CHEAP Heaters...any users???

[dkeef]

I found some dirt cheap heaters on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110V-300W-Watt-Submersible-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Water-Heater-/181264925934?pt=Heaters_and_Chillers&hash=item2a343b44ee

looks like ebo jager heaters but much cheaper.

or kensfish sells cascade heater 300W for $13.
these are all from china, but im sure all the name brand ones are also made in china.

if one plan to use heat controller anyway, would u use these cheap ones?

I need about 10 300W heaters...that's why...

[Nick Klimkowski]

I would probable stay away from them, I would go with Ebo- jagers they are made in Germany and seem to work best in my opinion they may be more but they will most likely last longer.

[farebox]

You get what you pay for,right ? You will invest in some expensive fish, take care of them with quality equipment. Less problem down the road.


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[dkeef]

Problem i had is with aqueon or visitherm heaters i had a lot of failures and also very inaccurate temps.
So i thought get a controller and cheap heaters to offset cost.

[Skip]

Problem i had is with aqueon or visitherm heaters i had a lot of failures and also very inaccurate temps.
So i thought get a controller and cheap heaters to offset cost.

Heaters is NOT where u go cheap

[trungnguyen]

Having bad heater is like having a bomb in the house


Trung.

[Inland Empire Discus]

I personally always recommend changing heaters yearly and personally go with cheaper heaters with a quality controller. Again this is a preference of mine as through experience all electrical items will fail at some point or another when around or in water.

[Keith Perkins]

I've used Aqueon Pro since I ran across them, primarily because they're guaranteed for life. In the long run, I figure that's the cheapest route. I've had a couple fail early on, but knock on wood none for a long time. IME a healthy discus isn't going to be affected much if a heater stops working and you catch it within a half a day or so.

[dkeef]

im more worried about heater sticking and cooking my fish....

[Keith Perkins]

im more worried about heater sticking and cooking my fish....

You shouldn't have to worry about that using a controller, but yes, that is more dangerous.

[Elliots]

Use two cheap heaters, each a little more than have the total wattage you want and a controller and you should be OK. I used cheap or on sale heaters from Kens and a controller until I changed to Aquatop dual digital heaters plus a controller.

[mlov1022]

Go with these http://www.thatpetplace.com/aqueon-submersible-aquarium-heater-300w And with a lifetime warranty you can't go wrong.

[Pancho]

The only use for the cheap heaters is for my aging water barrels, if it fails it won't hurt my fish!!! But Jagger from Dr Foster seems to be good heater for me so far!

[dkeef]

I had bad experience with aqueon. Totally off temp. I have one set at 72 and it heats at 82.

[OC Discus]

I've replaced 3 heaters in about a month. Accidentally lowered the water too much, exposing them to air, and they popped- at different times. I've seen titanium heaters that wont explode when exposed to air for about the price of the glass heaters. Next time I buy a heater, it will be one of those. I think Kensfish or Big als has them 300 w for about $35 and the temp range is up to around 93 degrees.

[Keith Perkins]

I had bad experience with aqueon. Totally off temp. I have one set at 72 and it heats at 82.

If you have a bad experience with an Aqueon Pro, my experience has been they replace them no questions asked.

[dkeef]

Aqueon reg also?

[nc0gnet0]

What the heck, just bought three just to give them a try. I do however use controllers.

[Keith Perkins]

Aqueon reg also?

Don't think so, I believe it's gotta be the pros.

[zachrabbit15]

Jehmco carries the Jagger heaters at a good price and a couple models were on sale last time I was on there. They also carry some monster Titanium heaters.

[Kingin]

All aqueon heaters are lifetime warranty. Have used both aqueon pro /glass and eheim jagers still like the eheims better even without the warranty. A single eheim jager at 150watts can maintain temps at 86f in my 65g storage tub. But a single 300watt aqueon pro can't.


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[Keith Perkins]

I stand corrected, yes the regular Aqueon heaters are also guaranteed for life. The only one that may not be is the 10 watt mini.

[OC Discus]

Dave,

I noticed my temp was up to about 92 last week with heaters set at 85. One heater seemed to be on all the time. Took it out and looked closely, it had a small crack about 1/4 inch, had some moisture inside and was malfunctioning. Your overheating heater could have a small crack or some kind of damage. The three I replaced recently were Penn Plax. They all had lifetime guarantee. They are not supposed to be exposed to air while plugged in, so he was just being nice to replace them.


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[dkeef]

I know 1 or 2 of my aqueon has moisture inside.
so how do I claim lifetime warranty to replace mine?

[Keith Perkins]

Just call them. When you tell them why you're calling they'll transfer you to the right department and they'll take care of you. My experience has been if you call them in the morning they'll get a replacement in the mail the same day. Other than never having a failure, I don't know what more you can ask for than that.

