Do not use cheap heaters

[troy]

Hi

Bought a new cheap 200w heater 6 months ago , all was well until the other night when i arrived home to find my tank of discus cooked .
I have heard of this happening to some one else who bought a budget heater.
To those who are planning on buying a cheap heater it might be worth spending a little extra and get a good quality one.

Troy

[Fish_Fin-atic]

I feel your pain Troy....it's happened to me too. If you're going to spend good money on Discus, may as well bite the bullet, and spend a bit more on a good heater also. Sorry to hear about your mishap. :(

[Aquatic_Design]

Troy,
Sorry to hear about your fish :'(
Try using titanium heaters. They are very reliable. Mine have been very precise for close to a year now.

Donna :)

Yup...

Titaniums seem to be the heater of choice. I just swapped all mine out last week. VERY HAPPY :bounce: :bounce:

Julz

[korbi_doc]

:'( :'( :'( So sorry to hear of your loss, Troy. This is certainly the worst kind of nightmare. I, too, like Donne use the titanium Via Aqua heaters & like them. Also use the Lifeguard digital temp alert which I sure need to keep me advised of the temp at all time. Dottie :'( :'(

[RichieE]

Everyone likes to save a few bucks when they can but when your dealing with a fish that requires temps in the mid 80's the heater is not something you can skimp on. If a heater goes out and you dont pick it up in a reasonable amount of time the water can drop 15 deg.
Spending a lot of money doesnt mean your not going to have any problems. But quality costs. Your gambleing with a $10 dollar heater in a tank with $100's of dollars worth of fish. I cringe when I lay out the money for a titanium heater, but in perspective its only the cost of one or two fish.
If I were to guide someone new into this hobby two things I would not skimp on are the quality of the tank and the quality of the heater. Its a question of getting back to the basics IMO. I hope my longwinded essay helps someone. ;D Rich

[Paul]

Sorry about the fish loss. I agree with you about not cutting corners with equipment that is so critical. Something else you might want to consider is buying two smaller heaters rather than one larger. I'm not sure whether it applys in your situation but often by having the smaller heaters you might buy enough time to catch and remedy the problem before water reaches the poaching level. Just a thought.

Paul

so what type of heater was the one that failed? I have Proquatics heaters right now...any bad experiences with them?

[troy]

sorry bradnc i can not make out the name on the heater as the printing has worn off the tube , all i can make out is THERMO----.
The heater is slimmer than the others on the market.
These titanium heaters are sounding good to me.

Troy

I agree 100% on using titanium. I'll never use another glass heater (have seen too many break, get stuck on, leak,etc.) But titanium doesn't have to = expensive, I got my 300 watt from Pet Warehouse for 20 bucks. It has the external temp. control so I don't have to dig in the tank to adjust, and is unbreakable! Awesome deal- everyone should check it out.
Rob

[Ralph]

That's about the price of the "cheap" heaters!