external water heaters (in line)

[kahunabill]

does anyone have reviews or experience with inline water heaters? They are external, and water passes through them via the output water line/hose.

if so, what brands?

thanks.

[discusdave]

does anyone have reviews or experience with inline water heaters? They are external, and water passes through them via the output water line/hose.

if so, what brands?

thanks.

I have three of the Hydor Brand ETH in-line heaters on the output side of my Eheim Cannister filters. These things work great. Another piece of equipment out of the tank. Just make sure you match up the cannister hose diameter with the proper heater. They use either 1/2" or 5/8" diameter barbs. The 1/2' model is great for the Eheim 2213,2215,2217 series, and the 5/8" is great for the 2026 and 2028 Pro II filters.

No problems in well over a year of use.

Dave

[markwill]

Are there any "generic" units (as opposed to ones that work for just a particular series of filters)? I'm also interested in the opportunity to remove something from my tank.

Also, the ones I have seen (for the Eheim filters, I think, which I don't use) had a maximum size of 50 gallons or so. Does the concept of external in-line heaters go beyond that?

Thanks.

Mark

[cowboy steve]

does anyone have reviews or experience with inline water heaters? They are external, and water passes through them via the output water line/hose.

if so, what brands?

thanks.

I use a 300 watt Hydor, attatched to a H.O.B Magnum 250 gph, before buying I e-mailed the company regarding optimal flow rate, they wrote back saying the max g.p.h for that model was about 260.

Works great, and it's one less piece of equipment to clutter up the tank.

[ronrca]

How reliable are these heaters compared to submersibled heaters? Im slowly starting to dislike the submersible heaters due to failure. How do the inlines compare with energy transfer ie. power vs. heating with submersible heaters? Anyone got some pics of their inline heaters? Im looking into alternatives to submersible heaters.

[discussmith]

heatercapsule.jpg This is a pic of an external capsule I built to hold three heaters. It is loaded with three 200 watt via aqua titaniums. I got tired of all the heater failures I was having due to the submersibles leaking and then coroding or shorting out. I don't particularly like the via aqua as the sensor comes out of the heat as opposed to the controller so I had to include the sensors into the module but it works fine and doesn't leak.
The heaters have finned rubber tops and I forced them into 3/4" cpvc connectors threaded into a 4" cpvc cleanout cap.

[cowboy steve]

That's a nice set up, how's it plumbed and what size tank are you using it on?

[discussmith]

In the 4th position instead of a heater port I have threaded in a 1/2" hose barb. On the bottom I have a 90D hose barb. I have a hidden maxi-jet 1000 pump in the 120 gal. XH tank. You wouldn't need that much pump but the bottom return line goes into a pro biowheel set up.
You could use any kind of heater, glass or whatever. I set up another with glass heaters and "O" rings but it leaked. I couldn't get a perfect seal so I will start using it again after I silicone the heaters in.

[gators111]

does anyone have reviews or experience with inline water heaters? They are external, and water passes through them via the output water line/hose.

if so, what brands?

thanks.
I also have a Hydor 300 watt external heater. I like it. It works great at keeping my tank at 30C. Some reviews I read before buying mine is that the thermostat makes a loud click when it comes on. I've had mine for 2 months now and the only time I here it is if it is dead silent in my living room.

[mikeos]

external heaters can be had in kw sizes if you want.....

Koi & pond heaters:) .....biggest I recall seeing is about 15Kw.....

[discusdave]

Are there any "generic" units (as opposed to ones that work for just a particular series of filters)? I'm also interested in the opportunity to remove something from my tank.

Also, the ones I have seen (for the Eheim filters, I think, which I don't use) had a maximum size of 50 gallons or so. Does the concept of external in-line heaters go beyond that?

Thanks.

Mark

Mark,
The Hydor heaters are not made for any specific brand of cannister filter. They'll work with any cannister filter as long as the return hose ID is compatible. You could use it with the return from a sump type filter setup as well, as long as it doesn't run without water in it. In a sump return line installation you'd want to have the pump and the heater on the same plug so it would turn off when the return pump is turned off.

My Hydors are each on the same plug the Eheim it is connected to is on, so if I turn the cannister off it goes off as well.

Dave

[cowboy steve]

In the 4th position instead of a heater port I have threaded in a 1/2" hose barb. On the bottom I have a 90D hose barb. I have a hidden maxi-jet 1000 pump in the 120 gal. XH tank. You wouldn't need that much pump but the bottom return line goes into a pro biowheel set up.
You could use any kind of heater, glass or whatever. I set up another with glass heaters and "O" rings but it leaked. I couldn't get a perfect seal so I will start using it again after I silicone the heaters in.

Nicely done, it's essentially a variation on the Rainbow/Lifeguard in line system, they are essentially p.v.c tubes with a port for a heater, except they put one heater per tube, it might be interesting if you could get a look at how they seal their units around the heater.

[dirk50merc]

Discussmith nice set up, I'm using 3- 300 watt hydors in my tank, I like the idea of getting them out of the tank though.
My main concerns with this set up or an inline set up in general is pump failure or clogging will leave the tank completly unheated. I'n my conditions it take about 2-3 hours for significant tank temp changes. think i will try this set up with a 2 pump system (two pumps into a main heat canister and out) this would be a good safe guard IMO, not to mention get those bloody heaters out of the tanks.

Thanks for ideas, Dirk ;)

[Discusgeo2]

I have a 300watt Hydor that I got a few months ago but haven't had the chance to use it yet. Summer in the desert means I don't need to run any heaters. I am going to connect it to my 210 gallon water storage tank and see how it works on it first.
George

This is the info I have on them.
Completely safe, Hydor in-line heaters take advantage of a patented thermal technology (PTC) that uses a polymer sheet to uniformly heat water, rather then metal heating elements encased in glass. The thermostat is mounted directly on the heater, so when a low water flow situation occurs, the heater shuts off. The temperature setting is controlled with a dial (65 - 93ºF) with indicator light. Can be run in either a vertical or horizontal position. Both heaters have 3" diameter housings and barbed inlet/outlet. Safe for use in salt water. UL-listed and CE-approved. 115V/60 Hz with a 6' cord. Made in Italy, one-year warranty.