[dkeef]

Thats very nice. So does ebo jaguar also have lifetime warranty?
Who else does?

[Tazalanche]

I tried finnex, tetra, penn plax & deep blue pro when returning to the hobby in 2012 & none of them are still functioning. Luckily I had backups to get me by until I could get a better replacement. I'll always stick with reputable brand name heaters (jager, aqueon pro or hydor in use now) from now on.

Losing 1 discus due to a cheap heater pays for multiple quality heaters.

[dkeef]

I honestly dont trust any heaters. Even jager.
So controller is a must. The controller is the safety net for any heaters.

[OC Discus]

I know 1 or 2 of my aqueon has moisture inside.
so how do I claim lifetime warranty to replace mine?

I took mine to the place I bought them. He said they were covered for life without a receipt the day I bought them. He was glad to replace them. When I noticed the crack in the third one I didn't take it back. I shouldn't have let them get exposed to air while plugged in.

[OC Discus]

I honestly dont trust any heaters. Even jager.
So controller is a must. The controller is the safety net for any heaters.

If a heater malfunctions will the controller shut it down or keep it from overheating? Moisture in the heater I think is a sign it could be cracked and may also be causing it to overheat.

[dkeef]

so aqueon doesn't request any proof of purchase or receipt?
cuz I honestly don't have it.

[Keith Perkins]

No they don't require proof of purchase. It says they do in their guarantee, but they don't actually require it.

[tonytheboss1]

If your investment (DISCUS), isn't 'cheap', why cheap out on the heater. After all it's an integral part of your success or failure. Their lives depend on your choice. I would rather spend a little more & worry a little less. "T"

[dkeef]

well i called Aqueon and they said i need to send heater with receipt back to them for 1 time replacement.
well problem is i dont have receipts....great~

[Keith Perkins]

They've changed their policy then.

[Kingin]

Take it to your local fish store if they carry aqueon products they should happily exchange it for you. The last I had one exchanged was about a year ago so policy may have changed since then. I also think the person you spoke with is BSing you since on every aqueon heater box it's printed as lifetime warranty so how can that mean 1 time replacement. Aqueon heaters in my opinion suck compared to eheim jagers only reason why people buy them is for the lifetime warranty. Lol that's why I have 2


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[Darren's Discus]

Go with cheap heaters if you have cheap discus but if you value your fish I recommend spending a little more.
Cheers

[dkeef]

Go with cheap heaters if you have cheap discus but if you value your fish I recommend spending a little more.
Cheers

i think the point im trying to make is that ultimately all heaters are junk. some little less junk than others.
every brand including jager has failed eventually. u just dont know when. mostly all were totally inaccurate in temps.
so to me only real important thing is a reliable temp controller and then replacing heaters.

[miwu]

Okay, I think I'll admit that I use the dirt cheap heaters. They have been running for four or five months now without any apparent problems but that isn't saying a lot either. I'll take a picture of one of them heating. It turns red which my jager (running for 3 years now) does not do. I think it's the electricity running through the coils or something. I don't have them on a controller. They are fairly good with temperatures (staying within +0-.5F from what I measure with digital thermometers in every tank that are also dirt cheap) in my opinion. I just don't know how long they will last. I am giving them a try because of how cheap they are.


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[nc0gnet0]

i think the point im trying to make is that ultimately all heaters are junk. some little less junk than others.

I actually agree with this statement. The only real advantage I see to the newer eheims is their glass is thicker, making them less prone to breakage (that is however an important aspect of quality). As far as accuracy, they are just as off as the cheapo's. Longevity, well, we will see.

I would rather have a cheap heater on a dependable controller than an expensive heater on no controller any day of the week. Having a heater stop working is seldom a huge problem as long as you have a spare or two laying around, but having a heater stick on can be a huge problem.

-Rick

[Keith Perkins]

I would rather have a cheap heater on a dependable controller than an expensive heater on no controller any day of the week. Having a heater stop working is seldom a huge problem as long as you have a spare or two laying around, but having a heater stick on can be a huge problem.

-Rick

Exactly

[Kingin]

I have had fish tanks in the past Arrowana's, flowerhorns, stingrays,not discus and never really cared about brand of heater, heater controller etc. With discus fish they seem to look for you to feed them they interact with you. And any discus tank should have at least 6 fish. Times that by 100-200 each thats 1,200.00 bucks hahah I don't run any heaters in my tank unless it's on a heater controller. I'm not a heater expert but let's say the aqueon vs jager at local fish store price aqueon's are 37.00 and jagers are 48.00 both are 300watts. The jager heater can maintain my 75 gallon tank at 88f but the aqueon heater can only maintain same tank at 82f, So you would need 2 aqueon's to do same job as one jager. So which is cheaper??

