Choosing a heater - eheim v.s Archea - which one and why?

[glassguppy]

Say you have a choice between an eheim heater and an Archea mini heater "the kind sold on ada's website" - and also, lets say that you're looking for reliability and quality and also for the ability to conceal the heater itself or at least make it not as distracting to the finished product of the tank layout when it reaches maturation... I have an eheim aquastyle 9, the led light fixture and filter is a corner 2 in one type unit which I plan to conceal with tall stem plants and possibly some kind of branchy driftwood.. Between these two heaters which one would you choose and why? I was thinking with the Archea mini heater I could place it beneath the filter of the tank and kinda squeeze the power cord alongside the filter somehow but I'm not sure if that will cover much...maybe it's too bulky to elegantly conceal that it makes no difference... The cost between the eheim and that heater are at a difference of a few dollars, which one is better in your' opinion?

[somewhatshocked]

Which specific heaters? What are the models/part numbers?

Any particular reason you're sticking to those two brands? There are several new heaters on the market that are much easier to conceal.

[glassguppy]

Originally Posted by somewhatshocked

Which specific heaters? What are the models/part numbers?

Any particular reason you're sticking to those two brands? There are several new heaters on the market that are much easier to conceal.

Really? are they as good a quality? could you give me examples? The reason those two is because they're either on ada's site or marine depot, a friend gave me an eheim aquastyle 9 and wants me to draft up a list of all the things I need for it. I want amazonia as the substrate and I want to get everything else affordably from another store and zero'd in on marine depot since that's where the tank came from... Do you know of any other store with a wider selection of fresh water supplies at great prices? My' tank's only 9 gallons btw. 14 inches tall. 12x12 wide/deep. -- I want to try to get everything from as few sources as possible to save on shipping costs.

[somewhatshocked]

So no specific heaters with those two brands? Tough to discuss them without know which you're interested in.

You'll want to check the various Cobalt-branded heaters out on a retailer site. Far too many to list.

There are lots of retailers that may have everything you need. You'll just need to fire up your googler to find all of them.

Some stores:

Big Al's
That Fish Place
Drs. Foster & Smith
Ken's Fish
Pet Mountain
Aqua Cave
Aquarium Guys
Amazon

Regardless of which heater you decide upon, just be sure to read lots of reviews. And pick up a temperature controller so you don't accidentally cook your tank.

[glassguppy]

Originally Posted by somewhatshocked

So no specific heaters with those two brands? Tough to discuss them without know which you're interested in.

You'll want to check the various Cobalt-branded heaters out on a retailer site. Far too many to list.

There are lots of retailers that may have everything you need. You'll just need to fire up your googler to find all of them.

Some stores:

Big Al's
That Fish Place
Drs. Foster & Smith
Ken's Fish
Pet Mountain
Aqua Cave
Aquarium Guys
Amazon

Regardless of which heater you decide upon, just be sure to read lots of reviews. And pick up a temperature controller so you don't accidentally cook your tank.

Eheim Jager TruTemp 50 Watt Fully Submersible UL Approved Heater - on marine depot and the 25 watt one on ada's site.

[somewhatshocked]

My personal preference between the two: Eheim Jager.

If your budget can afford it, I'd recommend considering heaters that aren't made of glass. And definitely include a $15-$20 temperature controller regardless.

[IWANNAGOFAST]

the ehiem jager is the old stand by for reliable heaters. Colbalt aquatics makes a great one too now, but it's pricey.

The archaea one is ok.

[glassguppy]

Originally Posted by IWANNAGOFAST

the ehiem jager is the old stand by for reliable heaters. Colbalt aquatics makes a great one too now, but it's pricey.

The archaea one is ok.

Would you say the archea one is about the same in terms of quality/reliability and features as the eheim? - I really like that it looks like it's a smaller heater and would be easier to conceal behind tall plants. I don't want my' tank to look like it's on life support so the more I can elegantly conceal things the better but I don't want to give up quality and features. I've been looking around for reviews on this heater and have so far found none.

[glassguppy]

One other thing I'd like to know - the 25 watt archaea heater says it's for 3-8 gallons. My' tank is 9 and then they have the 50 watt one and it's for tanks 9 to 17 gallons.. which would you choose?

[NYREPS]

I was looking at some inline heaters because a heater inside a tank looks really ugly inside my high tech tank

Does anybody own a inline heater ?
Is it easy to hook up to a fluval filter ?

[somewhatshocked]

I wouldn't choose Archea. Feel free to google around for reviews. Also do the same for Eheim. You'll find bunches of reviews.

The Jager fails less, has a solid warranty is widely used.

And in a tank so small - I can't reiterate this enough - spend the $20 to get a temperature controller so you don't cook your tank.

Originally Posted by glassguppy

One other thing I'd like to know - the 25 watt archaea heater says it's for 3-8 gallons. My' tank is 9 and then they have the 50 watt one and it's for tanks 9 to 17 gallons.. which would you choose?

[glassguppy]

Originally Posted by somewhatshocked

I wouldn't choose Archea. Feel free to google around for reviews. Also do the same for Eheim. You'll find bunches of reviews.

The Jager fails less, has a solid warranty is widely used.

And in a tank so small - I can't reiterate this enough - spend the $20 to get a temperature controller so you don't cook your tank.

I've been looking for reviews on the Archaea and can't seem to find any - The Eheim has more in favor for it in that dept.. -- I thought the eheim has a built in one.. I'll have to look again I guess. If not, then could you name a good temp controller?

[somewhatshocked]

Any temperature controller will do. You should be able to find Finnex-branded controllers for $15-$20 on Amazon.

Heaters do have built-in controllers but the point of a separate device is to prevent a heater from malfunctioning and cooking your tank. The controller has a low temp and high temp setting. If the temp of the tank drops below the low point, juice flows to the heater. Once the high temp has been reached, power stops flowing.

If the heater fails and continues to heat the water, the separate controller can cut the power.

[glassguppy]

Originally Posted by somewhatshocked

Any temperature controller will do. You should be able to find Finnex-branded controllers for $15-$20 on Amazon.

Heaters do have built-in controllers but the point of a separate device is to prevent a heater from malfunctioning and cooking your tank. The controller has a low temp and high temp setting. If the temp of the tank drops below the low point, juice flows to the heater. Once the high temp has been reached, power stops flowing.

If the heater fails and continues to heat the water, the separate controller can cut the power.

I'm looking on amaozon for that controller and can't find it.

[kclone]

I have used Eheim for years. Great heaters and dependable. Also, they do a great job at keeping the temp of the tank exactly what I want.