disaster999 Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 since im bored at work i thought ill give a brief review on the fluval e series heater. heaters over the years havent evolved much. basic construction is shatter proof glass tube or plastic tube, heating element, a controller on top to set the temperature and a light indicate if the heater is one or off. these heaters are relatively inexpensive and comes in various shapes and designs, but they are highly inaccurate and not as reliable. the more advance type of heater comes with a controller box that allows a much finer adjustments, and some have a microprocessor that keeps the temperature of the water as constant as possible, but these usually are out of the typical price consumer range. fluval came up with a heater that is affordable and still have the bells and whistles of the higher end professional heaters. some of the features of the heater are: easy to read LCD temperature display color code backlite display for quick at a glance at water temperature dual temperature sensor to ensure accurate reading temp sensor direct on glass to ensure accurate and instant water temperature readout 0.5 degree temp increments secure mounting bracket, heater can be removed and adjusted without removing the bracket. error messages telling the user the problem with the heater. visit their website for more info http://www.hagen.com/uk/aquatic/addinfo/fluvaleseries.cfm impressions to be honest, the heater at first wasnt what i thought it would be. from the pictures ive seen online, i THOUGHT the heater itself doesnt look anything like traditional heaters, with the round tube and such, but with a square looking body. but what it actually is is a traditional looking heater with a square plastic cage round the heater. i was kind of disappointed by it, wanted it to be different, but then i guess they designed it for easy cleaning of the heater tube and the cage. the plastic was high quality plastic. not the cheap abs or nylon ones. but those composite strong rigid plastics. the heater is very well projected inside the cage. there are enough slots and openings for water to flow through the heater. the LCD screen was large and the numbers were easy to read. the backlight gives it a nice touch. performance i bought the 200w model for my 100gal tank. it recommends 300w for 100gal, but this heater is able to keep my tank at a constant 24c when the surrounding area is at around15c. even at night when all the lights were off it is still able to keep my tank at a stable temp. one good feature of this heater is it tells you if it is not getting enough flow. a error message saying "LF" will flash in between temperature readouts. i like this feature as it lets the owner know that 1, the heater isnt getting enough flow for optimal performance, and 2, let the owner know that one area of the tank is not getting enough flow and should do something about it. accuracy wise, the heater is pretty accurate. i checked the water temperature with my chiller (has temp readout) and a IR thermometer (those gun style IR thermometer with a laser pointer) and it is within 0.5c. thoughts overall i am pretty impressed by the heater. it was able to keep my tank at a stable temperature even tho it is underrated for my tank. i like the temp readout as i can easily tell what temperature my tank is at and know right away if its too cold or hot just by the color of the backlite. right now i have the heater laying on its side with the LCD facing up so i dont have to get on all 4s just to read the temperature. i can easily see the temperature by standing up and looking down at my sump. the heater is very simple to use. to adjust the temperature just move the arm either left or right. overall this is a great heater and should last me a while. although some might say its too expensive, or dont need the extra features, i think its worth every penny. only thing i can see in the future is the cage will be encrusted with coralline algae and might block the flow to the heater. might need regular cleaning to keep the algae off. Link to comment
Rockfish Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 since im bored at work i thought ill give a brief review on the fluval e series heater. heaters over the years havent evolved much. basic construction is shatter proof glass tube or plastic tube, heating element, a controller on top to set the temperature and a light indicate if the heater is one or off. these heaters are relatively inexpensive and comes in various shapes and designs, but they are highly inaccurate and not as reliable. the more advance type of heater comes with a controller box that allows a much finer adjustments, and some have a microprocessor that keeps the temperature of the water as constant as possible, but these usually are out of the typical price consumer range. fluval came up with a heater that is affordable and still have the bells and whistles of the higher end professional heaters. some of the features of the heater are: easy to read LCD temperature display color code backlite display for quick at a glance at water temperature dual temperature sensor to ensure accurate reading temp