10 Gallon Fish Tank

Showing posts with label tetra fish tank. Show all posts

Fish & Aquatic Supplies Emporer Power Filter 400 Gph

I like the effectiveness of this product. This is my third one of the same model.I have a 125 gal. tank and two of these running at the same time do a good job. I have had great luck as far as noise goes with one of my original puchases.(operates very quietly) The other unit I have, I have tried to get it to run quieter over several years, with readily availble parts and cooperation from the Marineland customer service folks. I finally gave up and puchased an enire replacement unit and once installed and running, I still have the same issue. I have replaced the inpeller and the part that the impellar goes in, both provided at no cost by Marineland customer service, no questions asked. The unit still makes a rattling sound.(very annoying in my living room) I will be contacting customer service for additional advice today and hope we will be able to get the noise issue solved. The other unit that runs quietly has been in service for 5 plus years without any problems.

The Filter works just fine. its doing a great job on my 75 gallon tank, but wow its loud. The room it is in has a tile floor but I can hear the product throughout the condo... For me this drops a star as I like to hear the water flowing around the tank, not the filter pumping water.

Buy Fish & Aquatic Supplies Emporer Power Filter 400 Gph Now

I decided to wait some time before posting to see how things went with this product. I first cleaned then installed the Marineland Emperor Bio-Wheel 400 Power Filter, much the same as any other filter would be installed. I can say I have some experience even with filters exactly the same as the Marineland Emperor Bio-Wheel filter, as I own a 10-gal aquarium with a Marineland Penguin filter, and this was to replace an old (7 yr old) Penguin 330.

The filter is NOISY. Freakishly noisy; like something that filters a 5000 gallon aquarium noisy. I wish I could say it was just a lone bad unit, but after ordering the unit, I researched a little to find these things have a tendency to be noisy. Seriously, do yourself a favor, and google "noisy emperor 400", see the hundreds of other complaints? Yes, some may get good units, but there's a good chance you won't. I even let the thing run for several days before judging, since others said it may need to "break in" (which, yes the one on my 10 gal did get quieter, and now is whisper quiet). After 3 days, I contacted Marineland, which, while not the friendliest of folks, were fairly helpful. The first time around, they sent a new impeller, even though I had thoroughly inspected the impeller and found no mechanical flaws, I figured couldn't hurt to try. New one arrived, didn't help any. Let it run for a few days, no improvement. Then, I contacted them again, they sent an entire new filter! Pretty good service I have to say, but sadly, the new one suffers the same obnoxious "garbage disposal"-like sound. Yes, I've messed with a billion different ways to seat the impeller, and well quite frankly, if someone who's worked with dozens of filters in the past can't properly seat the impeller, it really isn't consumer-ready.

Beyond that, the filter has a ton of great features. The spray-bars that keep the bio-wheel's wet and spinning work great. The filter has tons of room for flow, plus a total of 4 slots for filter media, and includes two easy-to-fill filter cartridges. The flow-rate is good. It really would be an excellent, solid product if it weren't made with cheap materials, and weren't the noisiest filter I've ever owned. The other negative is the bio-wheel filters really create a lot of choppy surface water, so feeding fish is messy, and I recommend getting some sort of floating-feeding device.

It's past the return period, which Marineland was perhaps counting on, so now I"m stuck with it. I'll try contacting them again and see what happens, and will post if anything different comes from it. It seems you either love it and get a great unit, or you get a flawed, noisy as all heck filter. The price is excellent, but to be honest, you're better off with a Penguin, which yes while the Emperor's are supposed to be the higher-end product, very few have issues with the Penguin's compared to the Emperor's. Or an Aqua-Clear, but you have to be gentle with them (they have a tendency to crack/break).

***Update 9/12/2011***

Well, after approximately 3-4 months of continuous use, the filter is now significantly quieter then when I received either one of them. Still not "whisper" quiet, but sounds decent enough for a larger filter. I've added a star, since this is a decent product overall, but the fact that it took that many months of having to have my office door completely closed at night just so we don't hear it, I can't give it any higher than that. YMMV.

Read Best Reviews of Fish & Aquatic Supplies Emporer Power Filter 400 Gph Here

i have a 55 gal tank. i used to use the magnum power filter but it got clogged all the time and the tank was always dirty. the marineland 400 is amazing. clean, clear water and very quiet.

