Best Heater 2021/2022

[Zoa_Fanatic]

Eheim jager

+1. I’ve tried aqueon (cooked my coral beauty due to a malfunction, man did their customer service line get an ear full that day), Marine Land (failed after about 1 year), and Cascade (dad still uses these for his FW tanks) snd I like Eheim Jager the best. They’re huge but I can hide it in my biocubes. Ran it for a year with no issues and on year 2 now I’ve gotten an inkbird controller to help prevent any more malfunctions. I currently have a Cascade heater on my biocube 16 and I don’t like it at all. I have it turned up to 82 on the dial and it barely keeps the tank at 79. And unlike Eheim there is no way to calibrate it.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

+1. I’ve tried aqueon (cooked my coral beauty due to a malfunction, man did their customer service line get an ear full that day), Marine Land (failed after about 1 year), and Cascade (dad still uses these for his FW tanks) snd I like Eheim Jager the best. They’re huge but I can hide it in my biocubes. Ran it for a year with no issues and on year 2 now I’ve gotten an inkbird controller to help prevent any more malfunctions. I currently have a Cascade heater on my biocube 16 and I don’t like it at all. I have it turned up to 82 on the dial and it barely keeps the tank at 79. And unlike Eheim there is no way to calibrate it.

I used to be a Penn Plax cascade guy in the 90's, when the heaters were still made here in the US. Used them on a Pleco tank and a FOWLER tank in the early 2000's Those OLD Cascade heaters were rock solid! Now they are the same chinesium crap, lol.

 

[TerraFerma]

Inkbird + BRS titanium. The BRS heater isn't that much more expensive than an Ebo and you don't ever have to worry about cracking it. Also for what it's worth I've found the titanium heaters warm up a bucket of water waaay faster than an Ebo.

 

[slythy]

i use the finnex titanium’s hooked up to my apex. Works great!

 

[kagisexton]

I just did a warranty claim for the BRS Schego 600W heater. Only lasted 8 months. But they sent me a new one so can't complain too much.

 

[kittenbritches]

I want to get the new Cobalt Neo-Therm Pro. I love the Neo-Therms in my 65g and am bummed they are sold out (most) everywhere and discontinued. I've got an Eheim Jager in my 40g, and it's friggin huge. The NT Pro is significantly more expensive at about $1/watt, so I'll be waiting a bit. :/

 

[Lavey29]

Anything with proprietary heating elements (Innovative Marine) is simply out. Inkbird + heater(s) of your choice is really the only way to go, with an Apex as a failsafe/backup.

My IM system works perfectly. Why are they out?

 

[blaxsun]

My IM system works perfectly. Why are they out?

Proprietary heating elements.

 

[Tamberav]

Proprietary heating elements.

???

Doesn’t that just mean exclusive?

The one I have works very well.

 

[homer1475]

I want to get the new Cobalt Neo-Therm Pro. I love the Neo-Therms in my 65g and am bummed they are sold out (most) everywhere and discontinued.

Many, many cooked tanks because they were stuck on all the while reading normal, or dead fish because they split open. Good thing they were discontinued, they are just plain bad. Had one myself that split open, and another that just shut off and never worked again.

I've used finnex titanium heating rods for the many many years now. My current finnex is going on 5 years old, and still rock solid(knock on wood lol).

 

[blaxsun]

???
Doesn’t that just mean exclusive?
The one I have works very well.

I'm sure it does. But you're also paying a huge premium just to use an Innovative Marine product. An Inkbird (or similar controller) with standard titanium heating elements can be had for a fraction of the price. To each their own.

 

[Maxcmo]

So I think I have figured out a solution to knowing when one of the two heaters connected to an inkbird drops out. Theoretically one heater will need to run longer than two so if you are able to figure out the continuous run time it takes 2 to heat your aquarium and set your continuous run time alarm for that number when one drops out it should run longer and trigger the alarm. Does anyone do it this way?

 

[Tamberav]

I'm sure it does. But you're also paying a huge premium just to use an Innovative Marine product. An Inkbird (or similar controller) with standard titanium heating elements can be had for a fraction of the price. To each their own.

Ah… it’s not quite the same. I have one inkbird with a heater, a IM heater, and a apex plus heater

It has alarms for too high or too low temps, or flow problems, is more precise if a person wants the temp to never change, and is smarter about turning on one heating element at a time for small adjustments.

Not saying that justifies the cost but it’s more of a controller than a inkbird and less if one than a apex.

Lots of people in this hobby buy things like acrylic sumps and dosing containers when you can just buy a Petco tank and some Voss bottles for less extra functions than a IM heater. People clearly got spare cash lol

I mean you have a Red Sea tank don’t you? I bought a rimless deep blue and a petco 40 breeder at the fraction of the cost. They both hold water and do the same function. Just an example that there are different products providing similar functions for different people.

 

[Midrats]

Lennox

 

[Lavey29]

I'm sure it does. But you're also paying a huge premium just to use an Innovative Marine product. An Inkbird (or similar controller) with standard titanium heating elements can be had for a fraction of the price. To each their own.

Oh ok. Kind of like owning Mercedes but a Hyundai can get you where you are going to at a fraction of the cost.

Doesn't it make sense to spend a little more on certain specific items for the tank to ensure quality and reliability? How many times have tanks had major setbacks with heater failures?

 

[jskidds2294]

What are everyone's thoughts on the best current heaters? BRS has released their line, Innovative Marine has a cool, but expensive heater set up. What's the best?

I would say the Oase heater. It’s insanely accurate. Put that heater with a backup sensor, and your good.

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

Been using Eheim Jaeger for about 10 years, currently using 3 x 300w on my 400g system. Never had an issue.

 

[Capoe126]

I have a Ranco temp controller hooked up to a BRS titanium heater. It has worked great so far. While we are on the topic I do have a question. The Ranco does not provide any type of alarm. Is there a product in which I can just set a temp range and it lets me know by sound or text message if my temperature is leaving a set range (I see some controllers offer this but I am set on the controller part)?

 

[Capoe126]

I have a Ranco temp controller hooked up to a BRS titanium heater. It has worked great so far. While we are on the topic I do have a question. The Ranco does not provide any type of alarm. Is there a product in which I can just set a temp range and it lets me know by sound or text message if my temperature is leaving a set range (I see some controllers offer this but I am set on the controller part)?

 

[Idech]

I’ve been using Eheim jager for more than 20 years and they are still working fine. The only problem is calibration, which can be a pita. Now I use and Inkbird temp controller so I don’t care about that.