# Hydor inline heaters



## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

I bought a Hydor inline 300w heater and thought at $50 for a heater I hope I can keep this one for a while. I used it for 7 months (buying it in november) and unpluged it for the summer. It kept the water temp. within a degree for all that time. So worked perfectly and no complaints.
September and nights getting colder, so I decided it time to start heating water again. Plugged in my Hydor that had been sitting, staying inline for the summer. Nothing. No light on the indicator. No click of the thermostat coming on. Zip. I wrote Hydor an email that I thought was a slam on their product. Just to make me feel better. Later that week I was cleaning out some papers and found the Hydor pamphlet that came with the heater. 2 yr. warranty. I contacted Hydor again using a different tact and they responded. I sent the heater back to Hydor and within 10 days I had a working heater back in my tank.
I guess all this is to praise Hydor and their service reps. I love the inline heater and now, a company that stands by it's product. :dancing:


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

I've never had to deal with any customer service probs yet with Hydor so I can't comment on that, but I do own four 300w inline Hydor heaters for the past 2+ years and can say I love their inline heaters. Haven't had an issue yet with them and they keep the temps all within about 1 degree all the time. Good to hear they have good service as well just in case I ever need to use it.


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## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

Same exact thing happened to me...ran it all winter, unplugged for summer, plugged back in and nada...I've been too lazy to take it off and send it in, since I don't feel like re-plumbing it at the moment.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Just wondering why you guys are unplugging your heaters in the summer? For fish that need 77-79f temps I'm not understanding why you would unplug a heater even in the summer unless you are in a super hot part of the SW of the country, but even then you probably have AC running in the house I would think which would still cause the need for a heater.


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## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

I live in Denver in an old house without AC...the INSIDE of our house was in the upper 80's this summer, and I was often dropping frozen cubes of tank water in to cool it down, and having the lids off while I was around with a fan blowing across the top.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Jeez I'd be investing in at least a window AC, I couldn't sleep at night in those temps. Anything over 70f inside and I just can't take it, probably the reason why my buddy out in AZ that wants me to come visit still has yet to meet me in person lol


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## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

Meh, during the day it was horrible, but we were all at work...temp drops significantly at night, so I run a box fan in my window, and windows and doors open on the main level get good airflow.


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

The fish don't need 77-79*. I've found that with cooler tank temps you tend to get more spawning. I'm with marko&#8230;I don't run ac and found myself cooling the tank water with ice in the summer. Soooo unplugging the heater because 1) you don't need it and 2) impossible to malfunction.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Difference of opinion on the temps. I personally won't keep any of my cichlid tanks under 77 these days (have tried lower and found activity levels and growth rate lags) but to each his own, long as the fish are healthy and happy that's all that matters.


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## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

Agreed with not going lower than 77

With (and now without) my Hydor, I keep my tank hovering in the 78.5-79 range...my tank was easily around 80-81 in the summer, hence unplugging the Hydor and breaking it


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Smitty, thanks for the comments regarding the heater and the response from the manufacturer. Would you be willing to post a Product Review of your experience with the heater? This may help other members trying to choose a heater for their tank based on the reviews submitted by members. Most of the time, these comments just get lost on the forum.


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

If there was a catagory for service I would be happy to review. I'm still on the fence about quality and they are quite costly. My opinion is that it should never have failed after only 7 months of service. We'll see if this one lasts.


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## areuben (Jul 17, 2003)

I have been running hydor in-lines for several years and have yet to have had an issue with one of the 8-10 I have used. I'm not saying there haven't been issues reported, as we have seen in this post, but I have been very well served by Hydors. They just keep doing their job. I have mine on large tanks and have them all connected to Ranco controllers. Bottom line for me, is any quality control effort at any manufacturing company is still going to have some issues slip through the cracks, even if it is a small percentage. On every 1000 produced, there is an expected defect rate for different reasons - car companies, computers, etc will all have the same concerns and real-life issues. Deeda, I appreciate your suggestion to add to the reviews by the OP, but at the end of the day we all know how that works - good stuff rarely gets reported and bad stuff gets reported 10x - that's human nature. As to comments on temps for cichlids - a pretty large family of fish - there are lots of our cichlids, outside of the Africans, that appreciate higher temps in the 80's.