Want Fish & Aquatic Supplies Emporer Power Filter 400 Gph Discount?

i read the reviews before buying this filter. i had mixed emotions about the emperor 400, but i ended up purchasing 2 filters anyway. when i recieved my filters i noticed that the box say's that the impeller is preinstalled. being the person i am, i took everything apart and discovered that the impeller was not properly installed in the (flow manifold housing). after i reinstalled it, put it back together, and filled it with water and plugged it in, i had no problems at all. i hope this helps. buy the way, i had this problem with both filters.

Save 55% Off

Como Aquarium Decorative Green Silicone Sea Anemone Fish Tank Ornament

Hello everyone!

I was happy with this purchase as the product was very close to the picture in color and design. The green colored version (this one) has an almost glow in the dark look when using an aquarium "night light" setting. One customer mentioned that they had a film developing on their product and I would assume it was algae. I have had similar issues with ornaments, plants, driftwood within my own aquariums. I purchased and maintain a Bristlenose Pleco in all of my tanks in order to ensure that the film will not happen. I have had this product in my aquarium for three days now and have not seen the film develop. I have a friend with young turtles in an aquarium and I placed one of these products in their tank to see how they would react. Both turtles attacked it and unfortunately ended up getting their teeth stuck on the tentacles of this product. After a few minutes the turtles were able to get their mouths unstuck, but it was nonetheless a dangerous thing to have in their tank. May be an item of caution for any buyers with pets with small sharp teeth. I maintain African Cichlids and they have not displayed any aggression towards this product however.

I hope I provided an unbiased and helpful review. Good luck shopping and as always, have a great day.

-CollegeGuy

This is an update from a previous review, changing from a 4 star to a 1 star. Item arrived as described, shipping was quick, here it comes...but after 24 hrs in tank a slimy film appeared all over the anemone, I washed and removed all the slime also had to clean tank due to particles coming off the anemone. After about 2 or 3 days the slime reappeared, removed and washed again. This is ongoing I like the anemone in the tank but what chemicals is it putting in my tank is the big question so I will be removing this from the tank. I wouldn't recommend this item.

Buy Como Aquarium Decorative Green Silicone Sea Anemone Fish Tank Ornament Now

We ordered multiple sizes and colors and they look so good in the tank. The fish love to get in and clean them and in turn it looks like they are moving as if they are real.

Read Best Reviews of Como Aquarium Decorative Green Silicone Sea Anemone Fish Tank Ornament Here

This plant looks great and causes no harm to my fish I also purchased a smaller plant for my second aquarium. Recommended.

Want Como Aquarium Decorative Green Silicone Sea Anemone Fish Tank Ornament Discount?

very cute little decoration for the tank. The only complaint I have is that there isn't anything on the site that told me what size the item is. I am afraid this may be a bit large for my little fish tank. The item has a nice little weight on it that will keep it on the bottom of the tank. As my tank hasn't arrived yet I can't really say how well it stays at the bottom of the tank.

Fish Mate F14 Aquarium Fish Feeder

I have owned one of these units for over two years and use it to dispense food when I am away for short periods. The primary advantage of this unit over others that I own ie Eheim, Aquachef and Rena is the ability to dispense the precise amount of food you desire and even alternate the type of food between feedings.

Filling the small compartments was somewhat problematic until I began using a 1/8 tps measure for that purpose.

Care must be taken to ensure that the food compartment unit is positioned right side up. Failure to do so results in no food being dispensed.

I spent over a week mulling over which feeder to buy. Most of them out there don't deal with pellet food well at all based on the reviews. This feeder came with some caveats based on the reviews too. But knowing what I got into made everything easy and I have to admit that this was the best purchase for my BETA fish (2 beta fish in 2 separate tanks with 2 of these feeders). The caveat that made me worry was that each compartment, when rotating, had a small ridge where all the food didn't go in, or in the case of 1 BETA fish and only 3 pellets, none of it would go in. HOWEVER, it consistently rotates to this same spot (and this was not mentioned). Therefore, when I set up the feeder, I already prepared for the fact that the feeder would essentially miss the first meal. I, therefore, fed them manually when it was first set up. After that first time, both my tanks with only 1 fish in each tank, have been operating automatically flawlessly! The easy of access to fill the individual feeding compartments was a BONUS that I didn't expect nor read about. When there is only 3 compartments left (out of the 14) with food, I go in and easily drop 3-4 pellets in the empty ones, so there is no interruption. I plan on going away for 2 weeks and I will set it to rotate just once a day with 8 pellets in each compartment in that scenario. I expect things will run smoothly.

