Water Heater

[Guest insomniac_dragon]

I had a 150w Rena cal water heater in my 42gallon tank...

And today, i forgot to unplug it while changing water, it blew up... my goldies are fine so far, at least nothing seemed to be wrong with them... i hope it stays this way...

I now need a new heater... wondering which heater is a good reliable heater? I need one with an economical price... possiblily will turn off by itself, when it's out of water or something, i know, i will forget to unplug again... and a heater that will last...?? recommendations please!!

I found the Visi-Therm Stealth Heater on drsfostersmith.com, is it good or not? it said it wont over heat or shatter... will turn off by itself... but i wonder if anyone know if the plastic tube will actually last? and if the temperture is acurrate? it almost sound to good to be true...??

recommendations please!

thanks...

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[Guest SminiFish]

I bought the Visi-Therm stealth heater through Drs Foster and Smith and have been very happy with it. Drs F&S had the best price around on the heater ( I looked at several LFSs but every one else was so much more expensive). There have been several times, while I've been vacuuming out the tank and doing a water change, that I have forgot about the heater not being submersed and it has been fine. No explosions or problems. I highly recommend it!

[Liver Loo 0]

you could look at Wmart and see if they have on but they might not have the right size you need.

[Graham 0]

Hi - I have written two reviews about the Hydor PTC heaters (they are shatterproof and safe to be without water for short periods of time like during water changes). Here are links to the reviews:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=38873

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=37990

I just bought a new heater last week, the Hydor Theo, and it is also fantastic!

Here is a link the the Theo but if you do a search under Hydor, you will get a good variety of sizes, prices, and shapes all using the PTC technology.

I am very happy with all these heaters and would DEFinately buy them again.

[Bak2it 4]

I'll go along with Graham... Hydor heaters are a good safe heater... And they won't get hot enough to burn a fish.

[mommabird 0]

Last week I purchased two of the Visi therm Stealth heaters to replace my Theo Hydors and so far they work great at regulating a constant temp. And, they don't seem to get too hot. I've really watched them close and even touch them to double check since they are new. The only thing that I don't like is that you visually can't tell if they are on. But, I have gotten used to that and trust them now.

I had the Hydors for about a year and they suddenly quit holding a steady temp and on one of them, the light started flickering really bad. I contacted the company and they acted like they would replace them and even got the lot #'s from me (i had a feeling that there had been some problems with some others-possibly same batch). The contact from Europe told me that the info would be relayed back to the US office, but I never heard from them.

Up until then, I was happy with the Theo and I think that they are a good product. I just apparently got ahold of a faulty batch.

Hope this helps.

b.t.w-I purchesed the Stealths at vvvv and took a copy of their online price. They matched the prices and it cost me 1/2 of the store price on both I just love that price matching deal;-)

Edited February 21, 2006 by mommabird

[Graham 0]

Hi Mommabird - THat is so disappointing about your Hydors! They do have a two year gurantee so maybe it is not too late to try again... you should have a working heater! I will also try to contact them - to make sure I don't have the bad batch - and let you know the contact info. if I get anywhere with it...

As far as warranty stuff goes, I can say that I have had a very good experience with Marineland fulfilling theirs on two occasions!

I looked up Visitherm (by Aquarium Systems) and it has a lifetime warranty.

I have had the three Hydore minis and the ETH for 6 months so far with no problems. But, the THe is new so only time will tell.... as far as I know, Hydor is the only brand with the the PTC technology which prevents electrical, glass, and burn damage... anyone else know of others?

Edited February 21, 2006 by Graham

[mommabird 0]

hey graham!

thanks. you are right they have a 2yr warranty. the contact in europe stayed in touch ok, but once they turned it over to the us-i heard nothing. i could badger some more. they never really came out and said that there was a problem, but when i read "between the lines" i had a feeling that they had

i had some older heaters that got me through until i bought the stealths. And, yes the warranty with them was also a selling point.

so far they seem to be doing a good job.

yours should be fine. overall the theo has a good rep.

take care!

[Guest insomniac_dragon]

thanks everyone for your review... sounds like there are quite a few good heaters out t here... I think i'm going to buy the visitherm, since it's life time warranty... not seeing the light could be hard, but i guess i'll just check the temperature to make sure it's working right... the visitherm is on sale right now at drsfostersmith.com... and vvvv is good about matching price, i bought my python with the matched priced, it's $15 cheaper than what would have been...

thanks everyone, and good luck on the warranty with theo, try contacting their US headquarter... and file a report with better bussiness bureau http://www.bbb.org/ that always speeds up the process... they're great help.

[mommabird 0]

thanks i may check into that.

you made a good decision. i have gotten used to the "no lite" issue and finally trust them. so far they are holding very steady temps.

p.s.-ain't price checking great i saved about half on each one of the heaters and in the past have saved many$$$ on other items.

[Guest insomniac_dragon]

thanks mommabird for the recommendation!

I've been using the Marineland Visi-Therm Stealth Heater bought on drsfostersmith.com for a few days now. The Temperture's been steady and right on target, I set it to 72 to help cycle my tank, and the thermometer is showing exactly 72. (this is more accurrate then my old heater, RENA CAL, there was always a 2-4 degrees difference)

I did forget to turn off the heater while changing water, and nothing bad happend. it just turned off automatically and turn it back on automatically when water is filled up to a certain level... i'm still trying to remember to turn it off whenever i can, to prevent any damage to the heater in a long run. it does not get too hot, so my fishies are happy to swim close to the corner where i put the heater, their fins touches the heater while turning around and playing in the tank, but they are not burned by it. (i know that, because they did not try to hurry and swim away from the heater like when i had the RENA CAL).

Without a light indicator, it is hard to trust the heater is functioning, but I believe i'm getting used to just knowing it's working alright with the thermometer.

it does say it has a lifetime garantee on the package, so I save the receipt and packaging, just incase...

visi-therm stealth heater is an economically affordable heater that works great! I paid $14.99 for a 45gallon heater... which is $5 cheaper than my RENA CAL.

I highely recommend this product to those who are forgetful like me!