Heater questions

[Adina]

Alright I'll try to not make this too long but I had a few questions about which heaters would be best to get. I have two aquariums that I'm wanting to get them for. One glass 10 gallon and one acrylic 3 gallon.

I've kinda narrowed it down to two options for my 10 gallon:
Hydor THEO Submersible Aquarium Heater 50w
Hydor THEO (UL) Submersible Aquarium Heater at PETCO
Aqueon Pro Heater 50w
Aqueon Pro Heaters Submersible Aquarium Heaters at PETCO

And for my 3 gallon acrylic:
Tetra Submersible Aquarium Heater HT10 50w
Walmart.com: Tetra Submersible Aquarium Heater, 50-Watts: Fish
Tetra Whisper Heater 5-15 (im guessing 50w)
Walmart.com: Tetra Heater 5-15: Fish

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated, price isn't really an issue as long as its not like $50 or something just for a heater.
Also the reason I chose the tetra's for the 3 gallon is because I want a smaller (shorter) heater because of space. And those are about 6 inches in length. I cant have anything too long in the 3 gallon.

 

[Adina]

Any suggestions?

 

[coffeetwitch]

im researching heaters too as upgrades. consider this... one peice of equipment that we rely on 24 hours a day is the heater.

that said. ebay has eheim heaters for cheap. and they are cheap and good.

 

[ocean]

I have two tetra heaters I'm using right now.....one in a 2 1/2 gal. ( for 6 months ) and one in a 10 gal. ( for 3 years ), haven't had any problems.

 

[coffeetwitch]

I have two tetra heaters I'm using right now.....one in a 2 1/2 gal. ( for 6 months ) and one in a 10 gal. ( for 3 years ), haven't had any problems.

maybe i got the bad one that cost me 20 babies to find out.

 

[ocean]

I also lost some Discus a few years ago from a name brand and expensive heater! So I know where you'er coming from!

 

[coffeetwitch]

ouch. i like discus. just never kept any. beautiful fish!

 

[Adina]

Anyone have any opinions on the two heaters for my 10 gallon? The Hydor THEO and Aqueon Pro?

It would really be appreciated if I could have some feedback about those two.

 

[tarpon]

I use the aqueon pro and i trust it.

Before i bought a topfin glass heater and it zapped and killed my beautiful breeding pair of angels, my glass catfish, albino bristlenose, and cory cats. This was about a month ago

 

[Slade]

I had a 50w hydor Theo lock in the on position. Luckily I caught it before it could fry my fish. I've used fluval, eheim and aqueon in my other tanks for close to a year with no problem.

 

[Adina]

Alright I will go with the Aqueon Pro for my 10 gallon.

Which heater do you think would be best for my acrylic 3 gallon? It just has one betta but winter is coming up and I dont want him to get too cold. And it needs to be a relatively small heater. So I'll probably go with a tetra but I dont know which one to choose. I was leaning towards the whisper but I dunno :/ And it has to be safe to use with acrylic.

 

[ocean]

Alright I will go with the Aqueon Pro for my 10 gallon.

Which heater do you think would be best for my acrylic 3 gallon? It just has one betta but winter is coming up and I dont want him to get too cold. And it needs to be a relatively small heater. So I'll probably go with a tetra but I dont know which one to choose. I was leaning towards the whisper but I dunno :/ And it has to be safe to use with acrylic.

You can also get a betta "heater", they are small flat heaters that you can place on the bottom of the tank and cover with substrate. I'm using one and it's safe to use in an acrylic tank. Check at Petco.

 

[Adina]

im guessing your talking about the zoomed betta heater. ive seen those but i dont really have the room for that. :/ (i have a tube in the center of the aquarium for the air line for the ugf) and if it would fit ive read too many negative reviews to wanna risk it.

 

[Adina]

Well I went on amazon.com and found a few hydor mini's that seem promising. they also have the zoomed which does have better reviews than petsmart had for it.
I'll still probably go for the hydor mini. Just not sure if I want the 7.5w(2-5gal) or the 15w(5-10gal).
I would guess the 15w even though I have a 3gal considering every other heater I've seen for small aquariums was like 25w to 50w.

Anyone use these before and have any info on them?
I'll post a link to the 7.5w since that page has more pics and reviews on it.
Amazon.com: Hydor MINI HEATER Aquarium Heater 7.5 Watts for Tanks 2-5 gal: Pet Supplies

 

[mdavidson]

You may wanna check drfostersandsmith.com. they are running some good specials right now as well

 

[Adina]

one quick question. do you think this thermostat would work with the hydor mini? seeing as the mini doesnt have a built in thermostat. or does this only work with the hydor heater cables?(http://www.amazon.com/Hydor-HYDROKA...Gallon/dp/B0006JLPGI/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies_2) <the cable im talking about)

Hydor Hydroset Electronic Thermostat at PETCO <the thermostat

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3743+23735&pcatid=23735 <another thermostat option

anyone used one of these?

 

[Adina]

anything opinions on these?

 

[joejeff]

I have had the worst luck with heaters. They always overheat my tanks. I am just riding dirty rt now for fear of overheat.