Have all heaters just gone to the dogs...not the fish?

[candycane]

Tell me if I am being a bit picky here, but I am tired of every heater I get failing on me. EBO-Jager used to be GREAT (the ones with the yellow caps). Now Eheim owns them. Now I am having issues with a titanium brand which shall remain nameless. It is supposed to be accurate to 1 degree - but I have the thermostat (the external temperature sensor is atleast a foot away from the actual heating unit) set at less then 76 with the heater keeping the tank at 79 with a 2 degree fluctuation during the night. My Rena's were actually good for quite some time though. Is there any brand out there, no matter what the cost, where you can just set it and forget it? Or am I being too picky with caring to much about a 2 degree fluctuation? Cause my tank has an alarm which gets REALLY annoying.

 

[djm]

I have only used Visi-Therm submersible heaters for over 15 years. I have never had an issue with them, so I never felt the urge to try something else. I have NEVER trusted the thermostat settings on them because they are never right because of a ton of different factors. In my experience they are trial and error to set, but once you get the correct temperature they hold pretty steady.
Are you sure that you are using one that is big enough for your aquarium AND not too big?
2 degrees may cause stress in some sensitive species that refuse to adapt to it. For the most part I think you can just relax and let your tank's inhabitants let you know when there is an issue that you need to address.

 

[fishy7]

I have used won brothers pro heat II for the past 9 months and have never had a swing more then 1. This is a 350W for a 215.

 

[promisetbg]

I agree that they are innacurate and frustrating. Or maybe it's the thermometers we're using? :notsure: I had a problem with one recently because it was always fine..then all of the sudden started overheating the tank. I unplugged it for a week to see what would happen and the tank dropped from 83 in the day to 78 in the day! Now I just set it lower to keep it at 77-78.

 

[granny]

I also use the Submersible Visi-Therms and have never had a problem.
I use two heaters instead of one, a few watts lower than you would need for one unit.
This is a good protective measure incase one goes out and you are less likely to ever overheat your water.
Set it by placing the heater in your Holding tub for water changes and when you maintain that water at a consistent temp. then move it to your main tank.
The thermostats on the units are pretty accurate, but as mentioned above may differ slightly. Mine are both set at 78 and the tank water stays there unless the house gets warmer since our air is on 79 right now!

 

[efishnsea]

GET A PRO HEAT II, THEY ARE AWESOME

EFISH :happyfish NSEA

 

[reefstar22]

I dont trust heaters at all. I dont use one.

I have to run a chiller all the time to keep it in speck.... more often then not your pump/lights house will keep the tank at atleast 75 degrees...Unless its the middle of winter and you keep your house at65...and even at that poing with your pump/lights it will stay at 72F ...which is actully where your tnak should be. Fish corals can handle 76/78 if its consistant...but 72/73 is actully where normal ocean temps stay.

 

[candycane]

Yeah I was looking at the Pro Heat II. I think they are a little better because of the digital calibration. I am going to look further into those and see what happens. I think I might have had a fluctuation in temperature because I had a cerith snail attached to the sensor probe.

 

[evanwv19]

Ive been using Stealth heaters...same at the Visa-Therms but in breakable and black. Stealth and Visa-Therm are made my Marineland

 

[bojik]

Originally Posted by Reefstar22
I dont trust heaters at all. I dont use one.

I have to run a chiller all the time to keep it in speck.... more often then not your pump/lights house will keep the tank at atleast 75 degrees...Unless its the middle of winter and you keep your house at65...and even at that poing with your pump/lights it will stay at 72F ...which is actully where your tnak should be. Fish corals can handle 76/78 if its consistant...but 72/73 is actully where normal ocean temps stay.
Depends on the location as to normal ocean temps.

 

[reefstar22]

Originally Posted by Bojik
Depends on the location as to normal ocean temps.

Most reefs are at that temp... austraila ..etc

 

[reefstar22]

I just assumed people wouldn't take it as the WHOLE ocean...there are some areas like antartica that are far from 72F ....even if you get into northern america the water gets far away from there...ETC.