heaters without a controller

[seecrabrun]

I've been very happy with the heaters I settled on in the beginning of my journey. I tried a few, looking for some that actually keep the temp right and turn off at the correct temp. It took a few tries, but I found what I wanted in the ViaAqua Quartz heater.

That said, after 6+ months of use, the coils on the inside are rusting. Is this normal? The instructions even state you need to submerge the heater, yet it appears some water is getting inside anyway.

Should I find something else, keep them as is, or replace with the same?

My tanks are small, so I only buy 50 watt sizes. One heater in the smallest tank and two in the larger tank.

 

[silverado61]

Titanium heaters are hands down better than glass heaters. Get one with a separate controller on the cord out of the water.

 

[seecrabrun]

Link to one that's truly titanium?

 

[silverado61]

Google finnex titanium heaters.

 

[seecrabrun]

Do my heaters actually need to be replaced though? Like are they actually malfunctioning now? The temperature remains correct, just the coils are rusting. Should I replace them soon because the coils will definitely malfunction now?

 

[silverado61]

If the coils have rust on them then you have moisture getting in there somehow. The next step is shorting out and frying your tank or just giving out altogether so I would say yes, replace them asap.

 

[seecrabrun]

That's what I thought, but wanted to make sure.

Would you still recommend 2 lower watt on the titanium vs 1 higher(recommended) watt?

 

[silverado61]

If you get two of the recommended size heaters they would both work less to do the same job. That way if one gives out the other would kick into higher gear and pick up the slack if needed. Besides, in some cases, redundancy couldn't hurt.