Recommend a heater for my 55 gallon QT

[Kaiser]

Had a small mishap last week where my Eheim Jager heater cord melted (don't ask me how) and now i need a new heater for my 55 gallon QT. I was looking at the Finnex HMS 150w but the only review I could find said their heater failed within a month. I've been using eheim jagers in all of my setups but I noticed that there has been condensation inside the glass with a couple I've had in the past and it's a bit worrying. I like the idea of getting a digital readout on the heater but it's not 100% necessary. What are your recommendations?

 

[Peace River]

I realize that there is a wide range of opinions and not everyone will agree with this one, but I run InkBird controllers on several of my tanks so that I have redundancy. I'm sure that some heaters are worse than others, but I have yet to find a heater that is foolproof. Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[Dunc]

Had a small mishap last week where my Eheim Jager heater cord melted (don't ask me how) and now i need a new heater for my 55 gallon QT. I was looking at the Finnex HMS 150w but the only review I could find said their heater failed within a month. I've been using eheim jagers in all of my setups but I noticed that there has been condensation inside the glass with a couple I've had in the past and it's a bit worrying. I like the idea of getting a digital readout on the heater but it's not 100% necessary. What are your recommendations?

I bought 2 Finnex heaters a few months ago and neither one would work. I sent them back and got a Cobalt. No problems so far.

 

[Kaiser]

I realize that there is a wide range of opinions and not everyone will agree with this one, but I run InkBird controllers on several of my tanks so that I have redundancy. I'm sure that some heaters are worse than others, but I have yet to find a heater that is foolproof. Good luck with whatever you choose!

Saw the inkbirds, I want one but they are almost as expensive as the heaters. Do you use the wifi model or the regular?

 

[Kaiser]

I bought 2 Finnex heaters a few months ago and neither one would work. I sent them back and got a Cobalt. No problems so far.

I have a 50w cobalt neotherm heater that I bought a long time ago that I'm using since my 12g QT heater also was damaged, however it seems really messed up because the lights will flicker sometimes and the heater stops working until I shake it a little lol. I really love the neotherms but it looks like they were discontinued....

 

[Dunc]

I have a 50w cobalt neotherm heater that I bought a long time ago that I'm using since my 12g QT heater also was damaged, however it seems really messed up because the lights will flicker sometimes and the heater stops working until I shake it a little lol. I really love the neotherms but it looks like they were discontinued....

I have a True Temp titanium heater in my Waterbox 220.6. So far so good.

 

[Peace River]

Saw the inkbirds, I want one but they are almost as expensive as the heaters. Do you use the wifi model or the regular?

They aren't inexpensive, but considering that the heater may be the greatest risk of failure I try to put a little extra into the risk mitigation for them. I use the WIFI models because I like the notifications and ability to check the temps remotely, but both provide redundancy.

 

[Kaiser]

I noticed that the Finnex titanium heaters come with a guard and the brs branded ones do not, does anyone think a guard would be necessary if it's in a QT tank?

 

[Kaiser]

Anyone?

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I noticed that the Finnex titanium heaters come with a guard and the brs branded ones do not, does anyone think a guard would be necessary if it's in a QT tank?

the guard isn't necessary or useful IMO. If you are constantly running your QT tanks for long periods of time (months on end) maybe an inkbird + titanium is the way to go. If you are just running periodically for 30+ days and then shutting it down, stick with the el cheapos and keep a spare onhand. That's what I do for my qt tanks. As far as wattage goes, just follow whatever mfg recommend specs are for that given heater.

 

[vtecintegra]

I would normally say Eheim. I use one in the DT. I use an Aqeon Pro in one QT. No problems. I use Via Aqua for non critical things like heating water, temporary quarantine, etc. They are somewhat inconsistent.

I would not recommend a Cobalt. I had one crack and they had a bad run of failures.