Another Aqueon PRO heater bites the dust !

finray56

finray56

Well-Known Member
You have been warned yet again. I had an Aqueon Pro heater failure today, thankfully I have heat controllers on all of my tanks and they work. My controller warned me that my normal 80 degrees tank was falling and it was at 74 degrees. I just messaged Aqueon and I'm waiting to see what they say. I have had no less than three of these heaters fail in the last year and a half. I will not
be purchasing Aqueon heaters anymore as they just are not reliable.

All of my heaters came from Ken's and I have let him know this as well. It's nice that Aqueon has a lifetime warranty, but that won't help you if your fish end up dead because of heater failure. I hope others here that may have had a similar experience will take the time to let your aquarium retailer know so they will pass along this information and possibly get a recall going and also do something about product quality. I hate to complain to Ken's about this issue again but the fact is these heaters are failing and the proof is online on forums just like this one if you take the time to look (00)
 
DMD123

DMD123

Administrator
Staff member
Contributing Member Level III
Ive seen these issues on the forums regarding the Aqueon Pro's. Kind of reminds me of the big stealth heater issue sometime back. Good that you let Ken's know about the issue too.
 
Betty

Betty

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Glad you caught your problem early.  I still feel sick when I think of how my fish died from overheated water. I've been looking for a good deal on some controllers.  Until I get those, I'm paying more attention to the temps on the tanks and not assuming the heaters are all working like they should be.
 
finray56

finray56

Well-Known Member
So I spoke with the service rep today at Aqueon and again they will replace the heater, that said they had no other information regarding these Pro heaters as far as them not working correctly. She was nice but it was also obvious that they have no real intention of having a product recall. I told her they should check forums and they would see that others are having issues with these heaters as well but I really doubt they will pay any attention to forums.
After our talk it was clear however that to really get anything done more people need to call in regarding this problem and I highly suggest that more people take the needed time to let them know. I am happy that I no longer have any of the Pro Heaters left in my tanks, I do however have the standard versions so time will tell if those will hold up. If not I will gladly switch brands (again) and I won't be looking back. I would also recommend letting the retailer where you purchased your heaters know as well, maybe they will stop carrying the garbage !
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Are they replacing the old heater with same model or with something else of your choice?
 
finray56

finray56

Well-Known Member
I told them I never want to see a Pro ever again, so I went with there standard model. I have one now and so far it seems okay. Something I forgot to mention here is that the Pro that died was only a few months old and it was the replacement for the Pro that over heated in the first place. I'm taking the replacement and if nothing else I will use it as a temporary backup, other than that I will NEVER purchase another Aqueon heater again. They don't work period !
 
DMD123

DMD123

Administrator
Staff member
Contributing Member Level III
Im glad I didnt buy one.... but even though I use a different type, Ive had my issues too. I like the Hydor inline heaters but I had one fail in the off position and it was only four months old. I sent it in and they fixed it but its hard to trust a product that has failed already.

I recently heard of the Cobalt Neo-Therm specifically the 200watt ones melting and smelling up peoples homes. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2376715

I would pay decent money for a good quality heater but it seems they have a price point in mind and dont go above that. I did recently get a controller and am looking to try it out on one of my tanks. Its one of the commercial ranco types that they use for beer and food related stuff.
 
finray56

finray56

Well-Known Member
I just checked out that post, what a bunch of >#%€#¥€%£€< ! I saw those for sale at Ken's and I thought they were over priced, and now not only over priced but dangerous too. It sure seems like heater manufacturers have dropped the ball with regards to quality. Someday I hope someone will build a proper heater again, how hard can it be ? As things stand now it seems as though we are being taken to the cleaners. Heaters have just become that much more expensive because now we have to invest in heat controllers simply because we can no longer rely on heater thermostats working properly (00)
 
Betty

Betty

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I still have 7 of the Aqueon Pros running in tanks and have never had any problems until that failure recently. They've been in use for about three years.  Now I don't trust them. Most of them were replacements for the Stealth heaters that were recalled.  I had never had any problems with those either.  

DMD, is that controller you're going to try an expensive one?  I'm looking for a good price because I'm going to need several.   :evil: 
 
finray56

finray56

Well-Known Member
The one I got from Jemco is for use with two heaters and and they will wire it as such for you. It's heavy duty too but the read out is a little hard to read with just grey numerals.
 
Betty

Betty

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Cory, Finnex is what I've been looking at, but I read that the 300 is not compatible with Aqueon Pros.
 
Cory

Cory

Administrator
Staff member
That is interesting. I didn't know that. I wonder if the Aqueon heaters are pulling more than the wattage they're supposed too. Because Finnex recommends using the ones that are rated for 800 watts.
 
finray56

finray56

Well-Known Member
The Finnex I mentioned is good for 800 watts. I'm not sure why the type or brand of heater would matter ?
 
Cory

Cory

Administrator
Staff member
On the cobalt Neo-therms. The manufacturer had problems with the 200s due to ow hot they got. I hear the new ones have a casing that can withstand the heat now. But I'd wait a while to make sure you were getting new models from where ever you order it.
 
finray56

finray56

Well-Known Member
I'm thinking of giving Jäger another shot. It's been a few years and maybe the quality has bounced back.
 
Cory

Cory

Administrator
Staff member
I don't think their quality is near what it was. I've had 3 returns on them in the last month. I only carry them because people "swear" by them.
 
finray56

finray56

Well-Known Member
So in your own opinion what do you think is the best heater regarding dependability ? I actually think it sucks so bad that we just can't trust our heaters to work like they used to. If there wasn't such a focus on greed I think quality would be better. As long as people are willing to keep shelling out money for mediocre products nothing will probably change. On the other hand if some manufacturer was willing to invest in heater quality and actually built one with longevity in mind they would control the heater market and potentially make a killing.

Lee
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top