Hydor Theo Heaters

[Will91]

Hi all:

I'm going to buy a Marineland Eclipse System 3 (3 USG) from PetSmart on-line and want to get a 25W heater with it. Unfortunately, they do not offer the Marineland VisiTherm Stealth in a 25W on-line.

They do, however, have a Hydro Theo heater in a 25W version. I have read a few reviews on the internet claiming the themperature settings are WAY off. Has anyone had any experience with these heaters?

Thanks

 

[KimA]

Hi,

I had a 25w one a while ago when I had my 28L tank and it was fine - I just tweaked with it until the temp was just right, no problems at all.

In fact gave it to someone on here when I shut the tank down after a couple of months (upgraded to a much larger tank), and they said it was fine.

Thinking of getting another one for my new 25L nano tank.

 

[dogfood]

Just get the 50W Stealth, it's only a couple dollars more and you can use it for an even bigger tank if you upgrade in the future.

 

[Will91]

Just get the 50W Stealth, it's only a couple dollars more and you can use it for an even bigger tank if you upgrade in the future.

Wouldn't a 50W heater be too much for a 3 gallon tank? From what I understand, it the heater wattage is too high, the temperature overshoots the setpoint since it is dispersing the heat into a small volume of water and doesn't have the time to respond fast enough.

 

[dogfood]

Wouldn't a 50W heater be too much for a 3 gallon tank? From what I understand, it the heater wattage is too high, the temperature overshoots the setpoint since it is dispersing the heat into a small volume of water and doesn't have the time to respond fast enough.

A 50W heater is fine for a 3 gallon tank. This is not a 100W heater so you shouldn't worry. The only difference is the 50W heater will be able to heat the tank up to the set temp faster than the 25W. Once it reaches the set temp it will stay there so there's no temp fluctuations. Make sure you have an internal thermometer since those external sticker types aren't very accurate. The Stealths are pretty accurate anyway so if you go by the numbers on the dial adjustment you should be fine.