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Consider if not using a controller By Starrme on 4/29/13
Starrme would recommend this product to a friend
Overall: Bought this as my first heater and have already replaced for my main tank. The digital display isn't a major benefit to me because I am using a controller. I will continue to use for heating my water change SW.
Pros:
- Lights up when heating
- Digital temp setting and display
- Read out is on outside of tank
- Has separate temp measurement probe
Cons:
- Makes a loud beeping noise when initially placed in cold water.
- Metal hooks to hold display too narrow for my sump rim
- Digital display is bulky
- Accurate to within 2 degrees
Note: If temp is significantly out of range, the heater will beep continuously. I thought my heater was broken when this first happened. The beeping is a warning mechanism for if the heater fails but is a major pain when using to heat up new ro/di water.
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Easy Set Up Easy Read By Alexandria on 4/19/13
Alexandria would recommend this product to a friend
This was super easy to set up and I like the digital read out. No more squinting on the old timey thermometers. Got the JBJ Digital thermometer with this. They are about 2 degrees off from each other. However, the JBJ digital thermometer is reading the same as the old timey thermometer so I trust the new digital thermometer and will set the heater 2 degrees up or down as needed.
Also impressed by how small it is. So in a small tank it's not this big honking thing that's getting in the way. If you have a small area for your heater this would be the way to go.
Will update as we go to see if there are any problems.
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Ehhhh... By Michael on 4/10/13
Michael would recommend this product to a friend
Bought two of these, one is still working flawlessly. Plugged in the second one the other day and it made an awful hissing sound like some sort of gas was escaping through the rubber ends and I noticed a weird smell. Not sure what happened, contacted finnex to see what they can do.
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Great for the price By Travis on 4/1/13
Travis would recommend this product to a friend
There seems to be a 2 degree difference between the thermostat and a separate external thermometer I use, but that is easy enough to adjust for. My only other complaint is having to reattach the suction cups to the wall every few weeks. With any sort of flow, they seem to lose their hold.
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So far so good By Mascis on 3/30/13
Mascis would recommend this product to a friend
I don't have a controller, so these make it easy to check my temp on an ongoing basis. It's not glass, so there's no worry of explosions. And a small alarm sounds at a drastic temp change. like when the probe came out of the tank accidentally one day.
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Mixed Review By Justin on 3/28/13
Justin would recommend this product to a friend
I have a couple of the larger units in my 57 gallon reef, and they do great at maintaining temperature. Unfortunately, after trying 2 different units, the small 50W unit is not large enough to maintain temperature in my nano tank. It will only raise the temperature by about 4 degrees in a 12 gallon tank.
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The Best By Ryan on 3/21/13
Ryan would recommend this product to a friend
This is by far the best heater I have purchased. I have had expensive heaters and cheap heaters, but this heater does it for me. It's easy to operate, the built in alarm for temps too high or too low is a life saver (literally for your fish) and it's not glass so I don't have to worry about it breaking in my tank or sump. I have one in each of my fish tanks and have gotten a few friends to buy them too!
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Great Heaters By Gary on 3/19/13
Gary would recommend this product to a friend
I have both a 150w and 100w. Both have been working great for 6 months now. I have been using a temp probe and they are as accurate as the claim. The built in remote temp sensor cord could be longer.
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Love the digital control By Ray on 3/15/13
Ray would recommend this product to a friend
I have this in my 29 BioCube and it works great. I love the easy to read digital control. It's easy to tell if the heater is on or off and what temp the tank is at. I'm going to get another one for my water changes.
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Sharp By Todd on 3/5/13
Todd would recommend this product to a friend
I haven't used mine yet, but beats the glass heaters.
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Awesome heater By Devin on 3/2/13
Devin would recommend this product to a friend
Titanium heater that is easy to setup with a nice digital read out & controller that sits outside of the tank. Worried about reading your heater correctly? Not a problem with this heater, which also doubles as a temperature gauge. I have 2 x 200 watt in my 75 gallon + 30 gallon sump and they work perfectly.