I full endorse this product for BETA fish with pellet food since it worked well with me.

Buy Fish Mate F14 Aquarium Fish Feeder Now

The only one I have seen that allows you to vary the amount for each day (e.g. you can put more in the feeder for the weekend but still have a "base" feeding amount during the week). Also, the only feeder I have that reliably delivers the chosen amount on the day chosen.

One problem with other (horizontal-axis rotating) feeders I have found is that the ones I tried did not reliably deliver the chosen amount; large flakes would block delivery altogether or at least reduce it, while small flakes would lead to excessive amounts of feed, unlike the Fishmate F14.

After about a year, the rotating part on the Fishmate F14 would sometimes get stuck, which is why I am awarding only 4 stars. Still, if you want the features mentioned above, it's the only game in town that I have seen (so far).

Read Best Reviews of Fish Mate F14 Aquarium Fish Feeder Here

Delivery time was much better than expected.

The F14 Unit however is somewhat disappointing. The mechanism is fairly simple, but do not be tempted to load the unit and leave for several days. Try it out before you leave the fish alone. The red "pegs" used for setting the timer do not always engage.

Also, the suction cups on the unit are a joke. I made a bracket to attach it to my lamp which is much more secure.

Want Fish Mate F14 Aquarium Fish Feeder Discount?

I needed an autofeeder because I was going to be gone for close to two weeks. I bought this particular feeder because it gave me the ability to feed different types of foods to my fish while I was gone, rather than one big drum of flakes. It also gave me the ability to occasionally drop a shrimp pellet or algae wafer in the tank for my cleanup crew.

Some patience is required when putting food in this feeder. The sections are small, so it's easy to get food into another compartment or elsewhere on/around the feeder.

I used the air tube attachment to make sure no moisture got in the feeder, which seemed to work well. Granted, I don't know if the food would have been just as dry if I didn't hook the air pump up to it, but decided not to take a chance.

I couldn't find a good way to use the bracket that came with the feeder with my setup, which included a glass aquarium top. I have two female bettas in my tank (it's the males that will fight to the death), so I was reluctant to completely remove the glass top while I was gone. I also didn't want excessive evaporation of my tank water over a two week period. I was able to put my feeder on top of my light (Marineland LED) and remove a plastic filler part of my hood so the food could drop in the tank.

Overall, this product worked very well in my absence.

Save 32% Off

Como Realistic Aquarium Tank Purple Silicone Mini Sea Anemone Ornament

I was happy to receive this ornament. It is very soft and the soft purple color looks good in my aquarium. You cannot really see on the picture that the tips are white and this is a very nice touch, especially when the lights enhance it. I ordered another sea anemone in blue awhile back and it got pretty gross over a 4-month period. The color faded and it smelled bad and had slime in it. I took it out and will have to see how it cleans up. Note that this is a "mini". I would recommend it but will have to see if it gets gross after a few months. I'm not sure how long they are supposed to last. Right now, I am pleased with it and I like it alot.

Update:

My above-described ornament is beginning to fade out and no longer has the pretty purple color. Although it is still purple, it has become more washed out looking, almost like the purple is washing off and the color white is coming through. I clean it often so it does not have slime and my fish love swimming around it. Except for the color fading, it is still upright and flowing. I am wondering if the color will fade off eventually. If so, it would be very pretty in white so I am keeping it to see how the saga plays out, with the health of my fish being a priority.

thought it would be more....flowy? if that makes any sense...I mean it's alright I guess, not exactly what I expected, but my betta seems to love it and my wife and sister think its cute, It just feels too springy under the current of the filter.

edit:

WTF??!?! after a whole some really gross slimy nasty stuff starts coming off this thing. I dont know if it had any thing to do with the death of my pleco which would suck on this thing from time to time, but dude that stuff was nasty. Washed it off, put it back in the aquarium, so far its not come back but...damn...that was nasty

Buy Como Realistic Aquarium Tank Purple Silicone Mini Sea Anemone Ornament Now

Not long ago I discovered my new female betta fish Annabelle had damaged her deliciate fins on an ornament in her tank. I immediately removed it so she couldn't hurt herself again. I came across this cute little mini sea anemone and decided to give it a try. I am glad I bought it. My Annabelle is enjoying swimming through the rubbery tentacles on the anemone. I don't have to worry about her fins being damaged any more. The anemone is small but so is my female betta fish. It is the right size for small fish like Annabelle.

