# Fifty Gallon Heater



## RCShevalier (Oct 6, 2015)

I noticed today that my current heater is not working properly. The temperature shifted 4 degrees today and was always higher than what it was set for. Needless to say I am in the market for a replacement. My tank is fifty gallons and I'm not sure what would be best. I'm thinking the Eheim Jager but not sure if I need a 150W or 200W. Any suggestions?


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## supershrimp (Dec 29, 2011)

eheim is the right choice!

go 200watts,not going to hurt anything going bigger and wont lag as bad when it has to adjust temps


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

I prefer fluval heaters as ehiem has very poor customer service.


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

I used to use Eheim but after a few disasters I have completely switched over to 
Cobalt Neo Therm series 
* unbreakable
* sleek; modern design 
* extremely precise and reliable temp setting 
* very very easy to program

Cobalt recommends 150W for 50 gallons 
https://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Cobalt-Neo-Therm-Heater-150W.html


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

supershrimp said:


> eheim is the right choice!
> 
> go 200watts,not going to hurt anything going bigger and wont lag as bad when it has to adjust temps


Going bigger than necessary creates a risk that, if, the heater fails in the on position, the tank will overheat and kill the fish. Any heater should be checked for accuracy with a thermometer, regardless of what the dial says. Calibration of the heater can result in the dial not reflecting the actual temp the heater is maintaining. Some heaters, like the Eheim can be user calibrated. I believe that the fewer times a heater cycles, the longer it will last.


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

My experience with ehiem heaters is when they fail it is in the on position and the tank over heats and fries the fish. Had this happen three times losing all my fish. When I contacted ehiem about this their reply was I didn't know how to operate the heater, the heaters were in service for more than four years with no problems. So I say, never buy ehiem, just my opinion. I use Fluval E type heaters, they are easy to set and control.


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## supershrimp (Dec 29, 2011)

Well ehiem has never let me or any other down, it works it it dosent, too hot or too cold kills fish so having a underpowered heater makes no sense. Always go bigger then too small


Fluval is what use to explode ! And not just the heater the whole tank!!!

I recommend everyone use google and look into what they want to know, as some are always going to bash any and every product. They can all fail, but I will say again, I'm convinced that eheim makes the most reliable heater.


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## Reis (Nov 15, 2011)

Lol i swear there's a new thread on "which heater is better" every month.... 

I'm sure there are a TON of threads on this forum and many other forums with people describing which heater is better blah blah blah. 

Just gonna say this, at the end of the day a heater is a piece of hardware. I've had probably 4 different brands of heaters with issues occurring in all. When you're producing thousands of heaters, there is bound to be a defect in a couple. Sadly just daily checks on your aquarium and hardware will help (although I do suggest getting a cobalt or aqueon)
The reason i say this is because in the past eheim and fluval did squat for me when I had constant heater malfunctions and fish loss.... they just pissed me off even more as they couldn't give two shits.

Its how the other companies handled the situation that made me respect them more as a company and do what's right. I'll be posting a video on in a couple of days of what happened between myself and the indistructable aqueon pro lol


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

supershrimp said:


> Well ehiem has never let me or any other down, it works it it dosent, too hot or too cold kills fish so having a underpowered heater makes no sense. Always go bigger then too small


Not true, Eheims have let lots of people down. Telling people to use a bigger heater than necessary is bad advice. More fish have been killed from overheating than under heating.


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## supershrimp (Dec 29, 2011)

They all can have a bad one or failure, 


And it's not bad advice......... 200watts is the minimum I'd use in a 50gal,I'd use 250w myself. 

I never said he should get 1000w or anything , calm down.i said higher then needed is better then underpowered.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

supershrimp said:


> They all can have a bad one or failure,
> 
> And it's not bad advice......... 200watts is the minimum I'd use in a 50gal,I'd use 250w myself.
> 
> I never said he should get 1000w or anything , calm down.i said higher then needed is better then underpowered.


Actually, it is bad advice. The forums are full of stories of cooked fish because people thought "if a little is good, more is better".


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## supershrimp (Dec 29, 2011)

You don't know what you're talking about .......


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

supershrimp said:


> You don't know what you're talking about .......


LOL. Ok, do what you want, with your tanks, but, stop giving people bad advice. No one will ever cook their fish with a heater that is on the small side.


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## supershrimp (Dec 29, 2011)

Look bob, stop acting like you know what your talking about and saying I'm giving bad advise. You clearly don't know what you're talking about and nor is it up to you to call my advice good or not. 

What is the correct wpg for a heater? Huh

Instead of arguing and tying to act superior why not just help the guy out.... I only responded as no one else did....... Now the troll comes and tries to what? Have a heater fight??

3-5 watts is recommended ! Standard fishkeeping,in a colder environment shoot for the 5 watt for the 50g so 250watts!!!!
For warmer rooms im sure 200watts is fine, but puting a little heater on a big tank will have it running all the time, and that will cause problems. 

Most heater just stop working at failure and having a backup in the tank is a good idea, as one is more likely to not turn on as apposed to cooking your fish.


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

Every time I've had an Eheim heater fail it was always in the on position. I've had a few of them fail over the years now. Last time my tank was 98 degrees when I found it.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


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## Dis (Apr 16, 2010)

My 300 watt eheim just failed and they didn't want to give me another. I was 2 months off the warranty and I really had to birch and birch. Even then I still have to send in the old one. It malfunctioned in the on position and I found the tank at 90 degrees. 

As a replacement I'm using a 150 watt aqueon that holds the temp of my 135 gallon at 80 degrees. Think I'm changing to aqueon


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

Hello super shrimp you mentioned that Fluval heaters had been recalled but I can't find evidence of that. The heaters I find that were recalled were Marineland stealth and Petsmart top fin. Also I never mentioned that you were giving bad advice. I think you are arguing about something you are not that knowledgable about.


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## supershrimp (Dec 29, 2011)

Sorry I mean bill, not bob. 

It was older fluvals, I have lost faith in them as a brand and refuse to give fluval money. 

Maybe I have been lucky , but I have used eheim heaters for 15 years and have never had one die or kill a fish/shrimp.


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## Dis (Apr 16, 2010)

Heard so many good things about eheim and then mine went right after the warranty was up. I was upset and the customer service wasn't great


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I have one Eheim, a 50W that has worked fine and seems to hold the temp fine. I had to calibrate it as the dial was out by 10 degrees F. It is in a 15, and the box said it was good for 20 gallons. If that is true, you should only need 125 watts for a 50. Clearly there is difference of opinion, from brand to brand, as to what the necessary watts per gallon are. What is not opinion, is that an overly powerful heater that fails, in the on position, which most seem to do, will overheat the tank. I have had lots of heaters stick in the on position. This was quite common with hang on back heaters that use contact points to turn the heater on and off. This was/is a repairable issue, almost a maintenance item;you cleaned the points and put them back into service. I still use these, (mostly from late 80s early 90s) heaters on most of my tanks. I even still have a working heater from the 60s kicking around.
Regardless, an adequate heater won't cook your fish, but one that is too big might.


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