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heater By casey on 2/20/13
casey wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
It's not accurate - off by 2.5 degrees
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Great product By Jay on 2/18/13
Jay would recommend this product to a friend
The 300W has been running flawlessly for 2 years, great heater!
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Quality Heater By Russell on 2/14/13
Russell would recommend this product to a friend
This heater keeps my tank's temperature very stable. The LED is excellent for adjusting and monitoring temp.
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Works fine By Ross on 1/5/13
Ross would recommend this product to a friend
Purchased this a few months ago. Have used it for a few different things, for starters I used it to maintain an even 80 degrees F in a Rubbermaid tub I was curing rock in. Had no issues and kept the water exactly where I wanted it. I later removed the heater and rinsed it off and put it in the main tank. The thermostat portion of this heater is on its own wire so you can place it somewhere reasonably far away from the heater itself.
I think this is a benefit because you can use it in a different flow area to make sure the heat is being distributed around your tank. The digital read out is also a nice touch, I prefer it to the older spin dials I've used in the past.
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Great heater for the price By Chad on 12/16/12
Chad would recommend this product to a friend
The accuracy isn't the best, but they are great for the price.
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Great so far By Joey on 12/15/12
Joey would recommend this product to a friend
After my previous heater couldn't keep my tank at a desirable temp i decided to give this a try and got my 150g with 50g refugium to 79 degrees within a few hours and has stayed there for the past few days so far I'm very pleased
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Good By Andrew on 11/29/12
Andrew would recommend this product to a friend
Pretty good keeps temps steady
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Don't buy this By Zach on 11/26/12
Zach wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
This heater sat on my seahorse tank for one whole year. I keep my tank at a low temp, so it never turned on, but I kept it on there just in case my tank happened to get under 72 degrees one day. One day I took it out and put it inside of a smaller tank to test to make sure it was working. After acclimating it and turning it on, much to my surprise, I dipped my hand in the warm water only to be electrocuted. Thank god this terrible item never turned on inside of my seahorse tank, otherwise I'd have some floating fish. Don't get this heater.
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Nice By mike on 11/19/12
mike would recommend this product to a friend
I bought the 300, and Im happy with it so far. It does have an LED controller which is nice. It has been keeping my temp where I want it. I wish they had a bigger heater since my tank is a 120 gallon not including the sump. But this seems to be doing the job.
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Quality issues By KC on 11/11/12
KC wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
This heater may look nice but there are serious quality flaws within. I had ordered this and the first one was defective. The second replacement only lasted one year and won't heat anymore. This heater works great when it does but you just don't know how quickly it goes...
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Great product By Joseph on 10/28/12
Joseph would recommend this product to a friend
Great combination with prob and digital controller.
Using for my mix tank and its perfect
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Super accurate and the digital readout is much nicer than the old dial-set heaters. By Zak on 9/13/12
Zak would recommend this product to a friend
I bought the 150w version for my 40 breeder and it's been working perfectly thus far. Love the digital readout, made me feel much more confident when setting my temperature in comparison to the dial-set heaters I've used in the past where you just sort of guess and check.
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Great value By kenny on 8/25/12
kenny would recommend this product to a friend
Purchased this heater for my reef tank and keeps my temps very stable....I especially like the easy to read LED heating indicator. Very easy to tell when the heater is on or off and easy to set desired temperature!
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good heater By Thomas on 7/30/12
Thomas would recommend this product to a friend
ive been using the 300 on my 100 gallon setup for a few months now. keeps my temp nice and stable within a couple degrees. and i also love the digital readout.
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Heater stuck on and cooked my tank By btacker on 4/24/12
btacker wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
I have had the heater for 6 months. Woke up this morning and my temp was running 89 degrees. The heater is set on 78 degrees. Worst part is that the light showing that the heater is heating the tank is OFF!
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Product shoudl be banned By Devin on 4/12/12
Devin wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
What is an acceptable failure rate for a heater? Especially when the failure is water getting into the heater's electronics and creating an electric current in your tank? Is 1 per 100 acceptable risk? Unbelievable! I bought two of these 6 days ago to cook dry rock and came home this evening to check on the tub, put my hand in the water and was shocked. Water was in teh electronics. This heater had nothing done to it than taken out of the box, put directly into the water, appropriately hung and did not move until this happened. BEWARE!!! lucky I didn't use this unit in my tank and only to cook rock. Will NEVER Use this product when there is anything to risk.
