Heaters

[Country joe]

It seems a well known fact that heaters can be prone to stop working or over heating, are they worth replacing say every year or two, I know all about Inkbird and I have watched all the YouTube videos, but I'm absolutely useless with modern technology, and although they are supposed to be easy to set up, not for me, so it would be easier for me just to replace.

 

[Archerfish]

A quality heater should last for about 5 years. Heaters like the Fluval E have a five year warrantee.
Here is what I do: purchase quality heaters, use two smaller wattage heaters per tank and have a temp high/low alert thermometer in each tank. You can also select fish that don't require high heat. Another idea: In my fish room, I use a dehumidifier in the winter and it keeps the room warm.

 

[GaryE]

I don't trust heaters, but one or two years seems unlikely. My newest heater are 7 years old, and I have had had some go 15. I've also had them destroy tanks at 4 or 5 years old. But I don't trust them the day I buy them, and plug them in. I monitor almost daily. Plus, like @Archerfish , I heat the one room and choose lower heat needs fish.

 

[Uberhoust]

I have heard this as well, but it does not go with my experience. I have kept tanks most of my life, and can only remember one heater failure in the last 30 or so years. I do replace the waterproof ones if I notice any condensation in the main tube, though they have yet to fail. I have had a lot of luck with my few EBO heaters, with one I still use occasionally being close to or older than 20 years old, but these do not seem to be made the same anymore. The more modern ones I have good luck with are the Fluial M series, I am currently using a Fluval E series which seems to work but not as well as the cheaper M series. Overall, I think you can push up the time frame for replacement. It might be important to note that my experience is likely less significant than some other people here because I have only kept to 1 or 2 larger, 70 gal, tanks most of the time. The one that failed while in use was the old kind that is not water proof.

 

[emeraldking]

It seems a well known fact that heaters can be prone to stop working or over heating, are they worth replacing say every year or two, I know all about Inkbird and I have watched all the YouTube videos, but I'm absolutely useless with modern technology, and although they are supposed to be easy to set up, not for me, so it would be easier for me just to replace.

In general, a heater should last much longer than just two years. But it could also be the difference in quality that we have in heaters.
In my case, I don't use heaters at all in all of my tanks. We've got a central heating system and those fish that need more temperature, their tanks are on a higher shelf. Heat leans to go upwards according to physics...

 

[MaloK]

Me too atm my oldest heaters are the most trusted... (maybe I shouldn't)... They show no water ingress after more than 25 years under. They where the very first "electronic" ones available at the time and I love them.

But this is from the time that people where done with crappy heaters and really wanted something extremely reliable.

I remember paying a lot more in the 90's for these than a today's "quality one" .

 

[Back in the fold]

I have never had a problem with aquarium heaters in almost sixty years of fish keeping . I have one now that the indicator light burned out but it still works . Heaters have always been the most reliable piece of hardware in the aquarium hobby behind diaphragm air pumps . I’ve never had one get stuck and cook fish or anything like that so when people gripe about heaters I scratch my head . What are they doing to them ? Are they mishandling them or abusing them or using too little wattage of one for the aquarium ? I can’t be that lucky that I’m the only guy that’s NEVER had a problem with one . But I will tell you this . Those Eheim Jager German made ones are the best you can get and that’s all I buy now .

 

[MaloK]

Ditto on the Eheim Jager, they are the best.

 

[Country joe]

Ditto on the Eheim Jager, they are the best.

Ditto on the Eheim Jager, they are the best.

I have a 200w Aqua pro heater in my 200 litre, and a Eheim Jager in my 70 litre., would it be be better to have two 100w heaters on the 200 lire tank.

 

[MaloK]

Not really, except if you want some permanent redundancy...

But having a brand new 200w in a box ready to go at notice... Is as good as it gets.

Having at least a spare is minimal. The only heater that did wrong for me was a old bi-metal un-insulated piece of cr...

 

[Oldspartan]

We had a through the wall heat pump installed in the new fish room. I have that room temp set at 77F. We still have heaters in the tanks all set at 75F, or as close as I can get. I use an infrared temp gauge that is point and shoot and check the water temps when feeding in the AM and PM.

We are old and adverse to cold ourselves and the 77F room temp that some feel a touch on the warm side suits us well. We actually had the heat pump installed to mitigate summer heat, the fish room gets summer sun for about 6 hours a day and gets very hot. I will put the room on a separate boiler zone sometime before next winter as gas heat is far cheaper than even the heat pump. Will set the heat pump to shut down at about 20F outside and let the gas zone take over.

As for these stick heaters. I do not trust them. According to my thermal reader not a single one is accurate. I admit these were purchased haphazardly and I have learned a bit about equipment in the past year. We will replace the heaters in all of the tanks before winter of next year and standardize the maker. Leaning toward Eheim heaters from what I have read. Plan on doing that with filtration.