# Energy Efficient Heater..??



## Kimberly

Does anyone know of any brand or type of energy efficient heater? I am looking to buy a heater(s) for my new 125 gallon. But I was wondering if anyone makes an energy efficient heater that uses less electricity to heat the tank?

Otherwise I'm looking at getting two 200 watt aqueon pros. But it just seems like 400 watts is alot running 24/7.

Just a thought! Thanks


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## bmlbytes

It doesn't actually run 400 watts all the time. Most heaters have a thermometer in them and will shut off when the temp goes above the set mark. It's a lot like the thermostat in your home. It does run at 400 watts when it is heating, but it stops when it reaches its mark.


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## lohachata

actually it would be best if you bought two 400 watt heaters....they will not have to work as hard as a single 400 or two 200's....they will heat faster which means that they are not on as long as the others...
stay away from the Theo Hydor heaters...they are ridiculous....who the heck would want a submersible heater that floats....and it is the bottom of the tube that floats up and sticks out of the water......


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## bmlbytes

lohachata said:


> stay away from the Theo Hydor heaters...they are ridiculous....who the heck would want a submersible heater that floats....and it is the bottom of the tube that floats up and sticks out of the water......


Lol loha. Bad experiences?

I am thinking of getting the in-line hydor heater though.


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## emc7

There isn't any good way to make resistance heating more efficient. That's why there are no energy star dryers. And I've never seen an aquarium heat pump. 

What you want is heater that is accurate (temp is where it should be, and doesn't swing too much), and reliable (doesn't cook fish or suddenly decide not to heat for a few days). When I find one, I'll let you know. But don't hold your breath. I have had issues even with the expensive titanium heaters with separate controllers.

They don't run 24/7 they switch off and on. A bigger heater will be on less. Most likely using exactly the same amount of energy as a small one on more or two on half time.


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## AquariumTech

lohachata said:


> actually it would be best if you bought two 400 watt heaters....they will not have to work as hard as a single 400 or two 200's....they will heat faster which means that they are not on as long as the others...
> stay away from the Theo Hydor heaters...they are ridiculous....who the heck would want a submersible heater that floats....and it is the bottom of the tube that floats up and sticks out of the water......


This.

Now as for the actual heater, I hate the Aqueons too, although I havent had any break, they always seem to change temps on me randomly and they are a pain to set. A good one that might suit your needs is the Fluval M Series, very good bang for your buck there. There are other heaters that I know of that are very accurate, and easy to use but might not be as energy efficient. 

Others that might be worth looking into(that I have had good experiences with) : Marineland Stealth Pros, Fluval E Series, and JBJ TrueTemp Titanium.


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## Fishpunk

Heat is energy thrown off by a resistor in a circuit. You need a certain minimum wattage to heat a certain volume of water and it doesn't matter what form it comes in. I am going to adamantly oppose the view of 2 400-watt heaters in favor of the 200 watt heaters or even several lower wattage heaters because if one of the 400-watt heaters gets stuck on, your fish are cooked.

ETA: Let me elaborate. It takes a certain amount of energy to heat a specific volume of water. Pay attention to the calorimetry experiment in physics or chemistry class. There is no way to cheat thermodynamics. Since resistors consume energy in the form of heat, resistance heating can't be made much more energy efficient because there really isn't much lost energy to capture. It still takes the same energy to heat that volume of water. It's simple physics.


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