New Heater Suggestions

[lmw80]

Those of you that were in chat Saturday night know that I went out Friday morning, and returned Saturday evening to a fishtank that was 90-91 degrees. Tragically, I lost 5 neon tetras. The rest of the tetras and other fish that reside in my tank were lethargic and gasping for air. Thankfully, the rest of my fish survived thanks to quick action and TLC. I have kept a close eye on my thermostat heater, and it is definitely broken. It's a topfin 50??watt heater that I have only had for roughly 10 months. I have a 10 gal tank and would appreciate any recommendations for a thermostat heater that has a good record so this sort of thing doesn't happen again. Thank you.

 

[captivereefs]

Ebo Jager works very well.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Ebo Jagers are the best heaters available! I have one that's almost ten years old and never had a bit of trouble with it.

 

[An t-iasg]

Sorry about your fishies Is Top Fin a Petsmart brand? I have a Visi-Therm Deluxe, 25 watt, for my 5.5 gallon betta tank. It has been completely reliable and the temp has not fluctuated so much as a degree! The suction cups are especially appealing to my betta!

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3852&N=2004+113133&in_merch=1

The price for a 50-watt is 14.99 on this site. I paid 19.99 for my 25-watt at the lfs! But it's worth it.

 

[grimlock3000]

Visi Therm.

Some of the new Ebos are listed as submersible on the heaters, others are not. The writing on the heaters can vary from one to another. It seems to be a total crapshoot to my knowledge. I got one that was supposed to be submersible, but it did not say so on the heater or the box. This is on some recently pruchased models. I was ensured that "All Ebos can go underwater" so I tried it, and water leaked inside my heater. I started an Ebo thread, and other people confirmed they had Ebos that were not intended to be underwater.

If you buy an Ebo, make sure you open the box before paying for it, you could end up with one not designed to go under water. Just my experience.

 

[captainGregor]

I find Ebos to be very precise. The temperature in my 55 gallon does not move from 77 degrees (unless it is hotter in the room). Even though it is not-fully submersible TS250 heater, it is still very convenient to use. I would recommend TS50 from bigals (http://www.bigalsonline.com) or Hagen's Tronic (50 watt)
Both of those are very inexpensive and very reliable

 

[William]

I use Visi-Therm Delux [ I think thats the brand ], Whisper, and Top Fin.

By far my Visi-Therm [ i know its something-therm, I can't remember ] are the best.


Unlike the others, Visi-Therm has a temputure dial with numbers that you set to, You have to watch for a while to make sure the factory calibration is set right, which in my experiance it usually is.


I hate topfin because they have a blind knob that you just turn back and forth, wait a few hours to see if its right, repeat if not.


Whispers okay

 

[loganj]

For a small tank, I'd go with the Visi-Therm. I have had very good luck with them so far.

 

[saberry]

Ebo-Jager. I have the 200 watt for my 55 gal and it is VERY precise. I got it from BigAls and have been very pleased. I used it to help cure ich in my tank about six weeks ago and it was accurate to the half degree as I slowly raised the temperature. Check out BigAls - I got the Ebo for less than I would have spent for a lesser heater at Petsmart or Petco. Mine is submerisible as advertised on their website - no problems.

 

[lmw80]

ok, great! thanks so much guys. I am going to do some research on both brands. I definitly know i will not be getting a top-fin again. It was part of the 10 gallon top-fin kit - yes, a petsmart brand.

thanks so much again!