't shown the same dedication in refunding my money. They were doing awesome until now.
 

BIG_Z

Members
I must be a lucky person as when I bought my tanks from a breeder that was going out of business he threw in about 3 dozen old school hang on back type heaters just to get them out of his room (along with about 40 sponges ). I have yet to have one of those fail or break on me (other than the one I stepped on..long story) I hear all these horror stories about heaters and the only ones I have ever had issues with are newer model submersibles. I can’t seem to get one of them that works for more than a year or two, no matter what brand it is.
 

STATMATT

Members
I'm in the same market, I'm looking to place 4 350 Watt heaters in my (soon to be built) sump. Using a Ranco ETC series temperature controller. I'm building a sump with an algae scrubber and refugium for a 150 gallon African Cichlid tank. I'm looking for the sump to be around 75 gallons.

(0.1*(tankTemp-roomTem)*(SystemGallons)* (3W, 5W)

(0.1*(80degF-65degF)*(150+75)*3W, 0.1*(15)*(225)*5W) = (1350W , 2250W)

divided into 4 heaters (253W, 421W) so 4 350 watt should do the trick. I split them up over 4 heaters so that if one sticks in the ON position the likelihood of it having enough power to 'boil' my fish is marginalized. Also the temperature controler further minimizes this risk.
 

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
I'm in the same market, I'm looking to place 4 350 Watt heaters in my (soon to be built) sump. Using a Ranco ETC series temperature controller. I'm building a sump with an algae scrubber and refugium for a 150 gallon African Cichlid tank. I'm looking for the sump to be around 75 gallons.

(0.1*(tankTemp-roomTem)*(SystemGallons)* (3W, 5W)

(0.1*(80degF-65degF)*(150+75)*3W, 0.1*(15)*(225)*5W) = (1350W , 2250W)

divided into 4 heaters (253W, 421W) so 4 350 watt should do the trick. I split them up over 4 heaters so that if one sticks in the ON position the likelihood of it having enough power to 'boil' my fish is marginalized. Also the temperature controler further minimizes this risk.


Sounds like a solid plan. Welcome to the club, btw. Do you have any pictures of your fish? Start up a welcome thread and post up some shots!
 

UNCLERUCKUS

"THE ALL POWERFUL Q !!
SPOKE TO MARINELAND ON THE PHONE AFTER I WENT TO PETSMART TO EXCHANGE MY BROKEN 300W HEATERS AND THEY DIDNT HAVE 300 W HEATERS IN STOCK EXCEPT FLUVAL AND TOPFIN. THEY WERE VERY NICE HELPFUL AND I SHOULD HAVE MY NEW HEATERS BY TUESDAY I WAS TOLD.
 

UNCLERUCKUS

"THE ALL POWERFUL Q !!
NO MAB NOT ALL. THEY WILL SEND YOU OUT NEW ONES W/ A RETURN LABEL. JUST RETURN THE OLD HEATERS IN THE SHIPPING BX AND YOUR GOOD I WAS TOLD. THEYVE MADE IT QUITE EASY.
 

UNCLERUCKUS

"THE ALL POWERFUL Q !!
GOT MY HEATERS IN TODAY. THEY WERE NOT THE 300W X2 I HAD ASKED FOR. THEY SENT ME 2X 400W AS A REPLACEMENT :jumpy::jumpy:! IM VERY HAPPY WITH THERE CUSTOMER SERVICE ;) :D.
 

UNCLERUCKUS

"THE ALL POWERFUL Q !!
MARINELAND CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AWESOME THEY SENT ME A 200W HEATER TODAY IN ERROR. I CALLED AND THEY SAID " OH OK THANKS FOR LETTING US KNOW. YOU CAN KEEP IT AND WE WILL PUT A NOTATION IN YOUR ACCOUNT THAT YOU CALLED IT IN". KUDOS MARINELAND.
 
i got a recall notice in the mail today for the marineland steath pros 100/200/250 watt from petsmart. i will be pulling out at least three heaters and retuning them.
 
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