Best Heater 2021/2022

[RocketEngineer]

One consideration: how long is the warranty? That will tell you how the company feels the quality of their product actually is.

 

[RevMH]

One consideration: how long is the warranty? That will tell you how the company feels the quality of their product actually is.

I like this. If the product is great, we should see a lot of support from the manufacturer. If not...

 

[RevMH]

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)?

I've used an alarm like this Inkbird in the past. Relatively cheap and it'll send an alert to your phone.
Caveats:
You'll need a 2.4ghz connection from your router (common).
Connectivity was spotty a couple times (literally twice).

Inkbird C929A Wi-Fi Aquarium Temperature Controller with 1200W Dual Probe Thermometer for Fish Tank, Water Terrarium

 

[blaxsun]

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?

You can literally buy a pair of Inkbirds and four titanium heaters for the cost of a single IM heating unit. If the Inkbird fails it's $40 to replace it. If any of the inanimate titanium rods fail they're like $50 to replace.

 

[Lavey29]

You can literally buy a pair of Inkbirds and four titanium heaters for the cost of a single IM heating unit. If the Inkbird fails it's $40 to replace it. If any of the inanimate titanium rods fail they're like $50 to replace.

So trust thousands of dollars of fish and corals on a 40 dollar part that's easy to replace but when it goes out very bad things can happen?

I'm all about good deals saving money where you can but heaters, controllers, I'd rather pay for the quality I expect. It's like dosers. Cheap versions work fine until they don't and then it might be to late.

 

[Cory]

The best one is your house. I keep my house at 75f so with the pumps and other equipment my tank runs 79 to 82f all the time except summer i dont habe a/c it gets to 86f no problems.

 

[blaxsun]

So trust thousands of dollars of fish and corals on a 40 dollar part that's easy to replace but when it goes out very bad things can happen?

I'm all about good deals saving money where you can but heaters, controllers, I'd rather pay for the quality I expect. It's like dosers. Cheap versions work fine until they don't and then it might be to late.

I'm not going to have this debate. If you're happy with your Innovative Marine heater and feel it offers good value - great. But if you think it's also not made up of the same $20-30 parts - you're deluding yourself.

 

[Habachi_Grill]

Used the Cobalt Neotherm 75w and it is TERRIBLE. Was fine for a year then started to change drastically after a year of use. That’s probably why they are discontinued. I have had my tank for almost 2 years right now without issue and one day all of my corals died. I thought it was my water quality somehow where I leave for work in the morning and everything was fine to go back home to a dead tank. I assumed it was my water so I obviously tested and water changed. Then my 2nd time this happened was when I purchased a pair of Black storm clownfish where they were great for a month then 1 random morning I wake up and they are floating. Water was ideal in terms of testing but temp was 94. Very sad and upsetting + it just so happens I am 1 month out of 2 year warranty

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Used the Cobalt Neotherm 75w and it is TERRIBLE. Was fine for a year then started to change drastically after a year of use. That’s probably why they are discontinued. I have had my tank for almost 2 years right now without issue and one day all of my corals died. I thought it was my water quality somehow where I leave for work in the morning and everything was fine to go back home to a dead tank. I assumed it was my water so I obviously tested and water changed. Then my 2nd time this happened was when I purchased a pair of Black storm clownfish where they were great for a month then 1 random morning I wake up and they are floating. Water was ideal in terms of testing but temp was 94. Very sad and upsetting + it just so happens I am 1 month out of 2 year warranty

Sucks, BTDT. I didn't lose any stock, but both heaters crapped out just over year. One 150w and a 200w. My experience is that they don't like a secondary controller. Power cycling tends to kill them . I had one with a inkbird and the other with a Apex.

 

[rishma]

Bumping this thread because I need a new heater for my 25 gallon. I just tried the new version of the cobalt neotherm PRO recently released. Apparently with previous issues solved. I had good luck with the older version but I am aware of the prior complaints.

The new PRO does not work correctly. It’s a 100 watt heater that will only pulls 48 watts and could not maintain tank temp. I woke up to my tank 3 degrees below target this morning. It was a chilly night.

I have a 25 gallon WB peninsula all-in-one so space is tight. I have an apex I use for backup so I may just go back to the old eheim jager, I just don’t like to have the apex outlet switch on/off a lot to control temp and I don’t love the eheim temp swing. Been considering a 100w BRS with ink bird but I don’t think I need that much redundancy and running cords Ins PITA.

