catzeye21138

Tetra Whisper Heater

I'm looking for a heater for my 5 gal tank that I'm keeping a betta in, and I found this one at wal mart. Does anyone have experience with tetra heaters? Do they work well? It doesn't have a thermostat but it is suppost to keep it around 75-80F degrees. I don't have a pet co/pet smart near by so this is pretty much what I'm limited to right now.

Until I get my heater, I've just been leaving the light on and monitering my underwater thermometer.

Thanks so much for your help!

Amanda

That's what I use in my betta tanks & my 20 gal. I like them for the most part, they keep the water at a pretty decent temp.

dancerhas

I always was afraid to try those because they didn't have an adjustable thermostat

Butters

I use one in by 5 gallon betta tank too. It works pretty good and keeps the temperature stable. But my ex-girlfriend called me a few nights ago and said that her heater started overheating and even burned her... she might have just forgot to unplug the heater though.

cerianthus

Although never use this particular heater, all heater have Thermostat built in otherwise how it know when to turn on/off. Knowing Tetra products and little searching, it seems this heater is preset @ 78F and would NOT hesitate to use it. But if have option, I rather get the one which you can set at any desired temp.

I do not know if any heaters are available TODAY that does not have built in thermostat.
If one has one, it gotta be an ANTIQUE.

catzeye21138

What do you mean forgot to unplug it? I wasn't aware that you had to do that...

Thanks everyone for your opinions, its reasonably priced so I think I'll go out and buy it. Can I just stick it straight in as long as I moniter the temp really carfully? Or should I remove the fish until the temp is stabalized?

Amanda

It's a gradual change in temp., not a sudden change. So you're fish should be alright.
As for unplugging it, you're not supposed to unless you're taking it out of the water.

Red1313

I've got a few of those kicking around. I think that they're great for betta tanks simply b/c they're relativly cheap and are nice and small. I haven't had a problem with any of them yet. The only heater I've had issues with was a cheap elite brand.

agabr123

for my 5 gallon tanks i have hydor mini heaters, although you can't change the temperature for treating for ICH or something, i have three of them and they work well. if you need to treat for ich (and at some point you very well might, it's pretty common), i'd get a QT with a heater that has an adjustable thermometer

dancerhas

Sorry for the hijack...but... How do those little heaters (both the hydor and tetra) do in severe temperature fluctuations? Our house temp ranges from as low as 57F at night to 80F during the day.....during winter anyway.

agabr123

wow.....i'm not sure that they could handle that kind of change.....honestly i'd get a larger tank if i were you, larger tanks and higher wattage heaters can handle fluctuations much better.

dancerhas

That's exactly why I didn't buy either of those heaters. I got a 25 watt top-fin for Peanut's 2-gallon instead, it seems to be powerful enough to maintain his temp. Those smaller ones (the Hydor is only 7 watts) seem to be best for insulated climate controlled buildings.

Fishies-for-me

I have 4 of those same heaters . 2 are in 1.5 gallon tanks and 2 are in 5 gallon tanks. They work great and keep the water in all 4 tanks stable around 76-77. I have had them for around 10 months and had no probs so far.

snowball

I dont trust those heaters that much but they the 2-15 gallon heater kept my 10 gallon at 73 degree's always.
Itll probobly crank up to 78 for a 5 gallon

Steve420

I tried one in my 10 gallon and it was junk. It claims to keep a consistant temperature of 78F, but mine never got past 76F. Plus, it seemed to be running all the time...that little red light never went off

I just spent some time on ebay and ended up finding a 50W Stealth (new) for 15 bucks shipped....same price I paid at Walmart for the Tetra one (which I just returned).

eepruls

Wal-Mart has those Tetra submersible heaters which are a reasonable price but I didn't like the fact that there is no way to change the temperature. It says on the box that it holds the temperature at 25C/77F. I find it strange that you can't change the temperature. What if you're cycling a tank and want to warm things up?

summersquash

I tried the Tetra submersilbe heater when I set up my 55 gal tank. I could never get it to keep the temp stable. The water would be too cold or too hot. I had to keep reaching my arm down into the tank to try to adjust it. I finally ordered a titanium with the controler that hangs on the wall. It really does a great job and didn't cost but a few dollars more than the Tetra I bought at WalMart. I ordered it from Marine Depot.

eepruls

I think the next time I get a heater, I'll try one of those visi-therm stealth ones that everyone seems to rave about.