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ok i have a choice out of the eheim jager brand or the sera brand.
The sera brand is slightly cheaper than the eheim one but thats not too much of an issue.
Which one is better in areas of performance and durability?anyone had any experience with either of these brands?

also for a 55g tank what wattage would you recommend?
ive heard either 1 300w or 2 125w heaters.

thanks!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

I don't believe the Eheim Jager heaters are fully submersible, which I personally feel is a big negative. I'm not familiar with the Sera brand, but if fully submersible that would be my choice from the two. However, if you can get Visi-Therm Stealth heaters that would be my choice. They are what I currently use exclusively and I have found them to be very reliable.

The use of one larger wattage heater as compared with two smaller ones is really a matter of personal preference, however it does help to eliminate the chance of a tank's temperature dropping drastically if a heater does go out. The biggest problem I've experienced is trying to get both heaters in sync with their temperature cycling, which can cause one of the heaters to be overworked if it is trying to heat a larger tank than rated for and the other is not pulling it's share of the load.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Jagers can be submerged. The line was only put on there because they couldn't get it passed as a safe fully submersible device in some countries. People have kept those heaters completely underwater for years without problems. Mine is probably 3years old and has been sitting mostly horizontal 4-5inches under the surface this whole time. Usually jagers are considered one of the best but I've never used or heard any reviews of sera so I don't know how they compare. I prefer visi-therms especially the stealth heaters. I also like my viaAqua with the only downside being the external temperature dial gets bumped sometimes. I have to constantly check it to make sure it's still set on the right temp.

When possible I always go with 2 smaller heaters for safety reasons. If 1 heater gets stuck on or completely fails your not likely to have a tank full of dead fish before you realize the problem. I've never had much trouble keeping the 2 heaters even. Usually there's no more than a .5-1sec delay between them both coming on or turning off. I did have two 200w heaters on my 55 but just the viaAqua could hold the temp above 80 even when the room temp drops to 65F so I ended up borrowing the jager to keep my brackish tank warmer and put the 100w visi-therm from that tank in the 55 instead.

thanks for your replies. the jager is fully submersible.
i might get two of those, i havent found the visitherm brand in australia as yet.

i will get two as having one as backup just in case sounds like a good idea!

what wattage would i best off with if i get two ?

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

I would personally use if going with 2 heaters those rated at least at 150W. Even though as stated above a smaller heater can possibly heat a larger tank than it is rated for, it is not advisable to do so. A smaller wattage heater will need to cycle on and off more often, stay on longer and just work harder to maintain the temperature. This can cause premature failure of the heater, which could cause a filter stuck on and as such overheating the tank or complete failure of the heater, causing cooling below safe levels.

The recommended wattage is 5 watts for every gallon of water.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Not to take away the from the original post but I also use the Via-Aqua heater and it quit working after 1 year. So, sham, has this happend to you before? This is the second Via-Aqua heater to do this. I have never heard of sera, allthough I have heard jager is a great heater.

Nope my via-aqua is going strong after several years. Not sure when I got it but it was one of my first heaters when I first set up my 55g. I have killed 2 other jagers in that time despite the high reviews I always hear from everyone who uses them. I'm bad on heaters for some reason and have probably killed 5 or so cheaper ones from various brands I don't remember. I probably will only buy stealth heaters after this. I've had extremely good luck with them and haven't ruined one yet. They are just a little costly and not available locally so I haven't bothered to replace my few remaining heaters of other brands yet.

It would be best to go ahead and get two 150w heaters at least. I do still have 300w on that 55g it's just as a 100w and 200w instead of 2 equal sized heaters. You can sometimes get away with less but it's a gamble so your better off spending the extra couple bucks to get slightly larger heaters of 150-200w right from the start. I'll probably get another stealth heater next time I place an order online and use that on the brackish tank so I can reclaim the jager for the 55.

i have just ordered 2 200w jager heaters which i will be picking up on thursday

i decided to go with 2 200w instead of 2 150w even though according to the website the 2 150w would do as i figured it cant really hurt not to overwork them.

thanks for all ur help!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

I noticed with three new jagger heaters that I got a while back that I was getting moister in them with them fully submerged, all three of them brand new. In a short period of time the wiring on the heating element broke in half. I notice though that they no longer seem to make these heaters. Im going with Visi Therm.

Mine does have a little moisture in the top but it doesn't reach anything important. The bottom and the internal parts are blocked off from the top where the temperature is visible. Even if water gets in there it should not have any adverse effects on the heater unless it wasn't sealed right.

Hi,
Moisture inside your heater can indicate a leak, but more
than likly it is what is left after the heater was
assembled. Many pull a vacuum on the assembled heater to
rid the space inside of moisture, others don't seem to even
try. The trapped moisture will cause the electrical
connections to corrode and eventually will cause a problem
that will mean replacing it.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I agree with Frank on what the moisture can do,he is right. I have had good luck with Visi Therm heaters so far. If UL wont pass it as being safe fully submerged than don't trust it fully submerged. When it comes to electrical safftey we can't afford to take any risk. Also make sure every thing on your aquarium is plugged into a ground fault circuit interrupter.

17 years experience with freshwater.