Best Heater in Terms of Safety and Reliability, No Price Ceiling

[Idech]

Eheim Jager plugged into an Inkbird.

I agree 100% !

Eheim jagers are very hard to calibrate, but if you plug them into an Inkbrid, then it doesn’t matter.

I have 2 of them in my tank, for redundancy. One of them is 15-20 years old.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Two Cheap Aqueon Presets, Plugged into a an Inkbird, also I watch the sales on them and keep spares. BTW I have several that are gone through six winters. They are removed Cleaned and stored in the summer. BTW, I’ve had a couple fail to heat, unplugged them and replugged back in and they work. I think they have a safety circuit.

 

[c_ronius]

Eheim Jager, fully submerged, controlled by GHL.

 

[Harpo]

What about hot water? I have a titanium heat exchanger and a pump controlled by a ranco controller.

 

[Bpb]

I’ve always used eheim jagers since the beginning. Never had one break. I crank them and use the apex temp control. I fully submerge mine as well. Yes they are glass but they’ve been ultra reliable for me. No reason to change

 

[c_ronius]

I run 2 smaller eheims instead of a single large one, and replace them with brand new ones every couple of years. They are cheap, and have the potential to do alot of damage if they do fail. That said I have yet to have one fail. I have a pile of old units which work fine, and come in very handy.

I think a large percentage of heater failures are due to relying on the heaters thermostat alone without a primary controller.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I too like the Eheim Jager's but they are too fragile, too big, and can't be fully submersed.

Eheims can be fully submersed, and can be at any angle -even horizontal.
(Not trying to dis the Helio, just adding info about eheim )

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I have 2 of them in my tank, for redundancy. One of them is 15-20 years old.

I still replace mine every year or 2... I trust the heaters but I don't think they are meant to last 15 years and it's not something I'm willing to take a chance on...

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Two Cheap Aqueon Presets, Plugged into a an Inkbird, also I watch the sales on them and keep spares. BTW I have several that are gone through six winters. They are removed Cleaned and stored in the summer. BTW, I’ve had a couple fail to heat, unplugged them and replugged back in and they work. I think they have a safety circuit.

I went with cheap preset heaters controlled by Apex about 4 years ago now and never looked back. BTDT with eheims, cheapies and everything in between (glass, plastic and titanium heaters). Also with inkbird, they are bleh IME as a temp controller too slow to change state and they didnt have a servicable probe (when I used them). I'm a huge ranco (and clones) supporter.

I've always ran dual heaters so the backup is there if there is a problem and I routinely test heaters with a non heated water change. I just change the heaters out every few years. I feel the adjustable thermostat is an additional point for water intrusion and thus failure. I also run T5's on both tanks and one with a canopy so my heaters arent worked hard in the L.A. area climate.

 

[Oldreefer44]

used all of the above over the years. All mentioned work fine however the IM Helios seem to be more exact as they have kept my 180 consistently within 1/10th of a degree at all times.

 

[h20cyclone]

Eheims jagers FTW always! Just wish the higher wattage ones were a bit smaller.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Here to bump to eheim's as well - I have two hooked up to an inkbird hooked up to an apex

 

[jda]

Ehiem on Ranco. I get the Ehiems to where they are just barely higher than the Ranco. Redundancy. Rancos don't stick on that I have ever heard, but if they do, the Ehiems will shut off. Ranco is a lifetime piece of industrial grade equipment... if only the rest of the things in the hobby were that reliable.

 

[zoomonster]

Wait what! I have eheim jagers full submersed for years with zero issue. I think the one in my freshwater tank are 6-7 years old at this point. Just sold tank a few weeks ago.

At least the ones I have, have a clearly marked max water line below the thermostat.

 

[Idech]

I still replace mine every year or 2... I trust the heaters but I don't think they are meant to last 15 years and it's not something I'm willing to take a chance on...

I’m home most of the time so I’ll know if something happens. I think replacing them every 2 years is overkill but to each their own.