Big Al's Brand Heaters..

[smithw14]

Wow - very cheap - looks like what I need for my 20g.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=28755;category_id=1731;pcid1=3231;pcid2=

$6 seems like a steal. Anybody have one? Are they reliable? I have a visi therm for my 55, but I don't want to spend that much for my 20g - I wasn't even planning on getting a heater until I saw this.

-William

 

[greenmaji]

Hang-on heaters are VERY old school, they were always a pain if you ask me.
Embo's are really cheap now.. or at least get a submersable heater, the diffence in maintaing a tank with a submersable is night and day.

to be safe when dealing with a hang on back heater you need to unplug it and wait 15min before doing your waterchange. Then once you fill the tank with water again you need to wait another 15 min to allow the thermostat to adjust to the new tank temperature.
(old school teaching LOL)

with a submersable you just push it down below the water level your going to be removing durring a water change and try to keep the water comming it at the old temperature.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

"You get what you pay for."

A heater is the absolute LAST thing you want to scrimp on when it comes to aquariums. Hang on heaters WILL fail, and more often than not, they'll take a tank full of fish with them. Nothing like coming home from a hard day's work to find a tank of boiled fish, after the cheap-o heater stuck in the 'on' position and raised the tank temp to 98 degrees.

A high quality, submersible heater doesn't cost that much; a good one will last for years. (I've got an Ebo-Jager thats almost 12 years old.)

If you don't believe me, take some time and search through past posts at a couple different fish forums. I guarantee you'll find several horror stories from people who've learned this lesson the hard way.

 

[greenmaji]

The horror story I remember most was the cheap heater exploding

the thermostat getting stuck in the on possiton is something that happened with right about everything BUT Embo-Jagers (and back then they went for $70 retail, seriously get one they rock )

 

[smithw14]

Oh, okay. Didn't make the connection about the hang on the back thing. I assumed it was like my visi-therm, a submersible. I assume thats why I am still a lowly Aquarium Advice Apprentice. ::weeps uncontrollably::

 

[greenmaji]

Ahhh.. the fish and the title just comes with posts
I could have told you that HOB heaters were a pain before ever finding this place
Ive owned three embo's (and had to deal with HOB's back before submersables were sold ), it was just a long time ago

btw.. one of my old embo's is in the tank at my mom's house, I think it's pushing a decade and still kicking

 

[MSU Fan]

Another option to consider is an inline heater if you have a canister filter...Hydor's 300 watt runs ~$45.