# Hydor THEO Submersible Aquarium Heaters



## bradp (Jun 13, 2006)

I just wanted to let everyone know of my experience with this product. I have purchased several heaters from Petsmart for my three aquariums. Today I had total loss in my 30 gallon fry tank. The only bright side to this story is at least it wasn't my 140 gallon show tank.

The THEO heaters I have purchased in the past were never accurate per the dial indicator. I had returned two prior to this loss due to the fact that they were +/- 5 degrees in accuracy. I returned the heater to a different location in hopes that I was getting heaters from a bad lot.

I finally exchanged for an accurate THEO heater which held the tank at 78 degrees until today.



















This all happened in probably a matter of two hours as my wife noticed nothing when she checked on the fish in the morning. I know that I probably could have saved the grow out tank if I had a temperature alarm on the tank. I measured the tank at 94 degrees when I noticed the situation










I'm not sure if this is the right forum to ask the question. What saves the fish when something like this happens during the week when I am at work? I have redundancy with regards to filtration and heaters in my 140 gallon tank. I have always been more concerned with a heater failing and the water temperature dropping too low. Now I definitely have a concern with cooking the fish in my tank.

Does anyone out there have a solution to ease my worries?


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

buy a high quality heater?


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## Dini (Dec 15, 2005)

Temp. controller....I am starting to sound like a broken record...or Lewis Black..../wink...

 The Mods should really put a sticky up as to what a controller is and what they do. In my time on this site I can't count the number of boil up threads and heater complaints I have seen....and every time we come back to the same simple thing. Money and time waisted...not to mention the loss of the fish...because, a very important peice of equipment failed..the heater. When for a few extra dollars you get peace of mind. Guys and gals....Temp. controler...Temp controller...Temp controller. Please....do yourselves and your fish a favor. ....Very sorry for your loss Brad....All those beautiful fish.../sigh.

http://www.jehmco.com/html/temperature_controller.html

Dini


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

bradp - sorry about your loss! It's terrible to see all those fish laid out on the paper towel! 

If the temperature drops due to heater malfunction it's usually much less of an issue than if it goes up. Most fish can withstand a tank at room temperature for quite some time without lasting damage - especially if you heat it up slowly once you notice the problem. However, if a tank goes over 100F that's usually it for the fish.

It's a shame and happens far too frequently. The issue is usually cheap heaters, but I don't know that the universal solution is a temperature controller. Not that this wouldn't fix the problem, but it's big guns. I noticed that the controllers on the Jehmco site start at around $50. That is about five times as much as most people pay for a heater, and frankly people who have multiple tanks or are generally on a budget will find that hard to justify. And we are talking about bottom of the range controllers!

I reckon you can get a pretty reliable heater for half the cost of one of those controllers. On my 240G I am using Via Aqua Titanium heaters. They come with external sensor and external controller and currently cost about $27; for example here. I've had these things running for years now and never had a problem.

What surprised me is that this thread was started because of a Hydor heater, which I had so far considered to be one of the better products on the market. I am not sure that I have any of their THEO heaters - I think I'll better go now and check! - but I am using Hydor ETH heaters on two of my larger tanks 125G and 75G, and I absolutely love those heaters - of course they cost almost as much as a controller :lol:

Frank


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## bradp (Jun 13, 2006)

Thanks for the replies. I have considered a temperature controller, but cost was a factor. I have two 300W heaters on my 140 Gallon Tank and had 1 200W heater on my 30 gallon.

I probably paid $35 for the Hydor heater at Petsmart. Looking at the selection of heaters, it was the most expensive one that they carried.

Who makes a "high quality" or "top of the line heater"? I'm sure that any product can fail in the same manner that my Hydor did.

If I go with the temperature controller route, won't I still be faced with a single point of failure with the thermostat in the temperature controller?


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Check out the Product Review Section. I just did, and the Hydor THEO heaters have terrible reviews. The Via Aqua Titanium heater I recommended seems to be only marginally better  :?

I hope you are entering your experiences too.

Frank


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

> Who makes a "high quality" or "top of the line heater"? I'm sure that any product can fail in the same manner that my Hydor did.
> 
> If I go with the temperature controller route, won't I still be faced with a single point of failure with the thermostat in the temperature controller?


Sorry for your losses!

I have always bought visa therm stealths. I have also had one fail on me though. The reason I keep buying them is that Marineland has a lifetime guarantee on them. You just call them, tell them the wattage and they ask for a 4 digit number on the heater and they send you a new one. I always have an extra one on hand "just in case" too because you can't always wait a week for the new heater to show up at your door. Also, the one that failed just shut off, it didn't do what yours did, so fortunately for me... I had no losses.

I feel the same way about the controllers, still could fail. There is no "absolute" when dealing with heaters that I know of. Just buy a reputable brand, treat it gingerly (make sure you unplug it before it get's exposed to air), and read your thermometer often. I have gotten in the habit of reading mine everyday.


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## sleepy09 (Jan 15, 2009)

:x OMG I am running 2 of those heaters on both of my tanks. 
<<<<<<<RUNNNNNNs to unplug them!!!!!!


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## rdknjsr599 (Mar 2, 2007)

Yeah... I've never had good luck with the Hydor brand of heaters. I pretty much just stay away from them now and stick with Ebo/Jager. Also.. you may want to downsize the heater that you are using in your grow-out tank in order to minimize this type situation from happening again. Personally I would stick with something around 100W (maybe even less) - that way its output is limited. I personally would rather have a heater "ON" more, than run the risk of it failing and cooking the tank.


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## bradp (Jun 13, 2006)

I followed up on the link to the temperature controllers. Thanks dini.

I think that I'm going to purchase one for my 140 gallon. I'll probably purchase a new Ebo-Jager heater for the grow out tank.

Thanks for all of the help folks. Hopefully this will keep me from having another fish boil


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