Read Best Reviews of Como Realistic Aquarium Tank Purple Silicone Mini Sea Anemone Ornament Here

Plane Wreck Aquarium Ornament

FINALLY AN ORNAMENT FOR MY SALTWATER TANK THAT IS DURABLE AND DOESN'T FADE LIKE THOSE CHEAP ORNAMENTS THAT YOU BUY AND JUST THROW AWAY AFTER ABOUT A MONTH.I LOVE THE COMPANY THAT MAKES THESE STURDY ORNAMENTS.I ORDERED THE 2 PIECE HUGE TITANIC 3 YEARS AGO AND IS STILL LIKE NEW FROM THE SAME COMPANY.IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR QUALITY THIS COMPANY IS THE WAY TO GO.PLEASE CONTINUE MAKING MORE BECAUSE YOU HAVE A CUSTOMER FOR LIFE.KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK,THANK YOU SO MUCH.

We love our plane. Spidey, our first cichlid, claimed it and has not given it up to the next 4 cichlids that followed :-) He sleeps in there at night. We get lots of compliments.

Buy Plane Wreck Aquarium Ornament Now

Zoo Med ReptiTherm® Under Tank Heater, Large

Well if you are looking at this product you probably know what it is and have an idea of what it does... One Note is this product is not ment for any water animals (painted turtles included).

I was using an alternate product to heat my tank but when I went from a 20 gallon tank to a 50 gallon tank it was way to small. This product is 10x better than that competing brand that I purchased at petsmart (for the same price) as this in quality, overall look, and options. Quality is outstanding... Very nicely finished off. On amazon I found it to be $15-20 dollars cheaper than in stores (including shipping).

One major advantage of this product is that one side of the heating pad has adhesive on it to stick directly to the glass for optimum heat transfer (I really like this feature as my old pad did not have this), However this might be annoying when it comes to clean the tank. Also it is able to placed on the side of the tank to transfer heat into the enviroment rather than through the substrate. This is to protect an antique stand or dresser or if there is a table cloth on the table. The product does come with little rubber feet to place on the tank to raise it slightly so air can flow beneth.

In the instructions it warns not to use with any material tank other than a glass tank. It warns not to place a water dish above mat because if water spills on the glass that it is heating it can cause a stress crack in the glass.

For the bottom mount it states that the preffered substrate is Repti Cage Carpet, Repti Sand of thickness no more than 1.5", If using a light (easily movable... newspaper, paper towels, pine shavings, moss) substrate for snakes a cage carpet is required as the glass may become exposed and then burn the snake (or other reptile that can burrow).

I am not using a heat controller on this pad, I instead have a heat lamp and an normal light lamp for day light and heat and then leave the pad on 24/7 for night heat. In my tank the temp fluctuates from ~80-85 in the hot side and ~75-80 on the cool side so there was no need for a temp controller. On the back of the box it gives different temperature ranges for different animals.

I myself have two leopard geckos about 12 years old and about 10", with this new heater I noticed them out of their hides more and exploring the entire tank rather than just one half.

Hope this helps anyone looking.

I bought a different heating pad before this one by Cobra. It, compared to this one was awful. I returned that one and got this one immediately because my girlfriend got one for her snake. I love how it includes rubber feet to lift up the tank. It adheres well to the underside (or if you prefer the side) and works very well. If you're looking for a heating pad for underneath a tank or on the side, go with ZooMed.

Buy Zoo Med ReptiTherm® Under Tank Heater, Large Now

This is an excellent undertank heater at a reasonable price. It allows the option of placement on the bottom or the side of the tank. Ours is installed on the bottom and we've had no problems of overheating the tank stand or any problems whatsoever.

I would highly recommend this item.

