40GallonsOfDoom
Well-Known Member
I'll do some research. Brb
Lets talk heaters....
- Thread starter DMD123
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40GallonsOfDoom
Well-Known Member
They seem to consistently not keep temp, not get to temp, and not turn on. Youtubers, which I don't trust, sing their praises. But actual reviews on Amazon and Reddit say to avoid and stick with the old Eheim.
Let me get this right- aquarium heaters now need WiFi or Bluetooth to talk to your smartphone? To do exactly what? Call me old-fashioned, but I haven't had to replace any of the classic Eheim-Jager heaters in my 12 tanks at least since I've been in this house (12+ years), and I don't remember how long before that. I'm a strong believer in both 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' and 'You get what you pay for,' so I'll pass on all the wireless technology and stick with tried-and-true.
40GallonsOfDoom
Well-Known Member
Well it seems you don't even get what you pay for with these. The connectivity doesn't work. Lots of reviews say they don't connect without being right next to the glass and even then, they don't work properly. I can see the usefulness of being able to check the temps quickly via wifi, I do sorta the same thing with my smoker and being able to lock my door from over 1000 miles away is pretty good. Last night I locked my front door from OKC. Being able to see my tank temps while I'm gone would be nice. In theory I could have my wife check them if I noticed something out of tolerance. But again, that's not something that you would have to worry about if you had a quality heater and one of those temp monitors that automatically adjusts. If it worked, for $50, I'd consider it.
My Fluval flex has one of the high end lights built in that is bluetooth compatible and you can change the settings Via an app, for lighting this totally works. But heaters just need the be solid and dependable. While it sounds good in theory to be able to do all the things they claim, the real world applications on the heaters just aren’t there yet.
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40GallonsOfDoom
Well-Known Member
I agree. I was just saying I see the appeal if the product did what it was supposed to do and was reliable. I would imagine if they moved the controller components out of the heater and put them on the cord outside the tank, they could make it much better. I wouldn't be surprised if the reliability issues were because of the heater cooking the wireless components. Electronics get goofy when they get hot.
I ended up using my spare, new in box Fluval T series heater for the replacement for the Finnex that died on the 90 gallon. Took a few hours but heated the tank up and has been holding temp well. I now need to get another heater to keep on hand as a spare.
The Fluval heater is doing well and the tank is staying nice and steady at temp. I am watching the Black Friday sales to purchase another heater as a back up or a replacement to the Fluval and make the Fluval a back up again. But as of now no sale is that great so just waiting and watching.
Decided to try another Finnex heater The HMU digital titanium. A step up from the one I was using with a seperate sensor.
This one is available as a 400 watt that I will be using it in my 90 gallon. I will pull the fluval and keep it as a back up and run this new heater instead. If it seems to be running well for a little bit I will order another 300 watt and replace an existing 300 and pull that as a back up.
I have heard of people replacing out heaters yearly even if they are still good, Im not doing that but getting prepared since all my current heaters are going on two years and will likely fail at some point soon. Thankfully every heater Ive had that went bad has done so cold vs staying on and cooking the fish.
This one is available as a 400 watt that I will be using it in my 90 gallon. I will pull the fluval and keep it as a back up and run this new heater instead. If it seems to be running well for a little bit I will order another 300 watt and replace an existing 300 and pull that as a back up.
I have heard of people replacing out heaters yearly even if they are still good, Im not doing that but getting prepared since all my current heaters are going on two years and will likely fail at some point soon. Thankfully every heater Ive had that went bad has done so cold vs staying on and cooking the fish.
And it doesn't seem to matter how much you spend, even high end controllers with replaceable heaters that can be over $100+ seem to have the same limited lifespan.
40GallonsOfDoom
Well-Known Member
Makes you wonder if it's not planned obsolescence.
I had posted under another area about my heaters:
"I borrowed a digital thermometer from work to see what my true water temperature was in the garage tanks. Since I have those cheap peel and stick thermometers, it really is not an accurate reading. My 20g with a preset 50w heater was a steady 75 degrees. My tanks with the Finnex titanium's all show as 80 degrees on the readouts but were in reality all about 75-76 degrees. This is where a calibration feature would have been nice. My 90 gallon with the new Fluval was around 78.5 with no adjustment, had basically just dropped into the tank since other heater had failed.
I am not really concerned in raising the temp on the goldfish but my other tanks I will likely try to raise at least a couple degrees, I will have to ignore the fact they will likely read 82 degrees to hit at least 77."
It was just an interesting little bit of info about actual temperature vs what the heater says. Again wishing there was a calibration feature on the heater so that it would show actual temp.
"I borrowed a digital thermometer from work to see what my true water temperature was in the garage tanks. Since I have those cheap peel and stick thermometers, it really is not an accurate reading. My 20g with a preset 50w heater was a steady 75 degrees. My tanks with the Finnex titanium's all show as 80 degrees on the readouts but were in reality all about 75-76 degrees. This is where a calibration feature would have been nice. My 90 gallon with the new Fluval was around 78.5 with no adjustment, had basically just dropped into the tank since other heater had failed.
I am not really concerned in raising the temp on the goldfish but my other tanks I will likely try to raise at least a couple degrees, I will have to ignore the fact they will likely read 82 degrees to hit at least 77."
It was just an interesting little bit of info about actual temperature vs what the heater says. Again wishing there was a calibration feature on the heater so that it would show actual temp.
Got my new Finnex heater yesterday. Im going to try it out in my 90g and pull out the Fluval and keep it as a spare. The Fluval seems to work well but I cant believe how weak the suction cups are. I have the heater placed at an angle and it just keeps coming off due to the weight of the heater. Very unlike Fluval to have cheap suction cups, theirs are usually much better built.
The new Finnex seems to be working fine. With the separate sensor it is closer in temp to what it reads but still wish it were adjustable with a + or - to be able to calibrate. I got the 400 watt unit but it is the same size as the 500 watt unit it replaced.
I do think I will buy one more and put it on my 65B red wolf tank. Not sure if I should do a 400 watt or a 300 watt, but I feel it is better to take the preventative approach and start replacing a couple of the heaters now before they fail. (they are going on 2 years now)
I do think I will buy one more and put it on my 65B red wolf tank. Not sure if I should do a 400 watt or a 300 watt, but I feel it is better to take the preventative approach and start replacing a couple of the heaters now before they fail. (they are going on 2 years now)