Review of JBJ True Temp Digital Controller

[Floyd R Turbo]

I just got one of these for a reef tank I maintain:

Titanium Heater with JBJ TRUE TEMP Digital Controller - English

I got the one with the 300W heater. I have to say that right away I can tell this is a VASTLY superior heating system. The heater unit is titanium w/plastic shield

• The heater and temperature probe are separate

• It has magnets to hold the heater and temperature probe in place, and you can then move them around without getting your hands wet.

• The controller is stupid-easy to set and you can calibrate it (stupid-easy as well)

I now feel much more comfortable than I did when this system was running off a 4-year-old Rena 300W heater with a highly inaccurate dial setting, and a $8 Coralife digital thermometer. I calibrated the JBJ unit using my Hanna Combo pH/TDS/Temp meter.

The only thing that I would change about this unit is that it has a factory setting to keep the temp in a +/- 1 F range, so if you set it to 77, it will turn on at 76 and heat to 78, then turn off until it hits 76 again. I would like to see that range be adjustable as well. But I'm sure there's a reason they did it (that's an acceptable range for the majority of aquarists, unless you're keeping something delicate, in which case you probably have a multi-system controller.

I maintain 2 other tanks and have problems getting the temperature set-point right because of either cheap heaters, problems with positioning the end of the heater with the thermostat in the right spot, having multiple heaters, etc. I believe I will be purchasing this heater system for both of those tanks as well in the near future.