Read Best Reviews of Zoo Med ReptiTherm® Under Tank Heater, Large Here

I may have gotten the wrong size. But I needed a UTH for my 20g long tank and the dimensions listed for this product are ideal yet when I received the product the dimension w

ere 18inx7in instead of the listed 10inx9in.

Want Zoo Med ReptiTherm® Under Tank Heater, Large Discount?

For all those who are looking at this product and are confused about which size should be used for which tank:

The large is 18"x8", meant for 50-60 gallon tanks.

The medium is 8"x12" meant for 30-40 gallon tanks.

The small is 6"x8" meant for 10-20 gallon tanks, and the mini is meant for up to 5 gallons.

Hope that helps.

As for the product, I've never had a problem with the Zoomed heat pads. Just remember to use a thermoSTAT at all times when using one of these products as they can reach dangerously high temperatures when unregulated.

Save 46% Off

Laguna Pond Fish Net with 13-Inch Metal Handle

The printed words within the posted product image specifically indicate that this pond net is both "telescopic" and "collapsible." It is neither. It is just a 12" hand net that neither extends nor collapses. Someone attached the wrong image to this listing.

The net is good, but thought it was suppose to be telescopic...it's alittle short for a pon...but good quality and size.

Buy Laguna Pond Fish Net with 13-Inch Metal Handle Now

Much better product that what was shown in illustration. I am pleased with the product and quite delighted at the size and quality!

Read Best Reviews of Laguna Pond Fish Net with 13-Inch Metal Handle Here

biOrb 12 Volt Intelligent Light

I have the 16 gallon biOrb and wanted to get this light to pamper my fish. I looked around online and these sell for around $125 on most sites (excluding tax and/or shipping)!

The light itself is much thinner than the included light and has a number or programmable options...I sometimes use it as a simple reminder to go to bed myself when I see the lights dim =)

We purchased a biOrb at the start of the year, and simply enjoy the heck out of it. One of the minor issues I had on was the standard light that comes with kit had to be manually turned off and on each morning and night. We also didn't like to leave the light on when we left the house, as it got quite hot, the new LED light takes away the need to do all of this. The fish appear to be quite happy and the different LED's throughout the cycle seem to work well. (no negative impact on the fish).

Although a tad expensive I would recommend this as an upgrade to your biOrb in a heartbeat.

Buy biOrb 12 Volt Intelligent Light Now

The unit is very slim and is a much better light than the standard bulky halogen which takes up space inside the tank. Surprisingly very bright and clear!

The sunrise/sunset feature is a little silly though. Biorb claims that it's like a natural sunrise/sunset for the fish but it's not really that gradual of a process. In the morning it goes from one blue moonlight bulb to all three of the white daylight LEDs lighting up at once, although they are slightly dimmed when they light up. I doubt fish will really think that it's a real sunrise.

I was also expecting that there would be some lighting color to this unit--natural yellows and oranges for sunrises/sunsets and gradual gradients throughout the day to stimulate the true natural sun cycle. But I guess that is a little too much to ask for in a fish tank light.

Read Best Reviews of biOrb 12 Volt Intelligent Light Here

I ordered this light as my existing one stopped working. Its definitely a step up from the "Standard" light as it is much brighter. It actually leaves "Glitter Lines" on the floor, its that bright. It might even make a good "Reef light" due to this fact but I am uncertain if the light spectrum is strong enough for some corals. You are able to program the unit so that you can "custom" the amount of daylight with nite / moon light. The transformer is not included. I only gave it 4 stars as I thought it was overpriced.

Want biOrb 12 Volt Intelligent Light Discount?

As someone mentioned earlier, this will fit into the opening for the 4 gal. (Baby) BiOrb it just won't fit the top lid ring. The light is really a lot better than the standard bulb and while it's expensive, I feel it was worth it. I'm using this on the Baby BiOrb and the tank looks fine without the top ring; but I'm going to take the other reviewer's suggestion and use a Dremel tool and widen the hole to make it fit into the plastic ring shouldn't be a big deal. If you have a Baby BiOrb, I'd recommend getting the light.

Save 39% Off

Jardin Fish Tank Aquarium Releases Bubbles Column Design, Air Stone

My last bubbler was a sick that stuck to the side of the tank, with a wimpy flow of bubbles. I replaced it with this, which I didn't stick down. My fish shoves it around and plays in the bubbles, which are copious. He's a happy guy!

