Another Aqueon PRO heater bites the dust !

[Cory]

I think the most reliable heater right now are the Neo therms. If you've been on the GSAS airstone, Erik has been running tests on heaters for over a year now. he's got like 20 tanks with probes setup to record data to a web server etc. The two best performing heaters are the old ebo jaeger heaters that are green from 15+ years ago and the neo therm heaters.

 

[DMD123]

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.

Do you know how to tell the difference? I have been wanting to do a Neo-therm in my puffers little tank.

 

[Betty]

If you've been on the GSAS airstone, Erik has been running tests on heaters for over a year now.

I looked back at the Aqueon Pro review and in the conclusion, he said that it wasn't going to stick "on" due to mechanical failure. I wonder if he'd want to take mine apart and have a look at it.

 

[finray56]

So I wonder how many of the Neo Therm heaters it would take to heat my 210 ?

 

[DMD123]

So I wonder how many of the Neo Therm heaters it would take to heat my 210 ?

They say a 125g needs 400 watts, two of the 200 watt units. An 80 gallon needs 300 watts, one 200 watt and one 100 watt. Putting all that info together I would guess you would need 4 of the 200 watt units for a 210g.

 

[finray56]

Well that's a bit spendy dontcha think. So I would need another heat controller too as my Jemco only has two plugs now were getting somewhere . My tank that cost me $500 would cost nearly as much to heat the darn thing, do you see where this is going LOL (OO)

So I guess I'll use the heaters I have now with my heat controllers until I figure out what brand of heater to try next. I like the Neo Therms but they seem kinda pricey for the amount of wattage you get. Seems like I should only need 2 x 300 watt heaters at best. Oh well I guess we can close this thread .

 

[DMD123]

I have a 210g also, I heat mine with two of the Hydor 300 watt in line that I custom plumbed into a FX5 line. Those Cobalt would break me too!

 

[finray56]

Actually I wish they would just find the old blue print for the old green Jagers and start making them again, tried and true they just worked !

 

[DMD123]

Actually I wish they would just find the old blue print for the old green Jagers and start making them again, tried and true they just worked !

They probably used all the good stuff like Lead, Mercury, Asbestos, radioactive waste... thats why they worked so well.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Or, because corporates are greedy money people that purposely make sub-par products these days, "forcing" us to buy more products, after a heater craps out on them... They make more money that way. Heh.

*shrug* I like DMD's answer better! LOL!

 

[finray56]

Unfortunately both answers are probably somewhat true (OO)

 

[LuminousAphid]

If you've been on the GSAS airstone, Erik has been running tests on heaters for over a year now.

I looked back at the Aqueon Pro review and in the conclusion, he said that it wasn't going to stick "on" due to mechanical failure. I wonder if he'd want to take mine apart and have a look at it.

I can send him mine too, it got stuck in the 'on' position too, but luckily I realized the tank was WAY too hot before it fried all my fish. Aqueon replaced it but I still have the old one which stays on no matter what, so yeah, it is definitely more than possible for them to get stuck 'on.'

Anyone try the fluval heaters they have a petsmart? I have been considering trying one out but don't want to pay 20 dollars extra for a Fluval logo. I suppose if it works, though, it would be worth it. edit; also I guess FLuval has 2 tiers like aqueon, M for mechanincal and E for electronic. Which ones are more reliable?


Also, those cobalt heaters are pretty pricey, but if you have several hundred dollars worth of fish, it would be worth it I guess. I don't have several hundred dollars worth of fish, so I need something cheaper, but I don't want to continue supporting shoddy workmanship.

 

[Betty]

If you've been on the GSAS airstone, Erik has been running tests on heaters for over a year now.

I looked back at the Aqueon Pro review and in the conclusion, he said that it wasn't going to stick "on" due to mechanical failure. I wonder if he'd want to take mine apart and have a look at it.

I can send him mine too, it got stuck in the 'on' position too, but luckily I realized the tank was WAY too hot before it fried all my fish. Aqueon replaced it but I still have the old one which stays on no matter what, so yeah, it is definitely more than possible for them to get stuck 'on.'

Anyone try the fluval heaters they have a petsmart? I have been considering trying one out but don't want to pay 20 dollars extra for a Fluval logo. I suppose if it works, though, it would be worth it. edit; also I guess FLuval has 2 tiers like aqueon, M for mechanincal and E for electronic. Which ones are more reliable?

Also, those cobalt heaters are pretty pricey, but if you have several hundred dollars worth of fish, it would be worth it I guess. I don't have several hundred dollars worth of fish, so I need something cheaper, but I don't want to continue supporting shoddy workmanship.

I have one of the Fluval M heaters and it's been working for a couple of years now.  One thing that I did not know when I bought it was that submersible did not mean fully submersible.  It has a minimum and maximum water level, so it has to stick up out of the tank a little.

If I knew the Cobalt heater wouldn't malfunction, I wouldn't mind paying -- it's probably not as expensive as buying a heater and then a temperature controller separately.  Even though my fish aren't all that expensive, I still feel sick thinking of how they died and don't want it to happen to any others.  :cry:

 

[DMD123]

I have one of the Fluval M heaters and it's been working for a couple of years now.  One thing that I did not know when I bought it was that submersible did not mean fully submersible.  It has a minimum and maximum water level, so it has to stick up out of the tank a little.

If I knew the Cobalt heater wouldn't malfunction, I wouldn't mind paying -- it's probably not as expensive as buying a heater and then a temperature controller separately.  Even though my fish aren't all that expensive, I still feel sick thinking of how they died and don't want it to happen to any others.  :cry:

I have one of the Fluval M on my 72g bowfront, it was put in place after my Hydor inline went dead. I never paid attention to the minimum and maximum water level and have it submerged fully. Ive had no issue with it but even the picture on Fluvals site shows it with the top out of the water....

 

[finray56]

I'm sorry but it seems as though Fluval and other company's would like to redefine the meaning of the word submersible, unfortunately it only means one thing that something works when submerged under water. What's with these company's trying to get over on you by interpreting language solely to benefit their products. If the heater box said the heater was partly submersible people would most likely not purchase the product because of this. So in the end they decide that it will benefit them more if they just stretch the truth a bit and lie so you will purchase their heater.

I also remember this issue from before because Jäger tried the same mischief, they sold the heater as submersible but when you got the heater home the inside instructions claimed you could only submerge the heater to the water level line. I suggest these company's read the dictionary and try using some honesty to sell their products.

 

[wi_fishguy]

I'm of the opinion that most people are putting much more heater capacity in their tanks than they really require. Our 75 gallon tank is getting along very well using 2 75 watt Eheim heaters set so that they are staged in heat levels.

Keep in mind, the average temp level of the room the tank is located in plays a huge part in how much wattage a person needs to maintain a set temp. our living room is normally hovering around 72 degrees and any heater only needs to raise the tank temp by 5 degrees, so those pair do a great job.

If one fails in the "on" position, then it will take it quite some time to raise the temp too much to support life.

D.