good heater???

Whats a good heater to buy? Dont know if I "need" a digital thermostat or not, but I was thinking of getting one so my temp will stay more stable rather than trying to guess with the dial type. But if I dont need one I would rather not spend the money right now.

Any recommendations for my first heater for my 55 gal DT/ 20 gal sump...

 

Go for a titanium heater, they wont shatter, corrosion resistant, come with a controller to adjust temperature. And are fairly inexpensive.

 

i just ordered a heater frm drsmithfoster a Marineland Stealth Pro-Heaters
250W 30 secs ago


Tough, shatter-proof heaters boast smart electronic technology for long-lasting performance. Rugged heater construction enhanced with LED indicator allows fast and accurate confirmation of heater activity. Translucent temperature dial glows red when heating and glows green when aquarium water temperature is at or above set temperature. Internal mesh heating element allows efficient heat distribution while epoxy fill protects against shock and breakage. Helpful safety feature shuts down heater when exposed out of water and restarts automatically when submerged. ±1 degrees Fahrenheit accuracy. Marineland Stealth Pro-Heaters are for submersible use in fresh or saltwater aquariums.

23.99

 

im goign with 2 stealth heaters for my new build. Ive heard good things about them and am gonna go for them.

 

I've been through three heaters in the last year or so on my tank, they are all junk IMO.

I would never trust the built in thermostat, they are even more junk than the rest of the heater and are well known to commonly fail on. I would also never use a heater without a controller of some sort. It will cost a little money but with how notorious heaters are for failing I wouldn't risk my whole tank on them failing completely and the temp dropping like a rock or failing on and cooking the tank (which is even worse!).

One thing to consider is using two undersized heaters so that if one stops working you have a backup to keep some heat going and if one fails on it will take longer to raise the temp so you have more time to realize the problem.

That's my experience with them anyway. Check out the reefkeeper lite which I think was being sold for $100 recently online someplace which will give you a thermostat control as well as some other nice timing features etc. Otherwise to be really safe look at the Aquacontroller 3 or Apex or the Reefkeeper Elite which can send you an email or alert if your tank's temp goes out of the normal range so you can catch it before a disaster happens.

 

I use titanium heaters they are nice and I thow a cheap digital thermom to confirm the built in one is acutate

 

Have you confirmed that the cheap digital one is accurate? They are often completely off, I've heard of some being off by 10 degrees brand new.

 

I have been using the Via Aqua Titaniums for over 6 years now and they are bulletproof. Very accurate and the seperate controller and temp sensor are nice features.

 

I use a jager heater and it keeps it right at the temp I want with no issues.

 

Via Aqua Titaniums same brand i use , wow my first post is horible .. aparently i dont pay much attention when posting with my phone lol >,<