sensor direct on glass to ensure accurate and instant water temperature readout 0.5 degree temp increments secure mounting bracket, heater can be removed and adjusted without removing the bracket. error messages telling the user the problem with the heater. visit their website for more info http://www.hagen.com/uk/aquatic/addinfo/fluvaleseries.cfm impressions to be honest, the heater at first wasnt what i thought it would be. from the pictures ive seen online, i THOUGHT the heater itself doesnt look anything like traditional heaters, with the round tube and such, but with a square looking body. but what it actually is is a traditional looking heater with a square plastic cage round the heater. i was kind of disappointed by it, wanted it to be different, but then i guess they designed it for easy cleaning of the heater tube and the cage. the plastic was high quality plastic. not the cheap abs or nylon ones. but those composite strong rigid plastics. the heater is very well projected inside the cage. there are enough slots and openings for water to flow through the heater. the LCD screen was large and the numbers were easy to read. the backlight gives it a nice touch. performance i bought the 200w model for my 100gal tank. it recommends 300w for 100gal, but this heater is able to keep my tank at a constant 24c when the surrounding area is at around15c. even at night when all the lights were off it is still able to keep my tank at a stable temp. one good feature of this heater is it tells you if it is not getting enough flow. a error message saying "LF" will flash in between temperature readouts. i like this feature as it lets the owner know that 1, the heater isnt getting enough flow for optimal performance, and 2, let the owner know that one area of the tank is not getting enough flow and should do something about it. accuracy wise, the heater is pretty accurate. i checked the water temperature with my chiller (has temp readout) and a IR thermometer (those gun style IR thermometer with a laser pointer) and it is within 0.5c. thoughts overall i am pretty impressed by the heater. it was able to keep my tank at a stable temperature even tho it is underrated for my tank. i like the temp readout as i can easily tell what temperature my tank is at and know right away if its too cold or hot just by the color of the backlite. right now i have the heater laying on its side with the LCD facing up so i dont have to get on all 4s just to read the temperature. i can easily see the temperature by standing up and looking down at my sump. the heater is very simple to use. to adjust the temperature just move the arm either left or right. overall this is a great heater and should last me a while. although some might say its too expensive, or dont need the extra features, i think its worth every penny. only thing i can see in the future is the cage will be encrusted with coralline algae and might block the flow to the heater. might need regular cleaning to keep the algae off. great write up!! the ONLY thing that i'm hung up on about this heater is the fact that is a glass tube heater!! I hate using them in saltwater aquariums!! Link to comment
Kittysnax Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I just purchased the 100w one for my 30G. It was great at telling me about my freezing water (66F) when I first put it in by flashing blue. In >5 hours it was up to a nice warm 79F, and a steady backlit green color for at a glance verification. I was glad I spent the extra money on it. I can also see the coralline encrusting it in the future as well so I will have to keep an eye on it and maybe take it out for monthly/bimonthly cleanings. Link to comment
guarda Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Could you tell me in inches how tall it is? Can't find this info in the manual nor on the many sites that sell it. Not even on their website. Would like to know if this fits in my sump. Thanks. I just purchased the 100w one for my 30G. It was great at telling me about my freezing water (66F) when I first put it in by flashing blue. In >5 hours it was up to a nice warm 79F, and a steady backlit green color for at a glance verification. I was glad I spent the extra money on it. I can also see the coralline encrusting it in the future as well so I will have to keep an eye on it and maybe take it out for monthly/bimonthly cleanings. Link to comment
disaster999 Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...fm?pcatid=19658 Model Length Max. Aquarium Size 50W 10" up to 15 gallons 100W 11-3/4" up to 30 gallons 200W 13-3/4" up to 65 gallons 300W 13-3/4" up to 100 gallons Link to comment
guarda Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Thanks, the only store I didn't try. Figures. Way too big. Gonna go with one of these. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...fm?pcatid=19658 Model Length Max. Aquarium Size 50W 10" up to 15 gallons 100W 11-3/4" up to 30 gallons 200W 13-3/4" up to 65 gallons 300W 13-3/4" up to 100 gallons Link to comment
disaster999 Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 wow, those are pretty expensive Link to comment
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