Non-glass heaters

[Soulcoffr]

Recently I've seen some heaters that use either stainless steel or greyish-black plastic as the body of the heater.

Penn-Plax makes the latter of the two (Guardian), and they're fairly pricey heaters compared to Visi-therm or Whisper.

Are these heaters relatively new, or being a relative newbie, am I just inexperienced in these matters?

I would be afraid of the stainless heater getting too hot for fish that got too close.

The plastic model intrigues me though...

[OrionGirl]

With any heater, a guard to protect fish from touching the heater is a good idea. The metal ones are not more dangerous, at least, not that I've heard.

[PumaWard]

The metal ones work the same as the glass ones, i.e., they shouldn't get that hot. Overall, they are more safe because they probably won't break.

[blitzen25bm]

ive only really heard visatherm a lot. just get the normal submersible and you should be fine, ebojager-thick glass, or tronic, renacal and lots use the visitherms. everyone will probably recommend the ebojagers i would have too but lately a few has broken so i might switch over to one of the other brands to see but their glass is a lot thinner than ebos.

[blitzen25bm]

if you have big fishes, you should go for the titanium ones to be safe.

[Cearbhaill]

I have the titanium ones with digital display in all my tanks- I love them. Easy to read, easy to use, and no fears of breaking them.

[Soulcoffr]

Whoa! Titanium? Who makes those? I like the idea of a digital display as well.

Do the Hagen Tronic heaters work well? At least they don't use a bi-metallic strip...

By the way, thanks for the info! I don't have a tank yet, but I'm doing all my research up front. I've had an ugly experience with keeping fish before.

[OrionGirl]

Pro Heat II are titanium with digital displays. Great heaters--just wish they came smaller than a 150W.

So what was the ugly experience?

[Soulcoffr]

My ugly experience?

Well, I was in college at the time. A local pet store had these 5 gallon vertical aquariums on sale. I don't remember the dimensions at the moment, but it was square looking down from the top and much taller than it was wide. It came with a UGF, incandescent lighting and an air pump.

This was before the Internet was really useful for hobbies such as fishkeeping. So I went into this pretty much blind and had no idea about the nitrogen cycle. (I was one of those who thought if you waited 24 hours with the tank running, the water would be OK.)

I think I put about 5 neon tetras and 3 cory cats in there to start with. Since I didn't have a test kit nor any clue that the water would very shortly become toxic, I went about my business. I made sure that the UGF was functioning properly, fed the fish once a day and made sure they didn't get too much food.

But alas, the water became soup, because I thought the filter would take care of the water, not realizing that regular and frequent water changes should have been happening all along.

So needless to say, I went through numerous fish and extraordinary frustration in this situation and I eventually gave the aquarium to the Salvation Army.

Fast forward a year or so, and my roommate starts up his 29L tank and starts telling me about the nitrogen cycle...

So here I am 10 years later, looking to start a 55 gallon community tank. :) I'm aiming for a nice community tank with White Mountain Minnows, Rasboras, Platies and Cory cats. And perhaps some easy plants like Java Moss and Fern.

Sorry about the long windedness, but that's my ugly story. When I think about how many of those poor Neons I poisoned, I shudder... :rolleyes:

[OrionGirl]

;) Most everyone who had a tank and didn't do any research (common, even today, since fish are marketed as "add water and go" pets) has a similar story to tell. I personally am ashamed that I had a 10 gallon tank in my youth that included 3 sharks and 2 angels. Mortifying! I didn't really start researching--and learning what I had done so very wrong--until I made the move to SW. So...Make amends by providing great care for the fish you buy now. That's what I am working on.

[shewlett]

I have 6 Hagen Tronic 50 watt heaters in tanks and think they are great! I have had two Visi-Therm Deluxe 25 watt heaters (bought at different times and places) and neither would hold the temperature they were set at within 5-6 degrees ... I have no experience with other Visi-Therm models. Again, Hagen Tronic 50 watt heaters have been absolutely wonderful in my experience. I have two still in the package that I keep for backups.

[JSchmidt]

I like Tronics and Ebo Jabers, especially the Ebos. I'm always curious about the claims that Tronics can't get stuck in the on position, because I have one that did... it is now relegated to duty in one of my aging tanks, where it's sporadic 'heat fests' don't cause any harm. I've had good luck overall with both brands, though, and I don't hesitate to use either. I get Ebos if I can.

About the Penn Plax heaters... my experience is that Penn Plax tends to make some of the cheapest and junkiest stuff, and I'd never entrust something like heating to a Penn Plax product. Just my opinion of course...

Jim

[ScottoMacD]

Right now I am experimenting with two Via-Aqua Titanium 300 watt heaters.

So far (8 months) I LOVE them. Pinpoint accuracy and unbreakable. I have even done things like change the water below them just to see what happens. The plastic clips get quite mangled but no harm done. The only thing I'm not sure about is if it has an automatic shut off. That will be the next experiment.

As for the glass heaters. I like the Ebo's but I am using the Aquarium Pharmacuticals Rena Excel heaters. I love them. Great all round heaters. Automatic shut off, top light for reading, heating accuracy is quite good, not perfect though (usually off by a couple of degrees on the bigger tanks) and extra thick glass like the Ebo's. The only one I have broken is the one I dropped on the floor.