What is the best heater on the market?

[Gannon]

I started my hobby with tons of heater failures 6 years ago. Then I got aqueon pro heaters, the old ones with the blue tips and neither of those have failed me and have been running perfectly for 6 years. However, they changed these heaters in recent years and now they're terrible. I'm still searching for a new go-to heater. I current use a lot of the fluval LED heaters and they have yet to fail me over the last year or so. They are also fairly pricey.

Do you all have a heater that you stand by and are confident in like I am with the old aqueon pro heaters? Would like to know what to get for backup heaters and stuff as I don't have any backups atm. 

[Guppysnail]

Aquarium coop heaters. External setting control digital display 1 year warranty.   Sleek slim square shape. Heater guard and very reasonably priced. Extensively tested by ACO.  And it supports our forum host 🤗. I’m running 8 of them and LOVE them. 
 

The old Aqueon pro were good. The new ones stink 7 died in less than a year for me. 

[Tazalanche]

For the 55 & 135, I have Hydor In-line heaters connected to the canister filters. For the 20H tanks, I have the Aquarium Co-Op heaters.

In order to reduce the possibility of setting up more of the aquariums that I have in storage, I've given away all of my old heaters.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/8/2022 at 2:58 PM, Tazalanche said:

In order to reduce the possibility of setting up more of the aquariums that I have in storage

What kind of nonsense is this?!

[Tazalanche]

On 9/8/2022 at 2:03 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

What kind of nonsense is this?!

It became too much effort to do weekly water changes on a room full of tanks & the room was not set up well enough for an automated water change system.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/8/2022 at 3:06 PM, Tazalanche said:

It became too much effort to do weekly water changes on a room full of tanks & the room was not set up well enough for an automated water change system.

So what you're saying is you're in recovery from Multi-Tank Syndrome, and you're trying not to relapse. 🤣

Edited September 8, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Tazalanche]

On 9/8/2022 at 2:08 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

So what you're saying is you're in recovery from Multi-Tank Syndrome, and you're trying not to relapse. 🤣

Absolutely!

My wife only wanted one tank after our move, but I was not comfortable with our OLD striped raphael catfish in the same tank as our chili rasboras. She finally gave in to setting the 55 gallon up for the nano fish. Then we needed more fish for each tank, because they looked so empty, then we needed QT tanks for those new fish... you know how the story goes. LOL 😆🤣

Edited September 11, 2022 by Tazalanche
Photo added to show the old striped raphael cats

[quikv6]

Gannon...I echo your sentiments on the older Aqueon Pro heaters. I have had 7 of these running constantly. They are great. I did have one fail (off) after a few years. The light still let red when heating, but just didn't heat. The Inkbird alerted me to the fact that it failed.  I found ebay to still have a few of the older models for sale, so you might want to check there. The newer Aqueons are terrible.

I did go with 2 new ACO heaters on a newer 125 set up. Believe it or not, I only needed 1 to fully heat a 125 to 79 degrees. I keep the 2nd one in there as a backup, set 2 degrees lower than the primary. To be honest, I am really, really happy with them thus far, with the exception of the suction cups. As for longevity, that is still to be determined. I will probably hate that flashing "end of life" message so much, I may never see how long they actually will last. But so far, I have been very happy with the two that I have.

[_Eric_]

For me - a cheap Amazon heater paired with an Inkbird is the way to go.

