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Marineland Shatterproof 10-Watt Mini Heater
Studio : Marineland
by Marineland
Brand : MarineLand
Model : VTMD10
Publisher : Marineland
Material Type : plastic
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
EAN : 0051378030496
UPC : 051378030496
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 7 reviews)
List Price : $29.99
Our Price : $20.43
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Shatterproof
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Preset temperature
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Innovative, space efficient design
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Please read all label information on delivery
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Product Description |
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Accurate and advanced thermal plastic shatterproof aquarium heater. It is automatically preset at 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Is fully submersible and has an automatic safety shut-off. Excellent for use with both freshwater or marine fish. It is for use in aquariums up to 3-gallons. Guaranteed for life. |
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Hit or miss |
Having read a lot of reviews about mini heaters, I bought one of these, but it would only heat to about 74 -- not great. But given the tendency for cold air temperatures, I bought a second one for a second small tank (both are about 2 gal). And it keeps temperatures about 82. It may actually drift higher, but I always manage to unplug it before that happens. And from reading everyone's experiences, it seems like it's not uncommon for these to be set at a wrong number. A great product if it's set to 78 like it says, but terrible if it's not. But I bought it twice because there aren't a lot of 10-watt heaters (I'm not enthusiastic about the under-gravel heater).
But I eventually decided to try the 25-watt Theo UL Heater (with thermostat) -- fantastic. Set to 77, it holds the temperature at 78. Not a perfect dial, obviously, but with a wide range of temperatures, the relatively good accuracy is good enough (and a 75 setting held the temp at 76).
It doesn't have some of the advantages of the Marineland miniheater -- it's made of glass, so I need to be more careful; I'm in theory using too high a wattage heater, so there's some danger of cooking my betta if it malfunctions (but given my second Marineland miniheater, it seems like that may be possible with a 10-watt anyway). And it's not to say the Marineland 25-watt isn't a good option -- I have no idea -- but it is not worth having a preset heater if it's not correctly preset, and these don't have a great track record. |
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Runs way too hot |
The pros of this heater are that it is extremely compact and unobtrusive. But that doesn't outweigh what is its biggest con in my experience: it overheats the water.
I've only used it in warm weather, so it's possible that it does a good job of keeping the water from getting too cold when the ambient temperatures are low. But in my experience, it does a lousy job of preventing the water from getting way too hot. It's supposed to keep small tanks at a steady temp of 78 degrees Fahrenheit, but in my experience with it, it seems to want to heat the water a full ten degrees F beyond that.
I have one in my 5.5-gall tank that I'm cycling without fish right now, and it is doing a great job at keeping the temperatures at 86-88 degrees F. On one particularly hot day recently, the water temp actually went above 90 degrees F. While this is great for encouraging the bacterial growth needed for successful tank cycling, I imagine it would be a very uncomfortable if not deadly temperature for tropical fish.
Now, if I had a 10 gallon tank, it might be optimal. Maybe. But supposedly it's geared for smaller tanks.
Once my empty tank is done cycling and I start adding fish to it, I'm getting rid of this heater and going with the adjustable Theo Hydor 25W heater. I already have one of those for my 2.5 gallon tank, and it does a much better job of keeping the water from getting too cold *and* too hot. |
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Doesnt seem to work |
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I been using one for 2 days in my 2 gallon tank. During the middle of the day, the water temp ends up being around 76 which is within the range of the heater. Woke up this morning and the tank was at 71 degrees. So either mine doesnt work, or 2 gallons is too much for it even though it says up to a 3 gallon tank. I wouldnt recommend it. |
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Works Great in a Baby Biorb! |
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My boyfriend bought me a Baby biorb for Christmas and after looking at different fish, I decided I wanted to have tropical fish. I was discouraged for a while since most aquarium heaters are big and bulky and would make the stylish looking biorb ugly. This heater is PERFECT! It can actually stick to the curved side of the biorb and (even though the baby biorb is 4 gallons) it keeps the water at a steady 78 degrees! Plus it's fully submersible so you don't have to worry about having it at a certain level. My fish are happy in their warm water and I'm happy with its looks. The one thing that bothers me is that it doesn't have a light indicator to let me know it's running. |
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Perfect Heater for a Small Aquarium |
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I purchased this heater to use for a Betta in a 2.5 gallon Mini Bow aquarium. It works perfectly and keeps the water at a steady 78 degrees. I had previously used a Hydor 7 watt heater but it had no thermostat and did not keep the water at a stable temperature. Even with constant monitoring, the temperature varied several degrees a day. The only way to control it was to plug or un-plug it, which is impractical if you are not home all day. It also looked bulky and unattractive. The marineland heater is slim and compact and hassle free. If I have to be gone over a weekend, I know that my fish will be safe from temperature extremes. I highly recommend this product for small aquariums like mine. |
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