This air stone gives out good consistent bubbles and it is weighted enough to stay down on the gravel at the bottom of the tank. I can not comment on its durability as I have only had it in my tank for a few weeks. Most of the air stones that I have purchased like this, have usually lasted 4 to 5 months. Similar air stones can be found at Pets Mart that don't cost as much.

Buy Jardin Fish Tank Aquarium Releases Bubbles Column Design, Air Stone Now

Easy to connect and makes lots of bubbles. Does what it says it will at a good price. What's not to like?

Read Best Reviews of Jardin Fish Tank Aquarium Releases Bubbles Column Design, Air Stone Here

It works pretty good, makes a lot of bubbles.... We are happy with our purchase.

easy to plug to the hose

Want Jardin Fish Tank Aquarium Releases Bubbles Column Design, Air Stone Discount?

Instant Ocean HF-1 HoldFast Epoxy Stick for Fish & Reef Aquariums, 4-Ounce, 113-Gram

remember you only need a few pea sized pieces to glue rocks and even smaller pieces for frags. will be buying more

I used this epoxy to hold frags and rock together. Cured underwater. Only negative is that it cures bright white instead of purple. Easy to fix by using rubble to hide it.

Buy Instant Ocean HF-1 HoldFast Epoxy Stick for Fish & Reef Aquariums, 4-Ounce, 113-Gram Now

I don't know if its the type of frag I tried to use or maybe I got a bad batch or maybe I don't know how to mix it right but it didn't hold good for me and an hour after I put it in my tank it left I big gap on the side of my frag because it opened up and it doesn't look good on the other hand my buddy has had better luck with one he bought but he is just sticking it to frag plugs and then to rocks maybe that's what it's meant for but for what I needed it for it did not work

Read Best Reviews of Instant Ocean HF-1 HoldFast Epoxy Stick for Fish & Reef Aquariums, 4-Ounce, 113-Gram Here

It's not as easy to get damp pieces to stick as it would say it is. It holds well but having everything completely dry would be best. However that can be difficult under water. Take some practice and make it work and it will hold.

Want Instant Ocean HF-1 HoldFast Epoxy Stick for Fish & Reef Aquariums, 4-Ounce, 113-Gram Discount?

This may be ok if you are using it before the rocks are put in aquarium. But if you are using it in a existing aquarium it does not set up well under water,and you have to wait about eight minutes for it to start hardening.

Save 37% Off

AquaTop Aquarium Heater - 100W

Lesson learned: You get what you pay for. The Aqueon 06106 Pro Heaters Submersible Aquarium Heater, 100-Watt works better (it was recommended to me) but it's almost twice the price on Amazon and even more at the pet store so I got this. I bought it the last week of June to treat ick in a tank. It was always about 3 degrees off but I dealt with it. I used it occasionally, I'd say I used this heater for a total of 15 days before it malfunctioned. I decided about a week ago to buy some tropical fish and I tried to get this to heat to a constant 77 degrees. Worked fine before bed, but I woke up the next morning to dead fish and a tank temperature of 86 to 88 degrees! It was HOT in there! I call the company and what do I hear?

"Maybe your thermometers are inaccurate." BOTH OF THEM?

"Is it hot outside your house?" Does it matter? The tank is INSIDE my house, and my room temperature is a steady 68 degrees. I live in the Arctic. No, it is not hot outside my house.

I don't know about you, but when I get asked stupid questions like that by people blaming everything but their product for a malfunction, I get kind of annoyed. I was promised a refund by the guy I called for support, then their returns department denied it because I've had the unit for almost 3 months. They said they do not issue refunds after 14 days, and if I want to use the warranty I have to pay to ship the item to them! For a $16 heater, that is not even worth my time or money paying to ship it back, let alone the cost of gas to drive to the post office! What kind of "customer service" is that? I'm sure they bet on people not bothering to pay return shipping for the warranty and instead buy a new one!

This heater was not accurate from the start. If it's going to kill my fish and I have to "re-calibrate it" (their suggestion) over and over again to get it to work temporarily, I am not going to use it and risk a repeat of fish casualties. I unplugged it, pulled it out of the water 10 minutes later and it burnt my hand it was so hot. It smelled strongly of burnt rubber. Unsafe. Do not buy Aquatop!!! Spend a few bucks more on a quality product.

