jasher Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 hello! Anyone of you guys have any experience with marineland visi therm heater?opinions? I'm choosing between the visi therm and stealth pro.thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rED O Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Out of those two, Id go with the stealth. Personally, Id get a glass ebo jager. My favorite heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 i've read lately that the marineland heaters are having problems (won't shut off, won't turn on, exploding!), but i can't remember exactly which models are having the issues. IMO to be on the safe side i'd stay away from marineland heaters altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gBOYsc2 Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 It is the stealth pro that has problems. I would stay away from them as well. On The Planted Tank and Aquatic Plant Central you can find accounts of the Stealth Pro exploding and shattering portions of tanks causing massive disasters. If you are running a canister filter the Hydor External Thermal Heaters are a nice option becaues they are not in the tank. I use one on my 20g. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasher Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks guys...I`ll try to look for other brands them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) It is the stealth pro that has problems. I would stay away from them as well. On The Planted Tank and Aquatic Plant Central you can find accounts of the Stealth Pro exploding and shattering portions of tanks causing massive disasters. If you are running a canister filter the Hydor External Thermal Heaters are a nice option becaues they are not in the tank. I use one on my 20g. I have a 200 watt Hydor inline heater on my 40 gallon and love that it's not in the tank. Now I am looking for a 2000 watt inline heater for the 450 gallon I am planning. Edited January 27, 2011 by Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gBOYsc2 Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 It is very nice to have less equipment visible in the tank. Is it possible to use more then one ETH in the same line? Or maybe even 1 or 2 on the inlet and 1 or 2 on the outlet? How about the possibility of a sump on the 450g? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nautilus Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I would stick with Ebo Jager. Proven and never any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 It is very nice to have less equipment visible in the tank. Is it possible to use more then one ETH in the same line? Or maybe even 1 or 2 on the inlet and 1 or 2 on the outlet? How about the possibility of a sump on the 450g? Already have a pond filter in mind for my 450 so a sump is out, I want everything in a closed loop. I have found a 2000 watt inline heater but they aren't readily available in North America. I am reluctant to split up the return line and create too many pressure drops, I don't want to over work the pump I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted February 3, 2011 Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 I would stick with Ebo Jager. Proven and never any problems. Had you said that 20 yrs ago, I'd agree completely, unfortunately when Eheim took them over several yrs ago Ebo heaters have definitely dropped in quality. Ask Henry at Natures Corner how many Ebo heaters he used to have returned. (he no longer sells them) The owner of Pets & Ponds stated the same thing to me just a few weeks back, he has more Ebo Jagers returned for failures than any other brand of heater that he sells. IMO all heaters currently on the market are cheap pieces of crap, that for the most part cost $5 or less to manufacture. The biggest problem is most of the parts and/or manufacture of these heaters are now based in China. Save a few pennies here, and a few there, and look what happens. Marineland's Visitherm Stealth is another classic example of how a decent quality heater took a turn for the worse when it began farming the manufacturing of them out to China. It wasn't long that they had some major failures taking place, with heaters actually bursting open. I read where one person had his 20 gallon blown out by a Stealth Pro that burst open in his tank. Nice. According to Marineland the problem has been resolved with the Stealth Pros (we shall see) and that the model #'s that had issues were their G and H lots. Example, 01H31, 01G31. You can read the lot # at the top of the stem of the heater in white lettering. My advice, buy a controller when possible (which adds some redundancy to your heater in the chance that it sticks in the ON position) and make sure that ALL heaters are on a GFCI receptacle or power bar. Add to that a grounding probe in your tank, and you (and your fish) are about as protected as one can hope to be. Something that everyone should read: http://joejaworski.wordpress.com/2007/09/06/aquarist-found-dead/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gBOYsc2 Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 Wow that is quite a scary thought. I dip my hands in my aquarium several times a week. Or at least using the metal tweezers which I am sure are a great conductor of electricity. Care to share instructions how to ground a tank using the GFCI? I have no clue how to go about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 http://www.electrical-contractor.net/ESF/GFCI_Fact_Sheet.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gBOYsc2 Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 Thanks for the info RD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 (edited) Just a FYI ....... According to the Marineland rep that I spoke with today, all Stealth Pro models starting at 100W, and up are now being voluntarily "withdrawn" as they put it. They are not wanting to use the word recall, as at this point they are not recalling them. This stemmed from Petsmart pulling them off of their shelves last week due to returns & complaints nationwide. It seems that there more than just a "few" lot numbers affected, as marinleand was stating a few months back. The entire Stealth Pro line has got problems. Also on a similar note, Rena Smart heaters have now been discontinued as well. Sounds like from lack of sales, not from mechanical problems. Edited February 14, 2011 by RD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 fwiw, i've always used the elite brand heaters that have the blue 'golf ball' shaped thing on the top and have never had an issue with them (when i used heaters, don't now). have also never seen any bad reviews on them either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.