[Atitagain]

This is my review of the aquarium coop heater=🤷🏻‍♂️

[Bev C]

@GannonI have  2 favorites either one I recommend   but I would pick the ACO heater 

I used to buy the cheap ones from discount box stores or amazon till my heater over heated and fried my tank I lost all my fish  and crawfish but I learn my lesson to not have heater without a temperature controller I use the inkbird  aquarium temperature controller I will never use a heater without a temperature controller again 

1: I  used the  Ehiem  Jager   after my fish fried  it might a little pricey but I have had mine for years,, but there was one  downside  the size for me I do not like oversized equipment in my tank unless it is sponge filter ,,   but I used it  many years because it was a wonderful heater a work horses  and  it is very reliable  and  lasted me years  only thing i did not like the size 

2 Aquarium Co Op  Hester I just got this year. ACO  just came out with  their own heater not to long ago  I feel in love with the design  of their heater  the size is very small , black  and easy to hide in your tank    so i bought one just because of the size and design  i am loving it so far and works very well and cheaper then other heaters ,, love the  red digital temperature reading  of it  easy to read and see like it so much planing on buying one for my 10 gallon too   before winter only problem i have with is not Aquarium CoOp fault  but my netrite snails love laying eggs on it ,, but that is no problem I just hide the heater  behind a plant 

 i did replace the   The Ehiem Jager in my main tank with the ACO heaterI am running  with my inkbird controller and i kept the Ehiem for backup emergencies and  heating my water changes water 

plus  I love to support ACO shop Corey, and his team and this ACO forum and it members because they have helped me the most in this hobby that I love  and plus I love the ACo products they are coming out lately  & love their power head  and sponge filters too

 can not wait for the ACO lights  they   are working on ,,, and have not released yet want to try those 

 

Edited September 9, 2022 by Bev C

[anewbie]

There are different factors that define 'best'; the ability to heat the aquarium; efficiency; failure rate; stuck (on or off); 'bang for the buck'; form factor; ....

 

A lot of people are touting the aquarium-coop heater but that is just pr crap; it hasn't been on the market long enough to determine failure rate and types of failures so don't be caught up in the hype. I'm not trying to dis the aquarium-coop heater just stating it hasn't been on the market long enough for any real data to be collected.

 

For guppies it probably doesn't matter what you use and failures aren't that critical; for $15,000 dollar fishes I think you will be a lot more critical in your configuration including the use of inkbird to prevent stuck on as well as monitoring with alerts (hydor, neptune, ghl, ....).

 

In my personal limited experience (and what i've read on the web); many newer heaters at not well made. A lot of the salt water folks like various models of titanium tubes hooked up to independent controllers - the use of multiple heaters with controllers allow for a lot of fault tolerance. While you might be in a freshwater environment one thing to keep in mind is the typical $$$ for saltwater fishes. 

-

I personally been using hygger titanium heaters which comes with an external controller. I've had one of the tubes failed in 2 years but the others have been solid (the oldest if 4 years old; so not that old). I have a couple of marina heaters but they haven't been that reliable and these days i mostly just use them in pails for water changes during the winter. They are cheap i will give them that much. I don't want to push the hygger because I only have 6 and that is not much of a sample point. Also they are pricey and it might be cheaper to buy independent controller and titanium tube (if you go that route); the tubes are not always that reliable - there have been reports via a few people of them leaking or the heat element failing so i don't want to push them either. 

[Bev C]

 First let me say what ever i say i am not trying to be  harsh or rude to anyone , I am stating my experiences with heaters from my past and up to today time period 

I agree   with @anewbie  it is hard  to find heaters that works now a days you have do own research and buy and hope for the best  and  does not matter  the brand  all products  can  have a faulty  one   at times most heaters have 1 year warranty I think Ehiem has 2-3 years or they use to 

 but i still believe what ever  brand  you pick or price you  paid   having a temperature controller is best  for the person and the fish i learn that personally  the hard way  lost a my whole tank due to cheap heaters 

But I will have to say I still  stand behind  the ACO heater and sticking up for it in my current post and i still stand behind the Ehiem  Jager too being the best for my needs everyone has to do what is best for themselves and  their money budget 

I will admit I am not afraid to try new things or products

 I also admit  I got and wanted the  ACO heater at first because it was new and for the design  and size , But before buying I did my research and listen to many months of Corey and AOC videos and live stream videos of how much thought and testing in different situations this heater went through before it was released

and the heater price   it is a fair and decent price for a heater compare to most 

