AAE Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 I need to get a 200 watt heater for a 100 gallon tank I will be setting up. I would have gotten the ACO heater but sadly .... Do any of you have recommendations of heaters you trust? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Payne Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 They are all unreliable at best. In my fishroom, in the few tanks that require additional heating i run eheims on inkbird temp controllers. Whatever you use i highly recommend a temp controller. A heater will fail at some point, for an additional $25 its worth the investment. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAE Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 Thanks, @T. Payne - great suggestion. I had looked at the Helio PTC heaters - they use a different heating source and apparently are safer and come with a built-in controller and temp probe - they are also very expensive (e.g., $160 for a 200 watt heater). The heating element is titanium and I don't love the look of a metal tube in the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne 82nd Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 I have been using the fluval e series 200w so far so good 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 I like my aquael ultra heater the best. I also like its look more than any other heather 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 I still use the cheap kit heaters. When upgrading, usually switch to fluval. Have only replaced half so far. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DallasCowboys16 Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 I’ve always used Eheim Jagers and have not had one fail spectacularly on me yet. I don’t care if they burn out, which one occasionally will after many years, but I do care if they deep fry the tank by not switching off. Any brand that people recommend on here is going to be just about as good as the next. Heaters are a fundamentally flawed piece of aquarium equipment and nothing will ever change that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 I would look for the one Bentley Passcoe had that was 30 years old or greater in his video. It was from before heater's were made into disposable parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAE Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 I feel discouraged by the state of aquarium heaters. Even the Inkbird controllers get panned by a number of owners. Oh well. This is the world we live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikv6 Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 I would get 2 smaller (100W or so) heaters and put them on a single inkbird. You can set one lower than the other to save wattage, and only come on if the temp gets low enough (the main one fails, or you waterchange with colder water.) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 Bulk Reef Supply titanium heaters hands down. Have to use a controller with them though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktor zhivago Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 (edited) Ironically the one I've had the most luck with is the cheap top fin heater that came with one of my tanks. On 6/16/2024 at 1:14 PM, AAE said: I feel discouraged by the state of aquarium heaters. Even the Inkbird controllers get panned by a number of owners. Oh well. This is the world we live in. People only review heaters and controllers hen they break. Otherwise no one even thinks about them. Edited June 17 by doktor zhivago 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAE Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 @Mmiller2001, with this heater would you get two 100 watt heaters or a single 200 watt heater? I guess I am asking how much you trust the heater since I would prefer a single heating element but would do two for safety sake. @doktor zhivago, really good point that reviews of products are not balanced, since those of us that are unhappy are more motivated to make a report. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 On 6/17/2024 at 8:39 AM, AAE said: @Mmiller2001, with this heater would you get two 100 watt heaters or a single 200 watt heater? I guess I am asking how much you trust the heater since I would prefer a single heating element but would do two for safety sake. @doktor zhivago, really good point that reviews of products are not balanced, since those of us that are unhappy are more motivated to make a report. I’m just using 1 for each tank. A 150 and 120 gallon. If the price is okay, having 2 is the better option. Just make sure to have an INKBIRD controller as there’s no settings on the heater. I use to use the cheaper ones and just randomly tried these because all heaters kinda blow. I’m sold on these. Zero issues and have been running about a year now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 I like the fluval m series mostly for the company support, and partially for the look. I originally had the E series which failed so they sent me another E series. Shortly after the replacement also failed. I contacted customer support and they agreed to send me a replacement M series as requested. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAE Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 @Mmiller2001, I posted a question to Cory two livestreams ago about how much wattage I should have for my tank - 76 degrees, hundred gallons, house gets into the high 50 degree range in the winter. He said 100 watts should do it with the tank covered. I am interested in the heater you recommended, with the Inkbird controller. I think I will start with a single 100 watt heater and see how the tank does - I can have another 100 watt heater on hand and can add it in the winter if the tank is not maintaining temperature. Since the controller is external to the heating element, do you think flow around the heater is an issue? My tank will be what I will call low to medium flow. By the way, I looked at your journal - beautiful tanks! Love the planting! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 (edited) On 6/17/2024 at 10:43 AM, AAE said: @Mmiller2001, I posted a question to Cory two livestreams ago about how much wattage I should have for my tank - 76 degrees, hundred gallons, house gets into the high 50 degree range in the winter. He said 100 watts should do it with the tank covered. I am interested in the heater you recommended, with the Inkbird controller. I think I will start with a single 100 watt heater and see how the tank does - I can have another 100 watt heater on hand and can add it in the winter if the tank is not maintaining temperature. Since the controller is external to the heating element, do you think flow around the heater is an issue? My tank will be what I will call low to medium flow. By the way, I looked at your journal - beautiful tanks! Love the planting! It should be fine. My heaters work overtime in the winters here. I have old heaters laying around just in case. That said, I keep my tanks as low as possible and the warmest I shoot for is 75 degrees. I do have them placed in the highest flow in the tank. Thank you for the kind words! Edited June 17 by Mmiller2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAE Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 @Mmiller2001, I watched a BRS video (below) about their heater elements. Interestingly, they recommend replacing the Inkbird controllers as well as the heating elements, while also mentioning the 3 year warranty on the elements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 On 6/17/2024 at 11:45 AM, AAE said: @Mmiller2001, I watched a BRS video (below) about their heater elements. Interestingly, they recommend replacing the Inkbird controllers as well as the heating elements, while also mentioning the 3 year warranty on the elements. I think with salt water, probably a good idea. But for us, maybe every couple of years. I’ve had mine for about 3 years now with no problems. Those salt water tanks have thousands of dollars in just corals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 Bentley Passcoe talked about replacing heaters at the end of warranty period in one of his videos. Also if I recall I have seen other YouTubers mention the same. That's part of why I am going heaterless just keeping my fish at the cooler end of the temperature spectrum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sumplkrum Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 I use two smaller heaters. If one gets stuck on, it's not strong enough to burn out the tank. If one dies completely, the water will likely cool some before I'll notice but it won't drop enough to kill off the fish. The only down side is now you have two cords going into the tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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