Elite Submersible Preset Heater

My old heater that came with the tank was looking bad, covered with calcium from our Texas hardwater. I found this heater at a local pet store for about $20. It was one of the least expensive ones I had found. Now I think I know why. I swapped the heaters out and it seemed to be working fine. A couple of days after installing it, it kept the temp where I usually have it, around 80 degrees. Another couple of days pass and I notice the temp had dropped down to about 78. I figured maybe the heater ran a little cooler than what you set it at, so I bumped it up to about 82. The light NEVER went off and the temp NEVER went back up. I cranked it up to 86 and got the same results. This POS heater stopped heating after barely a week!? If the store doesn't take it back, according to the heater packaging I have to pay to ship it to them PLUS pay another $4 on top of that. Suddenly the $20 heater could wind up costing $30. Seems I should have just paid a little more for ANOTHER brand in the first place. Stay away from these CHEAP aquarium heaters.

I have had this heater (Elite Submersible Preset Heater, 100 Watts) in my aquarium for a few days now. It replaced a 50W immersible heater that sat over the rim of my 20 gallon aquarium. The old heater had to be adjusted in winter, but did not have any markings to identify what the thermostat's temperature was actually set on. My old heater is well over 6 years old and it just had a hard time keeping up (I really needed a bigger heater).

This heater was easy to install. The suction cups do move about easy on the aquarium glass, which makes positioning the heater easy. The heater must be installed below the rim of the tank, so even though it has a min water level, it cannot be set to have the adjustment knob above the water line in a filled to the top aquarium. This is really no big deal as it is fully submersible. The min water level is there for those that keep different aquarium setups in order to keep the heater in the proper water depth.

The knob for adjusting the temperature setting is stiff to turn. This is a big plus as it will keep fish from bumping the knob and causing temperature settings to change.

I have the heater set at 76°F. My thermometer shows a temperature of 75°F. I would say this is a very accurate aquarium heater. The heater does an excellent job of keeping the temperature constant. Room temperatures fluctuate from 65°F to 70°F depending on when we are home or sleeping. My old heater with a room temperature of 65°F could not bring the temperature above 72°F. The Hagen Elite Submersible Preset 100 Watt heater kept my aquarium at the 75°F mark easy when the room temperature was 65°F.

Overall very happy with the heater. Does an excellent job and is within 1° of the actual 76°F setting on the heater (my thermometer could also be off by +/1°F).

I would recommend this heater to others and will have no hesitation buying another when needed.

Another big plus is it has a lifetime warranty.

Update: 12-11-2011 Still holding temperature at 75°F.

This heater costs almost $10 more at my local fish supply store.

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Nice heater, works fine, looks alright. Suction cups tend to loosen up though. Keep it out of a bubble curtain or it heats up too much. Nice lifetime warranty.

Update: Nov 2012 it started losing its ability to heat. So I picked it up out of the water to see if it was still working and it cracked and broke from pulling it out and quickly putting it back in.

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I bought this heater from my LFS because it looked nice, was the correct wattage, and was the cheapest out of most of them on the rack at $26.95 USD. When I brought it home and set it up in my cycling 55 gallon (bought the 200w version), I saw that the temperature dial was very easy to read, so I thought, "Great!" I was wrong. I set it on 76 degrees F, as I figured my T5 lights would give off a bit of heat, along with the recent heatwave my city has been going through this week. I assumed it would go up to perhaps 80F, which was fine because I don't have any fish in it right now, just plants. It heated up the water quickly (about 2 hours) and stood at a steady 76-78 F range, which is ideal for my tropical fish.

When I woke up the next day, I saw that the thermometer read 81 degrees F, and the red light which indicates the heater is on was shining. My dial had not moved and still said that it should be 76, but it wasn't. It was 81 and climbing with the heater light on. I quickly turned off the lighting and turned on the AC, as well as turned down the heater. It still reads about 80, and the light comes on sometimes even at the set temperature of 72F.

All in all, I give this heater 2 stars. It heated my aquarium up quickly, has a sleek black design, but the temperature is just too inaccurate. I suppose I'll have to keep it in my aquarium for now, but as soon as I get a chance, I will be switching it out for something else.

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It does its job which is heating the aquarium but does not heat to the tempeture it's set on. I set mines to 79 degrees (f) and I use more then one temperure reader and both reads 85.1. To me thata big difference and I had this only for a month, I think thats why a couple of my toddler fish past out of the blue. My tank is an ok size it's only a 29 gallon, maybe for this heater you neen a bigger tank size (idk). So be careful on this heater if your tank is not that big. I suggest to buy this if you have an aquarium bigger then mine, it might work out better for you.

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