Cannister Filter with built in heater

[chiphead]

Are there any beefy cannister filters on the market with a built in 500w heater other than the incredibly expensive Eheim 2180?
Thanks.

[H3D]

Rena makes an inline heater that can be used with most canister filters.

[chiphead]

Rena makes an inline heater that can be used with most canister filters.
Thanks H3D. Inline filters are my second choice but I'm sketchy about putting another point of failure (leakage) in any water lines running outside the tank.

[H3D]

If installed right it will never leak.

[krytan]

The rena inline heaters work from inside the tank, the inlet for the canister goes into the heater. Hydor make a very good inline heater, i use both the rena and hydor but much prefer the hydor.

[Polish]

I have a Hydor 300w Inline heater on my 75g, it is on the output side of my XP1. I much prefer this over in tank heaters. Keeps the inside of the tank less cluttered. Shame the 300w is the biggest they offer though.

[SuBXeRo]

the eheim filter with the heater in it is way expensive and really not worth it anyways. I have heard that they arent too good as well. IMO canisters are ment to filter, the more they do, the more can break or not work as well. Plus, seperate parts in this case would probably be better as those above have suggested some very good inline heaters. Eheim makes great in tank heaters, but you arent looking for those :). Simplicity goes a long LONG way

[jmhart]

I currently use 2 Eheim 2128. They serve me well...at least well enough. One of them heats my 46g open top bowfront perfectly, but for whatever reason, the other one struggles with my 45g closed top. A little weird, but probably due to age.

Somehow or another I blew out the temperature lcd...as in it's completely off it's calibration. It has a dial which allows you to set the temperature...this part is accurate...but the screen where it reads the "actual temp" is at best -12 C off. It wasn't always this way. I did a water change one time and, poof, it was messed up. Doesn't effect function. I haven't bothered replacing it because it's about ~150-185 to replace the heater parts.

And that brings me to my point, I would recommend a filter and a separate inline heater. The only reliable thermofilters I'm aware of on the market are the Eheims. If, and possibly when, the heating mechanism fails, it's incredibly expensive to replace. No lie, $150(which is dumb because retail on the entire filter these days is about $220). You can get a 300w Hydor ETH inline for $50.

Get a good filter, and then go for the Hydor inline.

I'm actually in the market currently for a Hydor 300w inline to supplement for my 45g, which to keep it at a comfy 27C requires the use of a spare heater in the tank.

[Mgamer20o0]

ill add my weight to Hydorinline. really you have the same chance of having the hose pop off the filter in or out take.

[chiphead]

If installed right it will never leak.
Everything leaks eventually, including you and me:22_yikes:

[chiphead]

Thanks for all the responses. This forum rocks! You folks have helped me make up my mind. My plan now is to add an inline heater to the Cascade 1200 I have, get rid of the Magnum Pro HOB, then purchase another cannister and add an inline heater to that. I need to research hose sizes and we'll probably go with the Hydors. Having said all that and knowing this "which cannister filter is best" question has been beat to death all over the web, feel free to post what you would think would be a good matching filter to the Cascade I have. I am not happy with the bypass the Cascade has. I have a 125g tank with a couple of 9-10" Oscars, a foot long bull head cat, a 6-7" Green terror and four other 4-6" cichlids. Maybe a Rena XP4? A friend mentioned the Fluval Fx5 but I've read some disturbing reports on those. Thanks again folks. I've got some serious buying and work to do.

[tarquin375]

Everything leaks eventually, including you and me:22_yikes:

What H3D was referring to is that it can't ever leak because it is fully submerged in the tank when used as an inline heater/filter intake tube.

[curly01]

With a fluval fx5, the hose is 1". Is there an inline heater to install in that big of hose or does it hurt to go down to a 5/8" inline heater?

[yourchoice]

With a fluval fx5, the hose is 1". Is there an inline heater to install in that big of hose or does it hurt to go down to a 5/8" inline heater?
I would not go down to 5/8.

[curly01]

I would not go down to 5/8.
That's what I was thinking also. Does anyone make an inline heater to fit the 1" line that the fluval uses?

[tropical dude]

You can always just make a sump. If you need an FX5 a sump would probably be beneficial anyway. And try this here, you can put any properly sized heater inside of it (they also come in double and triple sizes). You may also need to do a bit of plumbing work like installing barbs and valves and possibly a bypass if it restricts your flow too much (very unlikely).