Good Heater for 90 Gallon

[Fishmanic]

heaters are a type of a equipment where reliability is very important and is one area I don't go for the cheapest.

 

[itiwhetu]

Eheim 2 x 300 watt. You don't want this system to go down so always have two heater/ thermostats in a large tank.

 

[Back in the fold]

Two heaters in a big tank like @Fishmanic says is good advice, not just for the reason mentioned -redundancy- but because it is such a large volume of water to heat evenly. You say this is an "aggressive " tank. That conjures up in my mind a picture of big cichlids who have no trouble at all in rearranging equipment and decor. Fast moving big fish sometimes bump into things and break or move them too. You might think about an external heater in a sump or inline heater. That's one solution. Also, heaters have suffered a grave decline in reliability and craftsmanship. Gone are the days of the perfectly reliable heater that lasts forever. Have a backup heater in case of failure.

 

[Back in the fold]

Just one more thing. (Done in my best Peter Falk voice) I have a 50 watt submersible Eheim in a 5 gallon that sits right next to a north facing window. It holds its temperature perfectly and has run without fail for one year now. You can't beat German made stuff. I also have a Penn Plax submersible that's been reliable and a Marineland one. But, beyond doubt, the Eheim has the best suction cup holder. It never lets go while the others can't quite hold on for any appreciable length of time. The only drawback to the Eheim is the cord. It is very thick and not pliable at all. You have to figure your bends, heat the cord with a handheld hairdryer ( carefully !) and train it into place.

 

[Circus]

I don't have a sump, I will just have a HOB filter and a sponge filter. I will take that into consideration too. I saw that there were some metal heaters, intended for marine, and was wondering if that would be betterbif the fish get a a little rowdy?

 

[Back in the fold]

@Circus What kind of fish do you have ?

 

[Circus]

@Circus What kind of fish do you have ?

None yet, but I have a plan of the following:
1 or 2 Pairs of Firemouth Cichlid
1 Pink Convict
Either Blue Acara or Electric Blue JD
3 Hoplo Catfish
7-11 large shoaling fish, probably a large Barb

I want a lot of rocks/woodwork for the fish to establish territory, those will have a lot of ferns attached to them. Floating plants, type depending on my lfs.

 

[Back in the fold]

@Circus Those are all great fish. I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as fish moving things around. I love Jack Dempsey's and Convicts. Should be a fun tank to sit back and watch !

 

[Circus]

@Circus Those are all great fish. I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as fish moving things around. I love Jack Dempsey's and Convicts. Should be a fun tank to sit back and watch !

I was a bit worried. I've heard horror stories of shattered heaters in territory scuffles.

 

[raylove]

18 months ago I decided to change a 5 yr old heater which I thought was probably due for retirement. I went for an Ehiem as I wanted top quality, and I took it the Ehiem reputation would be undoubted. I bought online as my LFS stocked only cheaper brands, as well as an own brand.
Regrettably this was not the case. The thermostat was all over the place and I had temperature swings if 7 or 8 degrees F. At this point I read the reviews and found that this was s common complaint.
I returned it for a refund and, for lack of any other choice I purchased the LFS own brand (the price was midway between the cheapies and the Ehiem). In the event the heater was first class and I am very pleased with it.
My new Juwel tank came with a Juwel heater and that is also very good.
I agree that years ago heaters were bullet proof. I still have a 25 year old Rena which works, though I only use it when I temporarily need a heater.
Anyway, my view of Ehiem has changed following my experience and having (belatedly) read reviews that suggested I was not alone. I won't buy that brand again.

 

[663]

Amazon is a good show place for heater technology, but I've learned to swallow the reviews with a big pinch of salt. If I was going to suggest anything it would be an external thermostat. I've owned three and all were very accurate after calibration. Depending on your temperament and needs you'll be amazed at some of the features inherent in these units. Good luck, Circus.

 

[Fancy Tail Aquatics]

I have used nothing but Aqueon pro heaters on 12 tanks, never failed. Get more wattage than you need! Double the wattage to always be safe, lesson learned. If it says say 15 watts for a 10, use 30 always. Unless you are in a heated room, it runs less and not much more cost wise in price. You will save electricity over time as it is not always heating up.

 

[chkltcow]

Anyway, my view of Ehiem has changed following my experience and having (belatedly) read reviews that suggested I was not alone. I won't buy that brand again.

What do you recommend as a quality brand now? 15 years ago when I got into the hobby, Eheim Jager was the gold standard for heaters. It's what I just bought for the tank I set up. It needed some serious calibration because as it came out of the box, the set temp was 5 degrees off what the red arrow read, but I've fixed that problem now and it's working well in the mere 2 weeks my tank has been up. I never expected reliability problems out of Eheim.

Years ago, what actually caused me to get disheartened and give up on the hobby for a while.... I had a cheap heater in my 55g reef tank fail and short out. I think it was a 300w but I don't remember the brand. I came home from work to EVERYTHING dead.... fish... corals... all of it... and the water was nearly 100F. That incident was why I went back with Eheim, because it was a brand I knew and trusted and it's a little more expensive, but.... less expensive than cooking corals.

 

[Boundava]

I have been replacing all of my heaters with the Finnex titanium line. They have an external thermostat so you can change the temps without getting into the tank.

Finnex HMAS 200 Watts Titanium Heater with Guard

Find premium aquarium supplies at Aquacave. we offer top brands like Tunze, Ecotech, and more. Free Shipping available!

www.aquacave.com

 

[663]

One of the things I've gotten from fish forums is a sense of paranoia regarding potential heater issues. With this in mind I popped for an ITC 306A WiFi heater controller. This unit makes it possible to control and monitor (this includes alarms based on criteria you select to some degree) my 800w heating tube from anywhere there's a cell or WiFi connection. This translates into just about arywhere.

In all honesty, I do have some issues with where the unit was manufactured, the network installation and the opaque nature of how it does what it does. But these thoughts are likely based on the fact that I'm an IT professional and an avid computer hobbyist. If anyone's interested, look it up at Amazon. If there are any questions about my experience's with this device, feel free to ask.