Heater Question

[thesilence87]

I've been looking around and I haven't seen anything in-depth about heater choice, so I was wondering what would be the most cost and performance effective means of heating a 30 gallon glass tank.

Do I want a plastic/glass/titanium heater, and are there any particular models that you guys would recommend? Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[feh]

thesilence87;676350 wrote: I've been looking around and I haven't seen anything in-depth about heater choice, so I was wondering what would be the most cost and performance effective means of heating a 30 gallon glass tank.

Do I want a plastic/glass/titanium heater, and are there any particular models that you guys would recommend? Thanks in advance for the input.

Titanium would be the best choice. They will not shatter if they are knocked while the element is hot. There is no glass being introduced inside the aquarium, the outer casing is completely metallic. The heat <u></u>radiation is far superior to standard submersible heaters, plus there is less oxidation on the immersed casing, this means that there will be less corrosion occurring, especially in salt water setups.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

+1 on titanium. More expensive but less headaches long-term. The only place I'd put a glass heater is in a sump where there is almost no chance of it being bumped by a fish and if it should explode.....easier to clean up. Same thing for a "stealth" heater and even while these claim to be shatterproof.....don't buy in to that completely....I had one explode in a sump this past winter. Try running without a heater and see what kind of temps you get. Depending on your home ambient temp, you may be able to get away without one. I don't have one on my 93 cube and my temp stays fairly constant at 78-80 degrees. In some cases, lighting alone will provide enough heat.

 

[feh]

porpoiseaquatics;681953 wrote: +1 on titanium. More expensive but less headaches long-term. The only place I'd put a glass heater is in a sump where there is almost no chance of it being bumped by a fish and if it should explode.....easier to clean up. Same thing for a "stealth" heater and even while these claim to be shatterproof.....don't buy in to that completely....I had one explode in a sump this past winter. Try running without a heater and see what kind of temps you get. Depending on your home ambient temp, you may be able to get away without one. I don't have one on my 93 cube and my temp stays fairly constant at 78-80 degrees. In some cases, lighting alone will provide enough heat.

I only have 1 unheated tank but I do monitor the temp. Yeah, the titanium heaters can break if dropped, but they are less likely to break when bumped in the tank or sump. I would avoid those stealth heaters at all costs. A hole in your sump is still going to drain your tank below the overflow which shutdowns any filtration, can burn up pumps, and still puts water on the floor. Some people use multiple heaters to have backups if one fails. The biggest problem with heaters failing is when the thermostat fails while heating element is on which can lead to cooking your tank.

 

[thesilence87]

Thank you for the information, I'm going try to run my tank heaterless till I can get a titanium heater. I should be able to get by without a heater till the back end of September.