Recommended Heater....

[tropicalfish]

Hello, I am seeing what people recommend for a heater. I am planning for my 75 gallon tank, and I am probably going for two 200W heaters. I know the Visi-Therm Stealth is extra reliable, but there is no operating light, and I need one of those just so I know it is operating. I have a Visi-Therm Deluxe on my 10 gallon, but I heard some stories of them "sticking". What about the Eheim Ebo-Jagers? I heard they were reliable, but they are more expensive........

[Ziggy953]

Jager is a very good heater.....I don't have one myself but most everyone I've talked to are very happy with theirs...very reliable!

[roka64]

I have two of Finnex 300w DIGITAL Titanium Heater and love them. One good thing is, if the power goes out and then comes back on, the temp is preset to be 80. I also have 2 smaller ones in my 55G.

[squawkbert]

Originally Posted by Ziggy953

Jager is a very good heater.....I don't have one myself but most everyone I've talked to are very happy with theirs...very reliable!

I'd vouch for the old style Jagers - the newer ones, not so much.

Get the Stealth. Your thermometer will let you know if it is not working. Also, I'd look at a 250W one or a pair of smaller ones for a 75g tank.

[Kurt_Nelson]

Originally Posted by squawkbert

Get the Stealth. Your thermometer will let you know if it is not working. ...

That's true... but with a light, you can catch things before they get to a point where you're dealing with a major temperature swing.

I've got a couple VisiTherm's in my tank and am pretty used to when the heater lights should be on, and when they shouldn't. If I see something out of the ordinary, it cues me to check my temperature. If the temperature is OK, I'll keep an eye on the offending heater. Usually... it's OK. But once, I was able to catch a heater than absolutely refused to come on before my tank temp dropped too much. Without the lights, it probably wouldn't have piqued my curiousity until I dropped a degree or so below my normal temp.

Granted... I'd rather have a heater that's accurate and that I don't have to babysit - but it's nice to have that light as a sanity check.

By the way, the guy at one of my more trusted LFSs has said the guts of the Stealth and the VisiTherm Deluxes are identical - the only difference is the packaging of the heater itself. Sooooo - if that's true, whatever unreliability the VisiTherm Deluxe has, the Stealth would have the same.

I've got a Stealth in my saltwater mix tank, and love it. No problems, rock steady temperature. (I don't need a light in there!) I've got two VisiTherm Deluxes in my main tank, and in the 7 months I've had them one has failed on me. It failed in the "off" position. If I lose another VisiTherm, I'll probably switch brands as 7 months seems a little on the unreliable side. Or maybe I just got a bad one out of the batch. We'll see...

[tropicalfish]

If I were running only one heater in one tank, I would go for a Stealth, but since I am planning on running two in this larger tank, it is better for me to see if both are calibrated.

[travis simonson]

If you're running canister filters you can't go wrong with Hydor in-line heaters. You simply splice them into your return flow from the filters. They are a bit pricey, but you won't have a glass heater in your tank that can break during water changes and they are essentially invisible.

I can't tell you how much I love mine. You can even run your system dry for a time (please don't do this just to prove me wrong :P ) and they will function without a hitch. Mine have stayed on target temps (plus or minus one degree) for three years now and have shown no signs of slowing down. I absolutely love them.