Eheim Jager heaters suck!

joec · Feb 18, 2019

I've now had my second Ehiem heater go bad within one year. This time stuck ON in a QT with fire shrimp that I was just about to transfer to the DT, he's dead at 84 degrees

Sorry, I'll never buy one of these point of sale ever again

I've had 3 Cobalt Neotherm's for 16 months for DT and not one issue. I even dropped one pretty hard and it was fine

Retro Reefer · Feb 18, 2019

In general the Eheim heaters get great reviews, unfortunate for you to have two failures with them but just be aware there are countless threads about the Neotherms “nuking” people’s tanks. I have both and fortunately haven’t had problems with either.

joec · Feb 18, 2019

Retro Reefer said:
In general the Eheim heaters get great reviews, unfortunate for you to have two failures with them but just be aware there are countless threads about the Neotherms “nuking” people’s tanks. I have both and fortunately haven’t had problems with either.

I think the problematic exploding Neotherms were on the 150's only and that was several years ago. I don't think that is occurring with the new ones

ndvr · Feb 18, 2019

how extremely frustrating...I had the same experience with my DT. I lost all my fish but my clowns. (overheated them overnight) I had to start all over, and everyone I know that has an aquarium has had this type of failure with heaters. You'd think one of the manufacturers would get it right. Sorry about your shrimp.

RMS18 · Feb 18, 2019

Sorry to hear. No heater out there that is 100% solid, it's one of those pieces of equipment that will fail. I have been using Eheim's for years with no issues, sound like you just had a bad experience with a couple. This is a affordable solution to protect against heaters being stuck on.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/smart-temp-security-autoaqua.html

Highgrade · Feb 18, 2019

I've never had an issue with the Eheim heaters. Any heater can fail. Its always best to use a controller rather than rely on the analog dial of a heater.

Retro Reefer · Feb 18, 2019

joec said:
I think the problematic exploding Neotherms were on the 150's only and that was several years ago. I don't think that is occurring with the new ones

Still happens and not just the 150’s.. thread from a few weeks ago about a new 200

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cobalt-heater-exploded.553231/#post-5689981

It’s best to run two or three lower power heaters so If one fails it will not be powerful enough to cook your tank.. having them on controllers is even better.

joec · Feb 18, 2019

"It’s best to run two or three lower power heaters so If one fails it will not be powerful enough to cook your tank"

I have three underpowered heaters on DT for this purpose. If one gets stuck on, no cooked tank. If one fails OFF, the other two will keep warm enough until the 3rd is replaced.

DarkSky · Feb 18, 2019

Heaters are probably one of the largest failure points in this hobby. I run eheim jagers exclusively, but I have them monitored by my Apex and an inkbird temp controller. I also replace them every year - they're cheap enough to do so.

Highgrade · Feb 18, 2019

DarkSky said:
Heaters are probably one of the largest failure points in this hobby. I run eheim jagers exclusively, but I have them monitored by my Apex and an inkbird temp controller. I also replace them every year - they're cheap enough to do so.

I do the same with my Apex, dual temp probes and replace the heaters annually.

ca1ore · Feb 18, 2019

Although I employ heater redundancy in my display, I don’t for the QT tanks either. EJ heaters usually fail OFF though. Maybe it was out of calibration? I’ve had that happen a bunch of times where the indicator ring was off by almost 8 degrees.

dantimdad · Feb 18, 2019

ALL heaters are prone to failing. I never run one without a controller. Also, I run two smaller ones instead of one big one.

That being said, I almost always run eheim heaters.

joec · Feb 18, 2019

ca1ore said:
Although I employ heater redundancy in my display, I don’t for the QT tanks either. EJ heaters usually fail OFF though. Maybe it was out of calibration? I’ve had that happen a bunch of times where the indicator ring was off by almost 8 degrees.

I tried to recalibrate it after the fact with and accurate thermometer, it stayed on no matter what I did. Its now in the trash.

Blue Spot Octopus · Feb 18, 2019

Sorry for your trouble I am surprised that a Blood Red would die at 84 degrees. I better get a good thermometer, I just bought two Blood Red Fire Shrimp.

Engloid · Feb 18, 2019

I have had about three eheim heaters go bad. They wouldnt replace one under warranty because I didnt have the original box. Having the receipt wasnt enough. That when I swapped to via aqua and cobalt. I prefer the cobalt. I had one via aqua that was bad right out of the box.

I now have an apex so I know when they go bad....before they can create a big problem.

Fish_Sticks · Feb 18, 2019

Buy a tempurature controller for 50$ and this will never happen again:
You can find wiring turorials on yt and do it in 5 mins. Then you just plugin your heater like normal. I dont have them on my QT either, yet.

https://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE

PS. Eheim heaters are extremely efficient at heating per W because of their length and glass thickness. I just ordered two 250ws for the new 210g.

AquaLifeStudio · Feb 18, 2019

Sorry that this happened to you and I get it, you are using this forum to vent your frustration. Let's be clear though, Eheim Jager heaters do not suck as they are some of the best heaters out there. My experience is that not one of the 7 that I currently have, have never failed.

It's your situation that sucks as you have been unlucky. As others have said, a heater controller of some kind, which is a recommended piece of equipment anyways, could have prevented this. Use this as a teaching moment and make a change that wont allow this to happen again.

Again, sorry that this happened to you.

Justdrew · Feb 18, 2019

Blue Spot Octopus said:
Sorry for your trouble I am surprised that a Blood Red would die at 84 degrees. I better get a good thermometer, I just bought two Blood Red Fire Shrimp.

I agree. 84 should not be fatal. It is the upper limit but many reefs have run at that temp in summertime.

Jason Roth · Feb 18, 2019

Highgrade said:
I do the same with my Apex, dual temp probes and replace the heaters annually.

Do you have one probe in sump and one in tank? I am just getting ready to start cycling in the next couple of weeks and have the Apex EL. So I only have the one temp probe. Curious how you are using the second?

Highgrade · Feb 18, 2019

Jason Roth said:
Do you have one probe in sump and one in tank? I am just getting ready to start cycling in the next couple of weeks and have the Apex EL. So I only have the one temp probe. Curious how you are using the second?

Yes, ApexEL with PM2 salinity monitor which has a 2nd temp probe port. One temp probe in the tank and one in the sump. To me its an added precaution if a temp probe fails (highly unlikely) or the main return pump fails I would see a temp drop in the display since the heaters are in the sump. I run two Ehiem heaters for redundancy.