HPS series FINNEX glass digital heaters - JUNK!!!!!

[CrazyAngels]

Members, what I have found out through personal experience and testing, the HPS series FINNEX glass digital heaters are junk. I liked the fact that it was nice to see the temp when you walk up to the tanks, so I had bought a couple and since they seemed to work okay, I decided to order more of them.
Well only a few months later, i walked up to find one of my tanks at 66 degrees and of course lost all my bushynose plecos, luckily all my angels made it through that one. One day later another heater failed, luckily this tank was being set up and had no livestock in it. Then ensued the e-mails to try and contact FINNEX and after many weeks they finally answered the e-mail, so I ship the failed units back to them and 2 days later the other heaters failed. This time I was very lucky as it was not my discus tank but rather my insulated water aging barrels.

Heck I'm not going through this anymore, I've sent them an e-mail saying I'll cut my losses, but I figured I'd share with you all so you can stay away from these heaters, if you have some of them in your discus tank, make sure you back them up. They all seem to fail cold rather than cook your fish, but this doesn't matter cause specially now in winter we need to keep our waters warm for our precious fish.

Hope this helps someone out there before it happens to you.

[TURQ64]

I hear you! Every one of the 500w Finnex Titaniums I bought failed really quick; a month here, a month there....bad juju, that company...

[CrazyAngels]

Yes, I'm over their products, I hate the fact that they don't back their products up with customer support. There is nothing worse than not taking care of your customers. I'm throwing all of them away as soon as I can get my replacements in this week.

[TURQ64]

I cut the controllers off mine,soldered the probe wires off, and put a plug on them..I use them on a different model controller as hot sticks...not what I planned, but just making lemonade......

[nwehrman]

Very true ... I have some failing now also...most get stuck on off and I find freezing water BUT had one on and it had gotten up to 92 in tank...not a catastrophe but...not ideal either.

Ordering replacements on Monday but because of holiday will be keeping a close eye on all tanks with those in them.

[Silver]

Well I have like 8 of them and one got stuck on 82*f and won't go up or down + another one sometimes it just shut down, I need to replace them..

[Discus PB]

I just had one blew up in my Qt tank. I emailed them but done't plan to hear from them until next week. The way it sounds I should be getting a new brand of heater. I still have one in my 60 gallon but I also have a Fluval "M" 300 watt as a back up. I may be switching to all Fluval heaters now after hearing all this.
Is their another brand of heater that is good to get?

[nc0gnet0]

I cut the controllers off mine,soldered the probe wires off, and put a plug on them..I use them on a different model controller as hot sticks...not what I planned, but just making lemonade......


LOL, Ditto.......thank god for external controllers.

[Discus PB]

I debating if I should send the heater back or just buy another brand. They want me to pay the shipping both ways. I think its what a $17 heater from ken's. I could spend another $10 to $15 and get a better one shipped to me.
I just don't want to spend the money to ship it back and then they won't replace it. Then I would be out the money I spent on the heater and the return shipping cost.

[CrazyAngels]

Same here, had to pay the shipping also, I had already bought some other heaters so I figured okay to have as backup just in case. They did promise that in their latest batch they have changed the component which has been causing the heaters to malfunction (they say it's a fuse which has been the issue).

Only time will tell.


I debating if I should send the heater back or just buy another brand. They want me to pay the shipping both ways. I think its what a $17 heater from ken's. I could spend another $10 to $15 and get a better one shipped to me.
I just don't want to spend the money to ship it back and then they won't replace it. Then I would be out the money I spent on the heater and the return shipping cost.

[Discus PB]

I think I am going to send it in so I have a back up. I will hope and pray they replace it since I am using my back up now lol.

[TURQ64]

Why have a backup that's undependable??..Buy a Jager for backup, and you'll be fine...

[ericatdallas]

I have two Finnex Titanium 200w heaters ... are these okay? It seems to work right now. A guy gave them to me when I bought my 40L tank from him. I normally don't even bother with used heaters, but I figured titanium is a little safer used than glass.

I do have two Jagers and a cheapo heater (forgot brand, but bought it from Ken's Fish) right now as well as backup, but since they're new, I would rather keep them that way in case someone is willing to trade with me for something I need.

Maybe I should swap them out for the Jager?

[TURQ64]

Well, I bought 5 500w versions back in the spring...three went in the first three weeks...one lingered another month....one is still working?...tuff call..I hate 'em, I'll never buy another...

[ericatdallas]

Hmm... I guess when I get my aging barrels up and running, I can use them for that purpose. If they get too hot or die out, at least nothing should die from me skipping a WC.

I actually thought I read some good things about the Finnex. I do like the fact that I don't have to worry about them accidentally banging on the glass.

[TURQ64]

I originally bought them for tank sumps, but they went to my barrels after the first one shorted out...then they continued to die there, but like my tanks, there are multiple heaters in the containers..Just nothing live to worry over...Funny, I think I prefer glass tubes; then I can see the workings, and have a bit of a clue what's going on. In the meantime, Finnex(Azoo) continue to rip folks off with these...I bought some deep blue heat sticks..they don't heat for crap, but they continue to work, at least, unlike Finnex....

[ericatdallas]

Finnex is Azoo? Well, I'll second the rip off then. I bought their powerhead pumps... the 1200 doesn't work very well at all. I'm going to try the other one I bought this weekend. Suppose to do 660gph... we'll see.

[NutMeg]

Regarding heaters, I prefer in-line. It keeps the tank from looking cluttered, no chance of burning the fish on contact - even though heater company's claim they don't - even heat distribution, nor do you have to remember to unplug and replug for water changes!! I have one for each of the big tanks attached onto the outgoing tube from the canister filter.

Hydor ETH In-Line Heaters 200W or 300W starts at around $35. You can get it from the usual online stores, but the funny part is it's cheapest at Linens'N'Things! Lol. Here's the link: http://www.lnt.com/product/heaters/11442-504714/hydor-eth-external-thermal-heater-in-line-heater.html
Enjoy!

[TURQ64]

Finnex is Azoo? Well, I'll second the rip off then. I bought their powerhead pumps... the 1200 doesn't work very well at all. I'm going to try the other one I bought this weekend. Suppose to do 660gph... we'll see.

Look at the Finnex on Kensfish, then look at the Azoo on Foster&Smith..Same-o, same-o

[farebox]

I had three of these heaters fail, just removed from tanks and trashed for safety reasons. Took the lost and didn't want replacements based upon info from the forum here....
farebox



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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.514034,-98.689221

[Jhhnn]

Why have a backup that's undependable??..Buy a Jager for backup, and you'll be fine...

Why have any heater that's suspect? They're easily the least reliable components in aquarium systems, so it pays to get the good stuff.

I just use Jagers, period. Tried & true. Still the best, imo, and at Ken's prices, they're worth every nickel. They're big, ugly, old fashioned & a little fiddly to calibrate, but they just work. The borosilicate glass tubes are a lot thicker & tougher than one might expect, too.

[pepster]

Wow, I was really surprised to hear all these bad things about finnex heaters. I personally never had any issues with any of their heaters for years (knock on wood). Although, I'm a newbie when it comes to discus, I've been raising freshwater for almost 30 years. Actually I'm in the market for some better lighting for my new 120gal discus tank and was interested in some of the finnex light fixtures.

[Boyd Luth]

I understand what some members say about reading different post.....I just read a thread that gave great reviews about the Finnex, and their controllers from Kensfish ? I usually look at who has the most post when reading these responses, keeping in mind that all products have bad items at times.

[Innivus]

I just lost 2 in the span of 10 months... Which is funny, because I bought them 10 months ago...