Heater review thread

[Aussie_hippie_2]

After talking to some folks today about heaters, I realized how handy a thread for reviewing heaters would be. Hopefully this goes well. Review yours, even if it's been said before.*

State the brand, how long you've had it, size, that kind of stuff. I have 3, so I'll start:

All Glass: I've had a 50W going on my 10g since mid-September. Easy interface and controls, and for the most part has been very accurate. However over the past week or so (March) the thing has begun to fizzle. Allthough it's set at 75**, it was keeping the tank at 84, until I turned it down to 71, thus making the tank 80.
It's a nice heater, it's just too bad it didn't last long. Cheap for a reason.

Whisper aka Walmart crap: I got a 200W one for my 29g in November, and retired it in December. It could never get the temp up to the 81 I needed for the apistos. Plus, it has no specific temp setting on it, you just need to experiment. Even at the very highest setting, the temp remained at 79 orignally, and then decreased to around 76.
Cheap and worthless. Stay away from it like the plague.

Visitherm Stealth: I have a 200W to replace my Whisper in the 29g. Nice interface, no on light, which is handy since the tank is right next to my bed. I set it at 81, and within an hour, it was at 81. I've only had it for around 1 1/2 month, but it's still going strong. Hides easily in the back too.Can get them cheap by price-matching at Petsmart, got mine for $20!
I looove this heater, relatively cheap, good looking, and works well.

*-Just reflects personal opinion, I'm not out against any brand or company
**-temp in farenheit

[joephys]

I have a visitherm stealth. It appears to be doing a decent job. The temp seems to be steady for the most part. I don't like that it doesn't have a little light though. I like to see that its working from a distance. Its about 4 months old and doing fine.

I also have a hydor theo heater. Its my top choice. Its has been going strong for about a year now. The tank was a little warmer than the reading on the dial, but I haven't seen a heater that was dead on anyway. The heating element is the same type of thing used in car rear window defrosters, so I think its less likely for the heating element to wear out.

[Daveedka]

I have 16 various assorted vis-therm deluxe heaters, one is 16 years old. To date none of my VT deluxe heaters have ever failed without some sort of complete bonehead move on my part. I do keep them fully submersed, and expect (without knowing) that the folks whohave trouble with these heaters do not keep them submersed. The glass case leaves a bit to be desired in theory, but in practicality I've not had issue, even inOscar tanks.

I also have one stealth whcin is only a few months old, and am extremely happy with the design and the plastic case. So far it does what it was made to do and does it well. in about 15 years I'll know if I like it better than the deluxe VT's.

I recently got a really cheap demo model from tetra, no adjustemnt, preset at 76-78*F. I'm not a fan of non adjustable heaters, but have no real problem with this one to date. It was sold to me as a demo, so I'll give it a run anyhow.


In November I bought an All Glass heater at the reccomend of an LFS employee who sowre by them (they didn't have the heater I wanted in stock) That Employee has been added to my list of people who I will never take advice from again, and the heater went out in the trash can before christmas. That tank now has the stealth I mentioned earlier.

Dave

[blackwolfXKAV]

aussie, unless the heater outright stops working, the heating issue is dependant on what the room temp is.

[Mgamer20o0]

been using visi therm stealth and visi therm heaters for 3-4 years. never once had any problem with them. i got rid of the other heaters and now only use these. 100% guarantee is nice but never had to use it.

[polocrosseplyer]

i bought a visi therm stealth and loved it for about a week until it quit - there were bubbles coming out of it - makes me think it was a defect.. back to petsmart!
i currently have a hydor theo? and it sucks but its all i have till i go back to town

[joephys]

Originally Posted by polocrosseplyer

...
i currently have a hydor theo? and it sucks but its all i have till i go back to town

What is wrong with the hydor theo? I haven't found many people that have them. I have one that is a year old and hasn't caused a problem for me. I'm just curious incase I may have gotten one that just happened to better than they typically do.

[polocrosseplyer]

it is turned all the way down and still heats the water to 80 - i'm pretty positive its a theo - it came w/ our tank - unused so maybe the previous owner screwed it up - i dunno

[Raskolnikov]

I'm a big fan of the Visitherm Stealth thermometers, as much of the equipment in my tanks recieves quite the pounding from the inhabitants. They're practically bomb-proof, and they go well with the black backgrounds on my tanks. The lack of indicator on the Stealths is the only detractor that they have to me.

