dapple
Salty Dog
What is the best heater I can buy ? I want a high end unit with FULL proof gizmos. I have too much invested in my setup to deal with a heater malfunction. :Cheers:
best titanium heater?
- Thread starter dapple
- Start date
FishyReef
Broke Reefer!
I bought the JBJ titanium heater with external controller and separate external probe. I'm pretty happy with it, but have only had it about a month so don't know how it will be long term. When I was looking for a heater, someone here suggested that heaters with external controllers and probes were far more important to life span than titanium vs glass.
kevdogg
Reefing newb
+1 Fishy. I scoured several other boards and the general feeling is it is better to have a separate external controller and temp probe. I just ended up going with a jager glass heater and a digital aquatics controller. Installed it last weekend and so far its working pretty good.
chichimom79
reef junkie
But what about them breaking? Not trying to say your wrong. Just curious :)
dapple
Salty Dog
Which ever unit I get will be titanium and I'm leaning towards the jbj
kevdogg
Reefing newb
I've never had any issues with a heater breaking. I had several oscars attack one a few years ago with no harm done. I think the key is to find a brand or style that you like and stick with it. I used the titanium and glass heaters over the years and the only problem I ever had was the relay in the thermometer sticks. Thank goodness this last time it stuck open and did not over heat my tank. The reason they go bad especially in smaller tanks is the fact that the heater can turn on and off so frequently that the relay just wears out! As I have learned recently many people have a much longer life expectancy using a remote temp probe and controller. It does cost more to buy the controller but I was able to eliminate several manual timers and control my 3 heaters and my lighting off one system!!! Had I known this was an option before now I probably would have gone this route to begin with.
Soooo to answer your question finally, for me it comes down to personal preference. Many people have had glass break but if it happened so commonly we would not use them at all! Hope this helps!
Kevin
Soooo to answer your question finally, for me it comes down to personal preference. Many people have had glass break but if it happened so commonly we would not use them at all! Hope this helps!
Kevin
Amba
Ol' Salty
Get the JBJ and buy two of the preset 78 degree heaters and use them as backup. After the incident I had a few months back, I made sure my system had backups of almost everything, powerheads, heaters, spare bulbs etc. You're right, we spend so much on these things it's worth protecting them with the best of the best.
FishyReef
Broke Reefer!
Sorry for the confusion - I actually wasn't referring to breaking in terms of lifespan, but how quickly they burnout and then give you wacky temp spikes! When I was looking at heaters, I was wondering if titanium had a longer lifespan in terms of burning out than glass, but from the feedback I got, it was having an external controller/probe that seemed to be the difference in terms of how long it takes to burnout, not the material the heater is made from (though I think generally the higher end heaters are titanium anyways). Regardless, I would (and did!) get titanium just becuase I didn't want mine to break :)
As for the JBJ, I love it, but one note of caution - I bought it when it was advertised with magnetic holders instead of suction cups. When it arrived it came with suction cups. I called the place I bought it from and they called JBJ, who informed them they had discontinued making them with the magnets. They did manage to scrounge up some magnets to send me so all worked out just fine, but I don't know what the status is currently. They are still be advertised by JBJ as coming with magnets, so maybe they only temporarily made them with suction cups instead. Regardless, if you are thinking of the JBJ becuase it has magnets, you might want to call and verify that it still comes with them!