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Compact heater By Kerric on 4/2/12
Kerric would recommend this product to a friend
I use one of these hooked up to my Apex Jr. controller. The controller turns the heater on and off (I keep the heater temp controller turned all the way up) and it works well. Before I had the reef controller connected however the heaters controller was in use and worked well but that was only for about a month. This heater (the 100w model) is VERY compact and sits in the return chamber of my sump. I am pleased with it so far.
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Nice product wish; Wish the cords were on 1 end By PT on 3/10/12
PT would recommend this product to a friend
I was looking for a short heater as I did not have much space in terms of length and this fit the need perfectly. Seems to be working correctly so far. The only complaint I have is I wish the control unit had the wires coming out on 1 end .. wouldve made it easier to hang is nicely somewhere .. for now Ive just stuck it on somewhere. I didnt find the hook that came with the item very useful but it might fit the needs of others better
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Simple By Sergio on 3/7/12
Sergio would recommend this product to a friend
I bought the 300 watt model and placed it in my 90 gal tank. I’ve been using it for about a month now. With my metal halides I don’t expect to use the heater much during the day, mainly at night. I like how simple it is to use, simply set the digital temp and forget it. I really like that the temperature probe is separate from the heating element. I placed the heating element on intake of my sump and my temp probe in next to my return pump. The unit keeps my temp right where I set it and even sounds an alarm when the water temp gets too high, around 86 degrees F. I found this out while holding the temp probe tight in the palm of my hand for a while testing it the temp probe really worked. Don't know if that’s adjustable but nice to know it’s there.
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Well built By Mike on 2/18/12
Mike would recommend this product to a friend
These heaters are well built and come in a nice compact size which allows for them to be easily used in the sump. However I wish they could find a way to combine the cables from the heater, the controller and the probe.
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Good for the Money By Brenton on 2/13/12
Brenton would recommend this product to a friend
I have both a 50W for my pico reef tank and a 100W for my freshwater, this heater has given me no problems so far, I plan on updating soon, however for the money you absolutely cannot beat this titanium heater, works reliably even when the temp probe is off by 1 or two degrees it is constant so you are able to set it. I would recommend to anybody starting out and looking to update at a later date.
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Junk By encieno on 1/11/12
encieno wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
I sure hope all of these aren't as bad as the one I got. It won't maintain temperature, the controller constantly turns the heater off. I have to go hit it a few times to get it back on. This is the second time in a month that it's dropped my freshwater tank to 70 degrees when it's set at 79! It just turns itself off all the time.. Would never buy one again.
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Quality By Andrew on 1/9/12
Andrew would recommend this product to a friend
It's nice to have upgraded beyond a glass heater. This product has relatively long cords. It recalls the temperature setting after having the power cut.
I have this set up on my ReefKeeper Elite which cuts the power to the heater anytime the water gets too warm. I reccomend using a controller like the ReefKeeper with ANY heater.
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Great until?! By David on 12/3/11
David would recommend this product to a friend
I bought this heater as part of my yearly ritual of replacing my heater in the tank. I've had 2 heater problems in the past and both stuck on! It nevers fails that Im away when this happens! This heater was great and with the separate temp probe kept the tank within a tighter window than previously. However 2 weeks ago this one stuck on as well. I think the product is great but after only 8 months, I got less time out of this one. I still reccomend, but I will be purchasing a monitor shortly to keep the next heater in check. After three heater malfunctions and hundreds of dollars worth of livestock losses its time. Cool heater! Best Ive had so far.
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Great little heater By Walter on 11/29/11
Walter would recommend this product to a friend
Got the 50 watter. Small enough to fit in chamber 1 of a Bio Cube 14 along with a protein skimmer without having to remove the lower shelf. Holds temperature between 76 to 77 when set to 77.
