Need Advice on heaters and thermometers

Reefkeeping, Coral, Fish and Invertebrates.

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KPWINIT
Amoeba
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Need Advice on heaters and thermometers

Post by KPWINIT »

i am new to the hobby setting up a 120g mixed reef. wanting some advice on trustworthy digital heaters and thermometers
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Amphiprion
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Re: Advice on heaters and thermometers

Post by Amphiprion »

Some people swear by one brand of heater or another, but I've seen just about all of them fail at some point in time (that may range from weeks to years). I've been using one of the Hydor heaters and I like the durable construction and it seems to work well enough--the downside is that it is slightly positively buoyant, so it has to be pinned down or else it floats. Others seem to like Stealth heaters (now Aqueon, I believe), which I've had past issues with on a number of occasions. Still others recommend the titanium ones, which I've seen send large amounts of electricity into the tank--though, to be fair, any can do that. The bottom line, I guess, is to pick a brand and stick with it--maybe fluval or something similar.

As for thermometers, I'd actually recommend a controller instead. Due to so many bad experiences with heaters, like in the above, I only run heaters with a secondary safety controller/thermostat. There are many available on the market, many of which come with the heater. I don't recommend those because they are often miscalibrated or simply don't work. Instead, I recommend looking into Ranco controllers, which are commercial-grade equipment and are of a higher standard than most, if not all, of the hobbyist equipment available. They are competitively priced with such hobby-grade controllers, as well--even cheaper if you don't mind wiring it yourself, which is pretty easy.
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
KPWINIT
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Re: Need Advice on heaters and thermometers

Post by KPWINIT »

thanks for the feedback ill check out some of the brands you mentioned
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