Last time I am buying an Aquatop product of any kind!

I'm enjoying this heater so far.

I have a 20 gallon tall aquarium, it was a kit purchased from Petsmart that included a filter and heater. However, starting with the first day I was having problems with the included heater. No mater how many times I nudged the temperature nob down, it always found its way back to 82 degrees which is 4 degrees warmer than I wanted. Eventually I decided enough was enough and bought this 100W heater as a replacement.

So far everything works perfectly. I left it running for a day and saw that it too had the water at 82 degrees with the nob set at 78. Ugh, not again! However, this heater allows you to 'calibrate' the dial by lifting the red peg on top, and rotating the dial to the temperature your tank is at. I did so, changing it 82, then pushed the red peg back in, and turned the dial down to 78. Day 2 comes around, and all three thermometers agree the tank is now at 78! Perfect =)

Two weeks later, the temperature has been rock solid. It's February so the house is the coldest it will usually be throughout the year and it's performing perfectly, we keep the house at 65 during the night.

This heater is all black in color, and has an orange LED that turns on whenever the heater is on. The top features a dial with actual temperature numbers and not arbitrary numbers (for example 1-10). As mentioned above, if it is keeping a temperature other than what it says, you can adjust the dial and recalibrate it. Chances are you'll never change the dial again, but is useful in any case if you have the misfortune of getting sick fish, for example ich where treatment requires a rise in temperature.

This heater is fully submersible, even though it does have a max water line on it (I think this is for Canada regulations).

I will update this review if I ever have a problem with it, no updates means it is still working perfectly.

Buy AquaTop Aquarium Heater - 100W Now

Bought this for my 30gal tank and its worked out great. Heat my tank up in less than an hour. No issues whatsoever. Great product.

Read Best Reviews of AquaTop Aquarium Heater - 100W Here

I will never again purchase any AquaTop (TruAqua) product.

I purchased the 100w heater with digital display over a year ago. Just past the one year mark, the heater stopped functioning properly. The thermostat got stuck on 90 degrees (normally 74). I sent the heater back to AquaTop with a letter documenting what had happened and requesting a replacement. Surely a company that warranties a product for 12 mos would not want a disatisfied customer with a useless heater that only lasted 14 mos. An email conversation began between Albert in the Returns Dept and myself. He stated he was unable to be of assistance. I responded requesting a new heater or a credit toward a heater purchase. No dice. I requested a supervisor and was refused one. Finally Albert conceeded by offering me half off the same model ($39.99 regular price, $20 for me). I agreed. When the new heater arrived, there was condensation inside the glass tube and the box was marked with a special sticker (possibly a return from another customer or a "refurbished" unit). I tried the heater out anyway. It did not even last a week before the display went to all 8's and the thermostat got stuck on an undesired temperature. I again emailed Albert for resolution. He asked me to send him evidence (photos) of the issues. I complied. He sent me an RMA number and UPS label and I returned the unit. I went online immediately to purchase a new heater. The exact same model on Amazon and on the TruAqua website was $14.99. He gave me a "deal" by charging me $20? Weeks later, after emailing Albert again, I received my $20 back. TruAqua aka AquaTop is difficult to do business with, rude to their customers (and I have been a loyal customer for YEARS), and they intentionally overcharged me for the item. No thank you!

Want AquaTop Aquarium Heater - 100W Discount?

This sucker cracked the first night I tried to use it. Maybe giving it 20 mins submerged in my tank wasn't enough time for the glass to adjust, but I maintain a half dozen tanks with 2 heaters each and this is the 1st time I've ever had one fail like this. It wasn't a spectacular fail that lit up the tank or killed all my fish (thank god) but a cracked glass shell and a failed unit none the less. And no, before you comment or ask if I just chucked it in the tank and fired it off, I didn't. Like I said, it was unplugged and submerged for a full 20 mins before I tried it. Then I plugged it in and approximately 30 to 45 sec later it cracked and I could see a faint trail of "tiny little bubbles" comeing from said crack. Unplugged and pulled the thing out and sure enough "done". I won't slam or badmouth Aquatop over this, I own plenty of their other products and am quite pleased with them(tank heaters included), just had a bad experience with this one.

Blog Archive