The question should be which heater can maintain temps similar to a jager that cost less.


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[vendingman]

Thanks for that heater lead. Saved in my favorites. At that price with a lifetime, you cant go wrong it seems. Thanks again

[dkeef]

Well id rather get jager then.

Has anyone tried cascade heaters from kensfish?
Its a cheap heater but has great reviews.



I have had fish tanks in the past Arrowana's, flowerhorns, stingrays,not discus and never really cared about brand of heater, heater controller etc. With discus fish they seem to look for you to feed them they interact with you. And any discus tank should have at least 6 fish. Times that by 100-200 each thats 1,200.00 bucks hahah I don't run any heaters in my tank unless it's on a heater controller. I'm not a heater expert but let's say the aqueon vs jager at local fish store price aqueon's are 37.00 and jagers are 48.00 both are 300watts. The jager heater can maintain my 75 gallon tank at 88f but the aqueon heater can only maintain same tank at 82f, So you would need 2 aqueon's to do same job as one jager. So which is cheaper??

The question should be which heater can maintain temps similar to a jager that cost less.


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[dkeef]

I actually agree with this statement. The only real advantage I see to the newer eheims is their glass is thicker, making them less prone to breakage (that is however an important aspect of quality). As far as accuracy, they are just as off as the cheapo's. Longevity, well, we will see.

I would rather have a cheap heater on a dependable controller than an expensive heater on no controller any day of the week. Having a heater stop working is seldom a huge problem as long as you have a spare or two laying around, but having a heater stick on can be a huge problem.

-Rick

This is what ive been saying the whole time but ppl get it from u and not me. I guess i look too cheap lol.

[nc0gnet0]

So you would need 2 aqueon's to do same job as one jager. So which is cheaper??

You can get higher heat out of most heaters by turning them up to max, carefully pulling off the knob and them putting it back on in a position that is a few settings less than maximum, then turning it up to maximum again. Most heaters are set-up that way on purpose, so people don't inadvertently cook there fish.

[nc0gnet0]

They arrived today, I got three of them. Actually I got the 200 watt version here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400610660962?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Haven't tried one out yet, only did a visual inspection. The heaters are made by sunsun. Played with them a little bit. easy to calibrate, look kinda like a eheim and can go up to 34C (93.2). I am guessing you could get them higher by playing with the calibration setting (not that I would).


-Rick

[dkeef]

Let us know how it is

[nc0gnet0]

Let us know how it is

Will do, but other than a major issue, your not going to be able to judge an heater for at least a year or more.

[timmy82]

im more worried about heater sticking and cooking my fish....

I lost 4 tanks = around $2k in discus, $1k in L pleco's and my 1st batch of 70+ pigeon ss young. I now run a redundent system so in case one fails the other cuts it off.

[Elliots]

Rick, $8.29 for a heater! Incredible! I use Aquatop heaters, dual digital read out. I think they are in the $40-$50 range. What is easier than to set you temp digitally and when you look into your tank the heater setting is a 5/16 inch red digital number and right below that the tank temp is a 5/16 inch green digital number below it. Both numbers are always displayed and your heater is working. When the heater heats the tank a red dot lights up. When the heater stops working, no digital read outs.
I have not raised my tank temp above 91 degrees so I do not know how high a temp you can go to.
I have purchased Aquatop 450 watt heaters and they only lasted months. Now I switched to 200 and 300 watt Aquatops and no problems of any sort yet. Does anyone know if the wattage of the heater effects the amount of months a heater functions? Essentially a heater heats the aquarium and the aquarium cools the heater. Maybe the 450 watt ones heat too fast and cause problems or they provide too much local heat causing too much expansion of the heater glass?
SD is for Discus people and most of us have large tanks and high wattage heaters. I went from 2X450 watt to 2X300 watt in my 150gallon. I live in a rented apartment and I usually have heat. I only have no heat when the boiler is being serviced or repaired, usually less than one day or less at a time. Maybe people on SD should try lower wattage heaters? I do not recall anyone using as low wattage heaters as I do. My heaters do hold the temperature but maybe they stay on longer than high wattage heaters. The total electric cost is essentially the same.
I did buy my heaters from Kens Fish. $45-$60 each.

