Heaters

Bob101 · Oct 17, 2013

Do you recommend a controller for your heater. I have two Eheim Heater that are set at seventy five degrees but a digital thermometer says it is 80 degrees.

redfishbluefish · Oct 17, 2013

Without a doubt, run your heaters through a controller. I don’t care what brand heater you use, it will eventually go bad….and it goes bad two different ways. It either craps out all together or gets stuck “on.” The stuck on situation is handled by the controller and the “craps out” situation is handled by running at least two heaters. If one craps out, the other will hold temperature close until the other is replaced.

xbrentx · Oct 17, 2013

I check my temp twice a day, once in the morning before I go to work, and again at night before I go to bed. I have heard many horror stories about heaters. A controller is on my list of upgrades to get within the next year.

Velodog2 · Oct 17, 2013

What redfish says is completely true. I don't believe it has to be an expensive controller either. You can get a digital stand-alone controller with upper and lower alarms and shut offs for less than $50 that will improve your reliability exponentially. True the full-on Neptune type are nice, but if you don't want to shell out you can get most of the benefit for a lot less money. Either way the only failure mode you are not covered against is the controller crapping out, and hopefully the alarm will help with that.

Believe your thermometer rather than the setting on your heater.