best heater

[Crys]

Hi I want to upgrade my current heater.  I have a preset but find it only keeps the tank at 76 a lot of times.  What heaters would you recommend for a 13.5 gal.

 

thanks

[Ash1176]

Just got a cobalt neo-therm 50w Heater to replace my aqueon 50w preset heater that did the same as you. From what I’ve seen on reviews and comparisons it’s one of the best out With loads of nice feature and so slim too, which is perfect for my

fluval Evo! Only put it in today, but so far it’s great, I set it at 80 and it’s been constantly showing 79.9.

[Tamberav]

I use Jager heaters and Cobalts.

 

The Jager's are big so they won't fit in all tanks and are not super accurate but seem to last the longest. I have never had one cook a tank yet. They do have a thing on to calibrate it but expect a swing within a degree or two. 

 

The cobalts fit in a wide range of tanks and keep my temps within 0.5 degree but I did have two fail this year. To be fair, they were 2-3 years old though. One just stopped working and one kept setting itself on max temp. It fried 2 cleaner shrimp and melted a mushroom since the tank was hot when i discovered it.

 

I haven't found any heater that should not be on a controller because heaters are just prone to failing eventually. Unfortunately I have too many tanks and not enough controllers 😛

[Clown79]

I don't think there is a best heater unfortunately.

 

Every brand has its share of failures and successes.

 

Jagger has always been good, I have 5 yr old jaggers that still run well but they are fairly large heaters.  

The calibration ring is annoying. 

 

Aqueon pro are pretty good. Mine was always spot on and I am currently using a 50w in my 25g.

 

Hydor, I found it didn't keep good temp. 

 

Cobalt fits a lot of tanks, great size but its the only heater I've ever had in 20yrs that completely failed. 

[Crys]

Thanks to all 🙂

[Break]

Over 20+ years of keeping tanks, I have never found one brand of heaters to be 100% reliable. It's just one of those pieces of equipment - like printers. Thankfully, like others have mentioned, even cheap controllers like the Inkbird can help alleviate the issue.

 

I have been using a Hydor Theo without any problems for the last few years, though it is ran by an Aqua Jr. Controller and temp probe. I agree with Clown79 that the Hydor's don't always seem to keep the most consistent temp for some reason, but it's compact enough to fit in my pico!

[FISHnChix]

On 6/15/2020 at 11:21 PM, Clown79 said:

Cobalt fits a lot of tanks, great size but its the only heater I've ever had in 20yrs that completely failed

I like my 2 cobalts keeps temp super stable but I have been reading about a lot of these failing. Got me nervous.

 

I've heard a lot of good things about the finnex titanium heaters. Might make the switch 

[Ash1176]

I guess no heater will last forever, replace whichever one you choose every year just to be sure! 

[Clown79]

7 hours ago, FISHnChix said:

I like my 2 cobalts keeps temp super stable but I have been reading about a lot of these failing. Got me nervous.

 

I've heard a lot of good things about the finnex titanium heaters. Might make the switch 

I was thinking of going titanium but they all state not you be used in small areas like sumps but in the actual tank or you risk overheating.

 

Wish someone would design a great heater.

[Tamberav]

Ya I have a titanium but it is in a 40B sump in a large section and on an apex...I am not sure they would be appropriate for an AIO.

 

I have read some bad things about the cheap pinpoint controllers so I am going Ranco on the next one. People seem to love those and some claim they have had theirs over 10 years. They require some basic wiring which a YouTube video shows how.

[Break]

8 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I was thinking of going titanium but they all state not you be used in small areas like sumps but in the actual tank or you risk overheating.

 

Wish someone would design a great heater.

Yeah, the titanium gives it more durability, but also makes the heater conduct heat more efficiently.