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Great Heater By Joe on 11/23/11
Joe would recommend this product to a friend
These heaters are great. Solid built. Definitely recommend. Submerse completely underwater and dont worry about the level of water changing. I have a 200w and a 300w one. The 200w heats my change water easily. The 300w Does a good job heating my display tank on a controller.
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Stop Worrying About Tank Temp By AARON on 10/13/11
AARON would recommend this product to a friend
This is an all around great product. I got the 150W for my 40 Gal FOWLR and I have to say it was the best thing i have purchased for my tank. I set the temp to 79 degrees and never have to worry about temperature swings. Very affordable and easy to use. Get one.
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Stopped working after 3 months By Bob on 10/11/11
Bob wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
Heater would not work anymore after 3 months.Heater indicator light stayed off and water temperature got down to 74 deg.
Just an expensive digital temperature gauge now.I'll be staying away from Finnex for now on.
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these heaters suck... By Jeff on 9/25/11
Jeff wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
i bought two 100W Finnex HMO heaters last October...I used them in my tank for 6 months just fine and then removed them for the summer months...they have never run dry whatsoever and when I went to put them back in my sump a few days ago, neither of them generated any heat whatsoever even though the indicator lights are on...we'll see if Finnex stands by their brand, but for now these heaters get the bottom of the barrel rating from me
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Well thought out By Chris on 9/10/11
Chris would recommend this product to a friend
Easily set the temp and forget about it. All the wires are long enough to give you plenty of elbow room for placing. Appears to be very well made.
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Great value product By Aaron on 9/7/11
Aaron would recommend this product to a friend
Best titanium heater for the price. Easy to use digital temp control. Comes with separate heat sensor to give you a more accurate reading and can be placed apart from you heater to give you a more accurate reading of the temperature in other parts of your tank besides directly next to the heating element. Could use a longer length of cord for both the temp probe and the heater, but for the price I'm not going to complain too much.
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Nice heater and great price. By vladimir on 8/20/11
vladimir would recommend this product to a friend
I bought one 300w. This heater is wonderful and keeps the water at the desired temp. Buy one.
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Very Nice! By Richie` on 7/20/11
Richie` would recommend this product to a friend
I bought this for my new 80 set up and its worked very well. Holds the temp at 80, without even a degree of fluctuating. Highly recommend :)
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My Newest Favorite Brand By Whys Alives on 7/8/11
Whys Alives would recommend this product to a friend
Best titanium heaters out there for the price. But in an ideal world, the temp alarm settings would be adjustable and the auto kill would be a separate sensor built into the tube, so as to prevent overheat in run-dry situations. A couple more inches for each cord would also be nice, but this is not a perfect world. :)
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Great Heater! By David on 6/28/11
David would recommend this product to a friend
I have had great success with the 150 watt heater in my 40 gallon system. It keeps the temperature very consistent and the temperature probe and digital readout make it very easy to keep track of how well it is working.
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Great heater By Heinz on 6/26/11
Heinz would recommend this product to a friend
The heater is easy to set and adjust the temp so far it has been holding my tank around +-1 degree. It is extremely nice not having to remove the heater to adjust it. Others have said the cords are a bit short but 32 inches from control head to heater is perfect for my setup. I just wish that they would have put the power plug on the top of the controller so that the cord to the heat would come out of the bottom. Doing that would give some people a few extra inches but there again it depends on your setup
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Outstanding By Aquanut on 4/30/11
Aquanut would recommend this product to a friend
I previously owned Marineland Visi-Therm Heater for 1 of 3 of my tanks. I have Marineland Stealth Pro’s for the other 2. I have had limited luck with these heaters. When the Visi-Therm Heater went out, I lost my Philippine Yellow Tang, Swissguard Basslet, and Hi-Fin Goby, I decided it was time to change brands. I read the reviews on different heaters and then turned to BRS and I decided to give the Finnex 150W Heater with Digital Controller a try. I really like this heater. It does an excellent job with a much smaller footprint (~7 ¾” L vs. 13 ½” L) and uses 50 Watts less than the heater it replaced. Purchased on 2/8/2011 and plan on purchasing these as a replacement when the Stealth Pro's burn out.