I also use Tronics in my smaller tanks; good glass heater and the light feature is handy, but if/when they crap out I'll be getting more Stealths.

[mostlycichlids]

I Am a fan of the Visitherm Stealths as well....No light to look at and very easy to hide in verticle or horizontal positions. I can't express how accurate these are as well. Another great heater is the Rena Cal excel heaters, I use both of these and will never use anything else.
I have used all glass and hydor theos and have had the worst luck with both. They are both under rated as far as wattage very inaccurate and eventually get stuck on. This is my experience on the heaters mentioned. Oh I forgot to mention the Marineland Neptune is also a very good heater but it is green and stands out.

[TPIRman]

I'd always used Tronics (with the nifty little plastic sleeve add-ons), but last year I needed a heater for a QT setup, and the local place didn't have Tronics. They can be a bit hard to find. I got a Visi-Therm Deluxe instead. It performed admirably for a couple months, and I placed it into storage when I took down the QT. Earlier this year I set the tank up again, filled it up and plugged in the Visi-Therm. The next morning, the water was at 95F. (No fish in the tank yet, fortunately!) I took out the VT and threw it in the trash.

I figured it was a fluke and, having heard good things, picked up a VT Stealth. I set it to 76 and put it in the re-filled tank. The next morning, the water was 81F. One or two degrees variance is to be expected, but five is a bit much. It does hold the temperature I want if I low-ball the dial, but that's one more thing I have to remember when setting up a tank's equipment.

The four Tronics I have owned have been rock solid for years.

I've heard too many smart hobbyists like Dave endorse VT heaters for me to say the brand is a dud. I still think that it's one of the top two or three heaters you can buy with confidence. Just wanted to add my two cents for another excellent brand (Tronic, now sold as Fluval Tronic) and note that my VT experience has been a little different than most.

Oh, and BTW, this:

Originally Posted by Daveedka

I do keep them fully submersed, and expect (without knowing) that the folks whohave trouble with these heaters do not keep them submersed.

does not apply in my case, but I agree that it is a common cause of heater woes.

[ghost_shrimp]

My LFS recommended Tronic to me years ago and the ones I have owned have held up well. My tank's temperatures are kept stable and they have performed reliably for years. The temperature on the heater dial doesn't match the actual water temperature but once you adjust it to what you want, it holds steady.

[rosita]

Being relatively new to the hobby (around 1.5 years), I found a VT Stealth heater for my 55 on the fly--there isn't much variety available here. I bought a second a few months later, so I've had them a year and a half, with absolutely no problems. The plastic casing is a big plus for me, as I shudder at the thought of glass breaking in the tank. I have some All-Glass heaters which came with tank kits; neither of them will go below 78 F even when turned all the way down. Otherwise, they're working fine after a year.

[mostlycichlids]

Originally Posted by rosita

Being relatively new to the hobby (around 1.5 years), I found a VT Stealth heater for my 55 on the fly--there isn't much variety available here. I bought a second a few months later, so I've had them a year and a half, with absolutely no problems. The plastic casing is a big plus for me, as I shudder at the thought of glass breaking in the tank. I have some All-Glass heaters which came with tank kits; neither of them will go below 78 F even when turned all the way down. Otherwise, they're working fine after a year.

Yeah All-Glass heaters are junk IMO.

[Corax]

any opinions on inline heaters?

[Matak]

I just want to give a word of thanks to those who recommended the VisiTherm heaters. Bought one a few weeks ago on your recommendations. You can just feel the quality in this unit. It wasn't cheap, but you pay what you get for.

[wesleydnunder]

I use the visitherm stealths in all my tanks after having used most of what's out there for the last 4 decades.

Mark

[DirtyDawg10]

I use a visitherm stealth in my 75 gal based on recommendations from this website. It works great.

I also have a Jager in my 10 gal which works pretty well. My only complaint is the temp on the dial is not what the heater stays at so it must not have been calibrated prior to shipping. I just check it with my glass thermometer also in the tank. Once you play around with it and get the temp right it is very good at maintaining that temp.

[TwoTankAmin]

I have two Hydor inlines. One on a 50 (200w) and one on a 75 (300w)- both in concert with Eheims. I have had them for over 2 years now and they seem to work fine.

Incidentally I see them on sale for a good price at BigAls and FosterSmith right now.

[Rallysman]

One of my stealths shocked me a couple days ago Other than that incident I like them a lot!