Heater problems - Fluval E300 watt. LOW Flow???
- Thread starter SwampFins
- Start date
In a standard 90 gallon with two AC 500's running, there is no such thing as low flow. The other heaters heat my tanks as they should.
At the time I had purchased two of these heaters, both heaters gave errors, one within 30 days or so, the other went a few months before it crapped out. I returned both. The "other" heaters that I spoke of are not Fluval, and are all still in good working order. Perhaps I just got a couple duds, but from what I gathered online I don't think so. I won't be buying them again.
I tried the 300watt version for my 300 liter, I got this error a few times. Also it couldn't keep up with the temp that it was advertised for, had to return.
My advice is to get an ok quality heater, nothing too crazy, and hook it to an inkbird thermostat
cheaper and waaayyyy more reliable
My advice is to get an ok quality heater, nothing too crazy, and hook it to an inkbird thermostat
cheaper and waaayyyy more reliable
I had this problem with the first one I bought. None of my other heaters had this problem but none of them had plastic guards covering them either. I removed the guards and they worked like normal (but better) heaters. I have 6 of them now.
I thought about a Ranco, Johnson Controls, or Inkbird controller but each had complaints and didn't seem to be an improvement over a good heater with an electronic thermostat so I never bothered.
IMO there is no such thing as a "good" heater. The vast majority of all makes & models use similar components, with most being sourced from China. Which is exactly why mine all run through a controller, and also is exactly why I run a ground probe in my tanks. The Fluval E-Series has had thousands of consumer complaints posted online since they came out over a decade ago. Most of the complaints are about not heating tanks properly and/or the low flow issue.
I once read an interesting comment by a well known manufacturer/designer/retail vendor, he said that while accurate and reliable aquarium heaters are doable, they would simply cost far more $$ to manufacture, and hence sell, than what the average hobbyist would be willing to pay.
IMO the old green Ebo Jager heaters from 30 yrs ago still outperform the vast majority of heaters currently on the market.
I once read an interesting comment by a well known manufacturer/designer/retail vendor, he said that while accurate and reliable aquarium heaters are doable, they would simply cost far more $$ to manufacture, and hence sell, than what the average hobbyist would be willing to pay.
IMO the old green Ebo Jager heaters from 30 yrs ago still outperform the vast majority of heaters currently on the market.
Wow, thousands of aquarists couldn't figure out that the guard was responsible for the low flow/non-heating issues? I'm actually not too surprised. The Fluval Es are actually a step back from the race to the bottom for cheap heaters.
I have two old Ebo Jagers. The fuse blew on one of them and I think the dial or something broke on the other. I combined the two into one working heater which still works today. The new Eheim versions don't seem to work very well.
I have two old Ebo Jagers. The fuse blew on one of them and I think the dial or something broke on the other. I combined the two into one working heater which still works today. The new Eheim versions don't seem to work very well.
Not all issues were/are about low flow, some just quit working. Are you really that naïve to believe that the only issue with Fluval E-series heaters have to do with their poor guard design? C'mon now. Not that I am picking on Fluval, most heaters have thousands of complaints lodged by consumers, because most are made from cheap components that ultimately fail. Fluval simply came out with a poor design, but I guess decided to let 'er buck instead of tweaking the design.
