50w Hydor Theo Heater Review - It sucks

[ninjamyst]

I bought two 50w Hydor Theo heaters, one for 12 gallon tank and one to heat up newly mixed saltwater. They are both inaccurate and unreliable. I have the one in tank set to 79 degrees, but temperature ran up to 83 degrees. I dialed it down to 75 degrees and temperature ran to 81.5 degrees. I dialed it down further to 70 degrees and now temperature swings between 78 and 80 degrees. Piece of crap. I swapped in the 2nd one, and it still runs hot by 2-3 degrees and does not keep constant temperature. I should have gotten the Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Heater instead of being a cheapass.

[TristanC]

I run Eheim Jägers exclusively.

[patback]

Imo, Unless you want to get a $70+ titanium heater or a controller, or something of that nature, you won't find much of anything worth writing about. I've tried 3 different brands of heaters. All run about the same.

 

I am using the cobalt titanium one now... 83-86 on the digital readout gives me anywhere from 78-81*

[Chadf]

That's why you need a controller. $115 for a rkl and you can use a cheap heater and keep your temp within .1 degree, plus so much more.

[jestep]

They've actually been very reliable for me as far as keeping a decent temperature. Just as good as any other budget heater. I've used about 5 of these now, after my stupid plastic marineland stealth shocked the $%^& out of me a few years back (before the recall).I do not trust the actual temperate dial on any heater or chiller though. I use a decent infrared thermometer to figure out the offset if there is one.

[Veng]

If you are wanting temperature control on a heater, use a controller, not a thermostatic heater. They all suck.

[disaster999]

do not rely on the numbers and dials on these stick type heater to give you accurate temperature control. always counter check with a thermometer.

 

There is nothing wrong with the heater you bought. ALL HEATERS OF THIS TYPE IS THE SAME. unless they specifically advertise having an electronic temp controller inside, ALL WILL BEHAVE THE SAME REGARDLESS OF BRAND AND PRICE.

[Lalani]

do not rely on the numbers and dials on these stick type heater to give you accurate temperature control. always counter check with a thermometer.

 

There is nothing wrong with the heater you bought. ALL HEATERS OF THIS TYPE IS THE SAME. unless they specifically advertise having an electronic temp controller inside, ALL WILL BEHAVE THE SAME REGARDLESS OF BRAND AND PRICE.

This.

 

I've always used Hydor heaters and once you get the temp dialed in with the help of a thermometer, its good to go, ime. Never had one fail on me.

[ninjamyst]

This.

 

I've always used Hydor heaters and once you get the temp dialed in with the help of a thermometer, its good to go, ime. Never had one fail on me.

 

Yea, I think it's just hard to find that sweet spot. I turned it off for now since we live in a small condo and room temperature in the summer is pretty stable. I will take it out next weekend and try to find that perfect temperature.

[ninjamyst]

I got a 50w cobalt aquatics neo-therm last weekend. It's been dead acccurate. I now use the hydor for heating up new water mix. Funny thing is that yesterday I dropped the hydor in the water bucket with temperature set to 79 degrees. I forgot about it and came back 6 hours later to find water is 83+ degrees. So glad I got the cobalt.

[Leatherneck3755]

My Jager is at 73 and my tank runs at about 79. Ive been dialing down a degree a week until I get to 78. Same prob with my Hydor for mixing saltwater. I NEED A CONTROLLER!!!!!!!!! Donations???

[blasterman]

ALL WILL BEHAVE THE SAME REGARDLESS OF BRAND AND PRICE.

 

All analog heaters suffer the same problem, and that's encapsulating the actual temperature sensor and heater coil inside an insulating glass jacket. It's rather nasty engineering conundrum that produces wide temperature swings in most models.

 

I really don't care what temp I set some silly plastic ring at. I'm only concerned that it stay's at a specific temp once set and verified by another thermometer. In that respect I've found Eheim's statistically less trouble than other models, although none are perfect.

 

I keep hearing how awesome external controllers are and how superior they are over integrated types we are mostly discussing. Obviously those fans have never had a cat pull out the sensor probe from a tank and had it bake all the inhabitants over night. They all have faults.

[RK_tek]

I just had to replace my hydor 100w. It was a month old and cracked. I lost a few corals from that and I put my backup heater in while I waited on a replacement from hydor. That one apparently have up the ghost mid week and my temps dropped to ~70 which was the final death blow to a few struggling corals. I finally got the replacement from Hydor last night and after checking with a lab thermometer and setting the dial 3 degrees high things seem ok. We'll see if this one lasts any longer. I'm buying a Neotherm as soon as my budget allows

[Rollermonkey]

I keep hearing how awesome external controllers are and how superior they are over integrated types we are mostly discussing. Obviously those fans have never had a cat pull out the sensor probe from a tank and had it bake all the inhabitants over night. They all have faults.

Cats are vile, nefarious, evil creatures that should not be permitted to cohabitate with humans.

 

 

...and I don't like them very much either.

[wow.such.chris]

I own a Cobalt Aquatics Neotherm 75W. Set at 82, keeps the tank 78-80. To reiterate, there's no heater that's above and beyond the rest in terms of accuracy. If you want accuracy, get a controller.

[RK_tek]

[quote name="blasterman" post="4517523" timestamp="

 

I keep hearing how awesome external controllers are and how superior they are over integrated types we are mostly discussing. Obviously those fans have never had a cat pull out the sensor probe from a tank and had it bake all the inhabitants over night. They all have faults.

 

The key to prevent cooking a tank from that is to set the heater thermostat just slightly higher than the controller temp. Then if the probe is knocked out of the aquarium, the temps can only go up a degree or two

[Reeftech]

I have a deep blue heat stix and i have no complaints from it.I use a digital thermometer,a glass thermometer and the heater for temperature measurement.