Yes the ACO heater just came out this year Rome was not built in one day,   but  i have been using  it for 4 -5 months now and do not see any faults so far for 1  little black box it is throwing a mighty punch so far and it is keeping my  55 gallon  tank and fish happy and healthy  and I am glad i got it and yes for larger tanks of 100 gallons or more  you might need two heaters but that is usual for all heaters and tanks 

Buying anything is a gamble but  if the ACO heater faults under the 1 warranty i know ACO will stand behind it Their customer service is the best from my own past experience with all products and plants  that i got from them   not like the other big brands names

yes since the heater is new who knows how long it will last   it is a waiting game it could be next week or 5 years  but i would not be afraid to buy another heater if it goes out,, if the heater last longer then a year that would be wonderful too

and the heater  does not break my pocket book to much if it last only 1 year that it was promised

Believe me I research  everything ( maybe to much) and weigh the pro’s and con’s  before I buy anything even toothpaste 

 any product or brand can be a gamble and everyone needs to do their own research on any product and do the pro’s and Con’s game  and decide for themselves and hope for the best 

 

 

 

Edited September 10, 2022 by Bev C

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/10/2022 at 7:32 AM, Pepere said:

The Secret History Living in your tank youtube video showing 2 split heaters and a tankful of dead fish twice in one year motivated me to swap out.

I saw that.  It was tragic.  Poor guy. Like many of us, he has an emotional attachment to his fish and inverts, and that was tough for him to go through and to share. 

[quikv6]

With regards to the newer style Aqueon Pro....I have been through 3 of them, with the 3rd still being in use.

-The first required the dial to be maxed out in order to maintain 78. The scale was completely off. Normally that wouldn't bother me terribly, but I had no more room to turn up if I needed to increase temp for ick/fry/etc. Aqueon replaced it for me.

-The 2nd one was also off on scale, though not as much. 82-83 on the dial resulted in 78 on the water. The 78 fluctuated quite a bit, pending small room temp changes. I was not thrilled with this, as the older model was far more stable, and did not reflect small room temp fluctuations. It eventually failed in the off position. I was alerted because I had an Inkbird on it....the model with the low temp alarm. (A nice feature if you are only running 1 heater in a tank.) I believe it was only 6 months old when it failed. 

-The 3rd is still working (knock on wood), with a scale that is also off a bit. 80-82 is 77-78 water temp.

[Hoi Polloi]

No matter the reviews on a product, for me, the product is as only as good when it functions properly for me. If the product fails on me, depending on the type of product, I am reluctant to purchase that same product a second time. 

I just watched the Secret History Living video of the catastrophic failure of the heaters he had and what he invested in the tank that failed. I am unaware of Aqueon's response to that.  That was a crying shame.

The only heaters that I have seen recommended in two of my LFS are the Aqueon and Ehiems. Yet, Aqueon has a less then stellar approval (especially Secret History) and one LFS had 17 Ehiems fail on them. Yet, the LFS still purchased Ehiem for replacements. 

I have one Aqueon but not the "Pro" that split. I don't have an opinion on it, yet because of Aqueons reputation on their heaters - I don't trust it, so it sits in a box as a last resort.

I have the Ehiems since day one when I was thrown into the hobby (1 1/2yrs now)  and no issues. I don't care for the calibration method.

One of the LFS came back from the Dallas show and now carries the Polish brand Aquael. I'm going to try their heaters.

And yes, I do have the Co-op heater but I have issues with it. I'm waiting for version two.

The quest continues for a reliable heater. 

 P.s. I really liked Atitagain's advertisement. 😉 

Edited September 10, 2022 by Hoi Polloi

[anewbie]

Probably the two most reliable heaters i've seen are the use of room heater to keep the room of the aquarium; of course this is not feasible for some aquariums like one full of heckle discus where you keep the tank around 90; the other is the use of a tankless water heater loop (which is also a lot cheaper) that warms the water via a loop through the sump.