 

[Schraufabagel]

Bumping this thread because I need a new heater for my 25 gallon. I just tried the new version of the cobalt neotherm PRO recently released. Apparently with previous issues solved. I had good luck with the older version but I am aware of the prior complaints.

The new PRO does not work correctly. It’s a 100 watt heater that will only pulls 48 watts and could not maintain tank temp. I woke up to my tank 3 degrees below target this morning. It was a chilly night.

I have a 25 gallon WB peninsula all-in-one so space is tight. I have an apex I use for backup so I may just go back to the old eheim jager, I just don’t like to have the apex outlet switch on/off a lot to control temp and I don’t love the eheim temp swing. Been considering a 100w BRS with ink bird but I don’t think I need that much redundancy and running cords Ins PITA.

The Eheim jagers have worked well enough for me. I use two 75w ones on my peninsula mini 25. Granted, I use a hydros controller and temp probe to control them, which has probably helped with temperature accuracy and extending heater life. I also use a water level sensor to ensure that the heaters turn off in case the sump runs dry

 

[rishma]

The Eheim jagers have worked well enough for me. I use two 75w ones on my peninsula mini 25. Granted, I use a hydros controller and temp probe to control them, which has probably helped with temperature accuracy and extending heater life. I also use a water level sensor to ensure that the heaters turn off in case the sump runs dry

Good setup. I’ve crammed my sump a little and I’m not sure two heaters will fit but 2x75 watt is the right way. I don’t like to use my controller outlets to manage the temp, they serve as a backup rather than primary because the constant on/off is hard on the controller. I used to do it that way with my Ranco controller but those are bulletproof. I may just have to live with a little more temp swing.

I am going to play around to see if I can fit two Eheim Jagers, dang those thick cords are a hassle.

 

[Zoa_Fanatic]

The Eheim jagers have worked well enough for me. I use two 75w ones on my peninsula mini 25. Granted, I use a hydros controller and temp probe to control them, which has probably helped with temperature accuracy and extending heater life. I also use a water level sensor to ensure that the heaters turn off in case the sump runs dry

Same. I use the 100w on my biocube 32. It and an inkbird. Best heater I’ve had. I have never had issues out of them and a different brand fried my tank once.

 

[Schraufabagel]

Good setup. I’ve crammed my sump a little and I’m not sure two heaters will fit but 2x75 watt is the right way. I don’t like to use my controller outlets to manage the temp, they serve as a backup rather than primary because the constant on/off is hard on the controller. I used to do it that way with my Ranco controller but those are bulletproof. I may just have to live with a little more temp swing.

I am going to play around to see if I can fit two Eheim Jagers, dang those thick cords are a hassle.

The two fit side by side in my middle chamber. I also have a decent size refugium next to them with no issues

 

[Water Dog]

Ranco temperature controllers will last well over 10+ years. I’m currently using a BRS 200 watt titanium heating element with mine. Was using a Finnex 300 watt titanium heating element prior to the BRS one. With the rock solid and consistent Ranco temperature controller, I’d be perfectly comfortable pairing it with a cheap heater and replacing it every year.

 

[polyppal]

Inanimate titanium rod (Schego).

second

 

[Reefahholic]

Same here.

X3 Eheim Jager

 

[davidcalgary29]

I've whined a great deal about my RSM250, which I picked up used last January, but I have to say that its native overheating problems have really worked out well. I disconnected the heater shortly after I bought it, and the tank maintains a pretty steady temperature near 25C. I do have to run the dual air fans in the summer, but that's a fairly small tradeoff for being able to go heaterless.

 

[ReefCheef]

You can literally buy a pair of Inkbirds and four titanium heaters for the cost of a single IM heating unit. If the Inkbird fails it's $40 to replace it. If any of the inanimate titanium rods fail they're like $50 to replace.

To be fair, the thread was "best heater" not "most cost efficient heater"

Heaters draw the most power of just about anything in our tanks, and lead to the most catastrophic failures of most anything in our tanks. Dropping some paper on a good one seems like a worthy investment to me.

That said, I couldn't bring myself to pay for an IM either. I've had a lot of their stuff in the past, and although they're inventive and cutting edge, I find them to usually be cheaply made.

If there was a Royal Exclusiv caliber heater, I'd definitely buy it. Sadly, this thread seems to confirm there is no such heater.

 

[A;exr54]

I got a hitop 500w heater from Amazon.
It does the job well for me. to be fair I don’t need it often since I am in Florida. But we do get some cold here overnight occasionally.

My cooling fan works much more then the heater.

It’s controller via Apex.