[FishyFishy89]

I'd love your thoughts and reviews on personal experience with Hydor. I'm am debating on returning/exchanging for a better heater for Spike. There are just too many bad reviews with them. But it seems like most of the negative reviews are for the higher wattage.

How long have you had your heater?
dislikes?
likes?
any other comments?

Thanks everyone

 

[freemike]

Like you I just got mine from what I gather is that the higher wattage get stuck in the on position. The problem is that hydor while making heaters with great features is that they use a poor switch on them. This switch can with stand the heat of the smaller 50-100w version. The problem is when you get 150w+. Those suckers get hot on the internals due to the current they pull and temps they hit internally. So with the higher watts they tend to fuse the switch in the on position.

You see this across the board though in higher wattage submersible heaters. Most people will recommend a submersible heater when dealing with those watts like we recommend those bowl pads or preset heaters for our Bettas. When dealing with those watts a heater with an external thermostat controller is recommended as the safest set up.

My thing though is every heater will fail. I wish they would make an emergency kill switch for them.

 

[FishyFishy89]

I agree on the emergency switch. Like maybe have it auto crash and turn off at max temp 85F. I don't even I know of any fish that live in higher temps.

Maybe I can put several small heaters in my 75 gallon xD

 

[freemike]

On a side note I'm using these on my fishless cycling 10 gallon tanks. I've had them set up for 12 hours and they are holding the temp at 86*. I'm going to run them like this on the tanks for at least another 2 weeks. So that should be a good quality test lol.

 

[FishyFishy89]

would anyone else like to put forth their 2 cents on this heater?

 

[bananafish]

I just got mine into Wraith's tank yesterday, so this is a very early review. It is heating up his tank slowly and it's a nice, small, compact size, which I like.

My only complaint is that the setting control dial seems to be completely uncalibrated. I set it to 81 yesterday and it only warmed my tank to a very steady 76. I reset it this morning to 85, and we're at a very steady 78, according to my thermometer. I searched the web last night and found many others with the same problem, so take that for what it's worth.

Either way, it's a big upgrade over what Wraith had before, so I'll take it. And now that I know its temp control is, uh, quirky, I'll know to keep a close eye on that too.

 

[LionCalie]

The problem I've encountered with Hydor Theo heaters is the thermostat never works properly. What you set the temperature to is never what it actually heats the water to.

 

[FishyFishy89]

Mine seems to be set on 80-81 and keeps the tank at a steady 81-82

 

[freemike]

The themostats are calibrated in different environments than home tanks. That is where the variation comes into play. That is the reason some heater knobs are labeled 1-10. The degrees should be used as a general hint to where to start at on the knob.

 

[FishyFishy89]

The themostats are calibrated in different environments than home tanks. That is where the variation comes into play. That is the reason some heater knobs are labeled 1-10. The degrees should be used as a general hint to where to start at on the knob.

understandable
but when it is more than 5 degrees off...theres an issue

 

[freemike]

Well 5 degrees to your fish is a big deal, but considering the difference in flow, depth, air temps, and tank size it could easily get swayed 5 degrees. This would be magnified in smaller tanks.

 

[vilmarisv]

I have a few Hydors and they have been working fine for close to 2 years now.
The dial is not accurate but they usually aren't no matter what brand you buy, just get a thermometer and test over a day or two until you find the proper setting.

 

[Silverfang]

I love my 25W, plan on ordering a second, possibly a 50W too

My Scuzi loves it even more. He's sitting at a toasty 81

 

[yayagirl1209]

I really like my Hydro Theos. I have 2 of them. One in a filtered 3 gallon and 1 in a large unfiltered Kritter Keeper. As stated by others, the dial is just a guide and you have to adjust for each environment. The Kritter Keeper is set at 83 and keeps a steady 79. The filtered 3 gallon is set at 76 and keeps a steady 80.

I originally had a Hagen Elite 25W in my Kritter Keeper. It's considerably longer and not completely submersible. The length made it very difficult to situate in the tank without completely submersing the dial. I ended up trashing the Hagen and buying another Theo.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[FishyFishy89]

I really like my Hydro Theos. I have 2 of them. One in a filtered 3 gallon and 1 in a large unfiltered Kritter Keeper. As stated by others, the dial is just a guide and you have to adjust for each environment. The Kritter Keeper is set at 83 and keeps a steady 79. The filtered 3 gallon is set at 76 and keeps a steady 80.

I originally had a Hagen Elite 25W in my Kritter Keeper. It's considerably longer and not completely submersible. The length made it very difficult to situate in the tank without completely submersing the dial. I ended up trashing the Hagen and buying another Theo.

Just my 2 cents.

Thankies for you input.

Everyones input is much appreciated. I am leaning towards keeping Spike's new heater.

 

[Khemikal]

I also love my Hydor Theos. I've been using them for a few years in both fresh and saltwater. I've always used my heaters during cycling and use that as a time period to dial in where their knob needs to be. Using the thermometers on your tank instead of just the ones on your heater is the way to go in my opinion. If you are really worried about it getting stuck on then get an external temperature controller and use it.

 

[StarSpun]

I have at least a dozen 25w Hydor Theos....I find them to be very reliable. It's true, some you have to play around with to set the right temperature, but once you've got it, you're set I love them!

 

[FishyFishy89]

I have at least a dozen 25w Hydor Theos....I find them to be very reliable. It's true, some you have to play around with to set the right temperature, but once you've got it, you're set I love them!

Yup so far I love this heater. Funny thing, is it seems to be right on the dot. Seems to have been set on 81 80 and it keeps Spike's tank at a balmy 81F