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

Like I said right now if I were to rate the hydor in the review section it would get very poor marks. Price and quality would take huge hits right now. The only thing that hydor did right was to honor their warranty. However there is no rating category for service. As to tank temps
I stand by what I said, 77*-80* is not needed. I keep mine at 74* during the winter and I unplug the heater in the summer, so I just casually keep an eye on temp. My mbuna are all active and healthy.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Not trying to beat a dead horse here but, why unplug the heaters if they aren't coming on anyway? Not trying to be a wise guy, curious as to why people do it.

I'm thinking of switching to the inline style myself actually. I currently run two Eheim 250w heaters on my 210g, Do they make a single inline heater that will fit in the hoses of my Eheim 2262? Or do I need to get two heaters and hook up my other 2262?


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## areuben (Jul 17, 2003)

Hey Paul,
Al in Ottawa. Trust all is well. I am not sure about the use with the 2262. The hose size is cool on the return, it's a 16/22 which is the 5/8 Hydor for compatability (they also have a smaller size). On my larger tanks - 220, 250, I typically run 3 cannisters - a 2217, 2080 and 2262. I run 2-300W Hydors but run them on the 2080 and 2217. My concern with the 2262 was simply related to the output gph on the 2262 and wondered if that would allow the water to heat as effectively as it should - i.e be in contact with the heater elements long enough?? The concern may be a mute point, though I am not a flow/conductivity expert. I would drop a line to Hydor and ask them about high flow usage. Smitty, I have no issue with your 74 for "mbuna" - I was simply making a point that cichlids include a wide variety of fish and I wouldn't entertain keeping any of my SA cichlids - geos or crenicichla - in 74 water. I appreciate your point on the Hydor review.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Hey Al.
Long time no see. All is good down here, just starting to get cooler now  hope all is well with you. Thanks for the info, I didn't realize they could go on a 2217 (I thought they needed a larger hose). No issues with flow being affected. I do have two 2217s and a 2262 on the 210, so no problem there. I just took a look at them and I would probably either go with a pair of 300w heaters, or a 300 and a 200 on my 210. They aren't cheap though.


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

noddy said:


> Not trying to beat a dead horse here but, why unplug the heaters if they aren't coming on anyway? Not trying to be a wise guy, curious as to why people do it.


Unplugging the heater assures that no malfunction will occur. 
Well at least until you plug it back in. :lol:


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

haha, yep, sounds like it might be better to leave them plugged in


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## areuben (Jul 17, 2003)

On my 2217's I run an adapter on the output to get it to the larger 16/22 hose from the 12/16 coming out of the filter. Works perfect, no issues. I did this because I had a bunch of the Eheim 16/22 spraybar/quick connect set-ups and aerator set-ups for 16/22 hose. If you want to leave the 2217 alone, the 1/2" instead of the 5/8" should fit the 12/16 hose. They may only be 200W though in the smaller size - no 1/2" in the larger 300W.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

noddy, yes the Hydor ETH 300W 5/8" output model fits well on the 2260/62 output hose and I am using it on my 220G tank and the 125G when it was setup. What matters is the difference in temperature between the room and the ideal tank temperature you want. My room temperature averages 70°F during the winter, maybe a bit cooler, and the tank temperature is at least 78°F. I don't shoot for over 78°F.

However, I am running one 2260, one 2262 and one powerhead so these appliances are probably adding some residual heat.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Thanks for the answers guys, I think I will get the 300w and run it on my 2262.
Sorry if I derailed the thread a little.


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## freelanderuk (Jun 26, 2014)

i run a single Hydor ETH 300W 16mm version on my 2262 on my 100g tank with a separate temp controller, i use the stc 1000 temp controller that i placed in an electrical box with power socket that keeps my temp within .3 degrees of what ever i set my tank temp to


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