[nc0gnet0]

Rick, $8.29 for a heater! Incredible! I use Aquatop heaters, dual digital read out. I think they are in the $40-$50 range. What is easier than to set you temp digitally and when you look into your tank the heater setting is a 5/16 inch red digital number and right below that the tank temp is a 5/16 inch green digital number below it. Both numbers are always displayed and your heater is working. When the heater heats the tank a red dot lights up. When the heater stops working, no digital read outs.
I have not raised my tank temp above 91 degrees so I do not know how high a temp you can go to.
I have purchased Aquatop 450 watt heaters and they only lasted months. Now I switched to 200 and 300 watt Aquatops and no problems of any sort yet. Does anyone know if the wattage of the heater effects the amount of months a heater functions? Essentially a heater heats the aquarium and the aquarium cools the heater. Maybe the 450 watt ones heat too fast and cause problems or they provide too much local heat causing too much expansion of the heater glass?
SD is for Discus people and most of us have large tanks and high wattage heaters. I went from 2X450 watt to 2X300 watt in my 150gallon. I live in a rented apartment and I usually have heat. I only have no heat when the boiler is being serviced or repaired, usually less than one day or less at a time. Maybe people on SD should try lower wattage heaters? I do not recall anyone using as low wattage heaters as I do. My heaters do hold the temperature but maybe they stay on longer than high wattage heaters. The total electric cost is essentially the same.
I did buy my heaters from Kens Fish. $45-$60 each.


I use these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-LCD-Thermostat-110V-Temperature-Regulator-Controller-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-/281137945266?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4175209ab2

I have 15 of them, need to get more. They have worked flawlessly for 4 years now*. You do need to wire them yourself, not a big deal for me. Collectively the heater and the controller combined would cost $21.00. Bright red LED display 1" high.


-Rick

*( I did recently have an issue in which the tank cracked, leaked and the water level dropped below the level of the temp probe of the controller. Unfortunately I had a heat stick on that particular controller and the heater cooked the fish. Made a mental not to make sure my temp probes are mounted near the bottom in case that happens in the future.)

[nc0gnet0]

after one day, and one small calibration, the heater is holding temp at 28.3 C like a champ. Did a cool water wc dropping the temp down to 26.8 C and the heater brought it right back up to 28.3 C and held as well.


-Rick

[dkeef]

wow thanks for link.
i would love to run these instead of ranco for $75 each.
how do u wire heaters to this unit???



I use these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-LCD-Thermostat-110V-Temperature-Regulator-Controller-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-/281137945266?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4175209ab2

I have 15 of them, need to get more. They have worked flawlessly for 4 years now*. You do need to wire them yourself, not a big deal for me. Collectively the heater and the controller combined would cost $21.00. Bright red LED display 1" high.


-Rick

*( I did recently have an issue in which the tank cracked, leaked and the water level dropped below the level of the temp probe of the controller. Unfortunately I had a heat stick on that particular controller and the heater cooked the fish. Made a mental not to make sure my temp probes are mounted near the bottom in case that happens in the future.)

[nc0gnet0]

If you can wire a light circuit in your house with a switch, you can wire this controller.

The heaters are working fine at day 4.

[dkeef]

after one day, and one small calibration, the heater is holding temp at 28.3 C like a champ. Did a cool water wc dropping the temp down to 26.8 C and the heater brought it right back up to 28.3 C and held as well.


-Rick


rick, I need to start buying heaters and controllers.
how r those working out for ya?
do I need controller for each tanks or can I combine few into one?

[nc0gnet0]

do I need controller for each tanks or can I combine few into one?

You can run two heaters on one controller, but you can't use one controller on two separate tanks. Controller only has one temp probe.

heaters are still working like champs. True test of a heater is longevity though, so verdict still out for a year or more.

[dkeef]

have u looked into this heater also?

WBPHG-300 from:
http://jehmco.com/html/heaters.html

[CraigJ]

They arrived today, I got three of them. Actually I got the 200 watt version here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400610660962?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Haven't tried one out yet, only did a visual inspection. The heaters are made by sunsun. Played with them a little bit. easy to calibrate, look kinda like a eheim and can go up to 34C (93.2). I am guessing you could get them higher by playing with the calibration setting (not that I would).


-Rick

Isn't $108 expensive for a 200 watt heater, or am I missing something?

[nc0gnet0]

Isn't $108 expensive for a 200 watt heater, or am I missing something?

Clearly the seller made a typo when re-listing the item.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Heaters-Chillers-/177799/m.html?item=400610660962&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&_ssn=setecusa

[dkeef]

after one day, and one small calibration, the heater is holding temp at 28.3 C like a champ. Did a cool water wc dropping the temp down to 26.8 C and the heater brought it right back up to 28.3 C and held as well.


-Rick


Rick how do u calibrate this heater or any other heaters?

I ordered 8 of the temp controller. And about to order 15 of the 300w heater.

[nc0gnet0]

Rick how do u calibrate this heater or any other heaters?

I ordered 8 of the temp controller. And about to order 15 of the 300w heater.

Just like the eheim, but to tell you the truth I never bother calibrating any of them.

[nc0gnet0]

Isn't $108 expensive for a 200 watt heater, or am I missing something?

I think that is what the seller does when they are out of stock for that particular item.