Help me select a heater..... Please?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

Which heater would you chose?

  • ViaAqua Titanium heater

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • JBJ True Temp Titanium heater

    Votes: 6 25.0%
  • Neither, I have a better one (please explain in post)

    Votes: 16 66.7%

  • Total voters
    24
Well I have been using the Via Aqua Heaters for about 3-4 years now on all my tanks...I Love these heaters.....I even have one 350 watt on my 180 gallon for the last year and by itself it keeps the tank at 79-80....I have three more of these heaters in my other tanks and they are so reliable....plus a 350 watt is 41.99 in the Petsolutions catalog i use....
 
how does having a external controller make a heater fail proof and any better then having a regular style heater?

i can understand if you have a regular heater (with its own thermostat), hooked up to a external controller (with its own thermostat) and set with a degree higher then the main heater as backup but i dont see how heaters with external controllers by themselves are any more reliable then a regular heater?
 
tdkee1;4690007; said:
how does having a external controller make a heater fail proof and any better then having a regular style heater?

i can understand if you have a regular heater (with its own thermostat), hooked up to a external controller (with its own thermostat) and set with a degree higher then the main heater as backup but i dont see how heaters with external controllers by themselves are any more reliable then a regular heater?

Because the controller is separate from the heater? And reads the heat with a separate temp probe to tell the heater when to shut off.
 
And when you think about it, the temp sensor on a regular heater is in the heater itself... so it's reading the water directly around the heater... on a big tank, does that make sense? Wouldn't I want it to read the temperature on the other side of the tank?
 
i have a titanium heater but i use my jager because i trust them more. plus i dont have to deal with all the extra wiring from a titanium heater.
i dont mind getting my hands wet if i have to adjust my temp. i keep my jager in my sump so there is no chance of it breaking. even though jagers are glass ive never had one break on me.
 
tdkee1;4690051; said:
i have a titanium heater but i use my jager because i trust them more. plus i dont have to deal with all the extra wiring from a titanium heater.
i dont mind getting my hands wet if i have to adjust my temp. i keep my jager in my sump so there is no chance of it breaking. even though jagers are glass ive never had one break on me.

OK...? Doesn't change the fact glass heaters have inherent shortcomings in their design... not saying they can't be used successfully. But if I were in the market for a NEW heater, I'd seriously consider titanium.
I have an old 100watt no name glass heater I've had for years and that thing has somehow survived everything I've put it through and is still very accurate. But I've had 3 glass heaters fail on me, including a jager. Ironically, I have a 200watt stealth that has always worked perfectly, even though those probably get the worst reputation on MFK. But I believe it is an older model, not the newer made in china ones.
 
okay...i still dont get how a heater with a separate controller is more reliable. every heater has a sensor that tells it when to shut off and turn on. if the heater isnt heating the tank properly its because the heater is too small and there isnt have enough circulation. it has nothing to do with where the temperature probe is imo.
 
tdkee1;4690107; said:
okay...i still dont get how a heater with a separate controller is more reliable. every heater has a sensor that tells it when to shut off and turn on. if the heater isnt heating the tank properly its because the heater is too small and there isnt have enough circulation. it has nothing to do with where the temperature probe is imo.

Because the external controllers have higher quality sensors than a cheap built in thermostat in a glass heater. There is nothing to "kill" a glass heater if it gets stuck on... a high quality controller will.
 
K626;4688626; said:
I read that you can't fully submerse a fluval e. I like the fully submersible heaters, just so I don't "oops" and drown the thing.
You can submerge the E series, it's the M series that can't.

seel1990;4688467; said:
fluval e series heater. has a screen showing actual temp. and has guard. also screen changes colour green - set temperature, blue - if temp goes below 3* of set temp and red - if temp goes above 3* of set temp
:headbang2The screen color saved my favorite fish last month when I forgot to plug the heater back in. I noticed from across the room that the heater wasn't on.
CClump;4689015; said:
you will immediately regret shelling out the dough for the e series the one day it almost get somewhat cold in your house
I noticed one tank that drops 2 degrees F when I turn the heat down when I leave the house. I have the E series on 8 tanks and only one tank has this issue and only when the house drops below 65 degree's. The rest of the tanks are in the basement that doesn't get cooler than 72, even when I lower the heat for the rest of the house. I'm not sure I can fault the heater for my house being cold. And the heater my be undersized for the tank, I have a habit of buying smaller heaters.


smpage;4688782; said:
Hydor inline heaters ftw.
with a canister it's my first choice. Or a small pump running within a sump.

aclockworkorange;4690030; said:
And when you think about it, the temp sensor on a regular heater is in the heater itself... so it's reading the water directly around the heater... on a big tank, does that make sense? Wouldn't I want it to read the temperature on the other side of the tank?
The fluval E series has sensors that warn you if the flow around the heater is too low; as well as the things seel1990 mentioned. If you have adequate flow in your tank the temp should be pretty close all the way around.
 
that is my point. external controllers can also get stuck on. how do you figure the built in thermostats are cheaper and the external controllers are better quality? that i have never heard before. im not too sure about that one because im not an electrician. where did you hear or find that info?
 
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