Heater recommendation

[etr63]

Hi All

I think the heater in my 55 gal has gone bad as the temp droped today. I have the WON Pro Heat titanium. I liked them because the temp control was on the out side of the tank. I have heard from the lfs near me that they stoped carrying them because they have problems with them failing. Can anyone recommend a reliable heater with external controls.

Thanks

Earl

[Cosmo]

Earl,

That's surprising because seems like the Won is the favored heater by most on the forum ???

They're a little pricey, but I use the heater controller sold by Jehmco and have never had a problem (yet). Upstairs I have two 500 watt titanium heaters hooked to it, downstairs, I have two 250 ebos slaved to it. There are other controllers you can buy online (a little more pricey) that will slave any heater to them as well.

There are several other brands of controller/heater combos sold online as well, but have never used any of them so don't know if thery'e better or worse..

Jim

[etr63]

Hi Cosmo

Maybe I just got a bad one. I thought that they were a good heater. Maybe the LFS is wrong. (wouldnt be the first time a LFS was wrong). I have the same heater in my storage barrel and its unpluged and pluged back in every day and I havent had a problem with it. I will have to check on line for a replacement since the LFS dont carry them any more. Trial and error I guess.

Thanks

Earl

[Discusgeo]

I get my Won at Aquacave, the cheapest place I can find. Anyone know of the Won any cheaper let us know. I need some for the winter months. I am replacing my black Ebo's
www.aquacave.com (http://www.aquacave.com)

[henryD]

Won is the way to go.

I love them. Changed all my tank to the WOn ones.

Henry

[Carol_Roberts]

I use predominately Won heaters too

[etr63]

Hi Henry

I just got back from the LFS and was told that the reason they stoped carrying them was that they were failing and cooking the fish as they got stuck on high. Fortunatly mine stoped working. Has any one had this happen to them? I am trying to contact aquacave and they are not answering the phone.

Earl

[etr63]

Hi All

I just ordered 2 of the WON 350 W titanium heaters from jehmco. They were $1.00 more than aquacave but the shipping was less. If I wanted 3 they would have been $1.00 cheaper than aquacave. I have a 300 W glass heater in the tank as a backup but it would not keep the tank up to temp. I will have an extra won now in case this happens again.

Earl

[henryD]

Earl,

I bought mine from John also. He is on the east coast so shipping was alot less. The only drawback on those titanium heaters is the temp dial is very loose. They can easily be moved by bumping into them. What I recommend you do is set the desired temp and tape them down. This way there is no accidents.

Henry

[stilllearnin]

they stoped carrying them was that they were failing and cooking the fish as they got stuck on high. Fortunatly mine stoped working. Has any one had this happen to them?

I tried buying them (locally if it matters) twice - 6 the first time,3 the second time - I have one that works right >:( Six went in the garbage because they made my tank(s) 94-96 no matter what they were set at.
Two went to a friend of mine because they seem to work when plugged into the wall - but not when plugged into surge protectors ???

Seems a decient # of people on some of the cichlid forums had the same problems .



but I use the heater controller sold by Jehmco and have never had a problem (yet).
I have two of those as well (2,000 watt and the 1,000 watt) and don't have any problems with them.
They'll also be my next new heater(s)!

[Anonapersona]

Two went to a friend of mine because they seem to work when plugged into the wall - but not when plugged into surge protectors ???



Now, can someone explain to me why the heater would act better when plugged into a wall outlet that when plugged into a surge protector?

I'm wondering if all those problems I had wiht the Hydor heaters might have not really been the heater's fault, but the surge protector/heater combo?

[etr63]

Hi Anonapersona

I have been using one surge protector to power every thing for the barrel ie the air pump, heater. one of the lights for the tank and the 2 fountain pumps I use for WCs.
I noticed that when I pluged in the pumps that the light on the heater would go out. Im not an electrician so this is just a guess but I wonder if the heaters need a certain amount of current or amps to function properly. Maybe the extra stuff hooked to the surge protector is drawing too much juice. I pluged a second surge protector into the first one and use that to run the heater off of. Now in stead of unpluging the heater durring WCs I just turn off that surge protector. I dont know if it makes a difference but it cant hurt.

Earl

[DarkDiscus]

I've been using Visitherms (again after trying Ebos which were then the "in" heater) and have had no problems. The only drawback is they are not great for raising the temp if you need to for meds, but they do a great job up to about 96 or so.

I bought a control unit and 2 titanium heaters from John at Jehmco and will be trying it out on the new tank as soon as I can. I'll report back then.

John