Saltwater Aquarium Heaters

There are a lot of saltwater aquarium heaters available in the market for your home saltwater aquariums.

A basic aquarium heater looks like a big test tube which has a wiring in it and electrical cord coming out of it.

The wiring is a heating coil in a glass tube that gets to go in your aquarium. This has to be turned on and off. You’ll be able to set the desired temperature using the thermostat.

Types of saltwater aquarium heaters:

Hanging Heater

They are usually called clamp-on, clip-on, or semi-submersible heaters. These are the old school style of heaters. They’ve been around since early 70’s.

The name comes from a hanging heater because you simply hang it on the upper part of your aquarium. The extent to which part of the body goes under water will depend on the type of heater installed.

These are an inexpensive from of water heater but I don’t recommend this to be the best choice.

Here are some of disadvantages:

• The location on where you put it is not very efficient for heat exchange.
• The location is vulnerable to disturbance of either you or the inhabitant.
• There’s a high chance that it will be damage from where it is located.
• They tend to have less efficient thermostats for controlling their operation.

Since you’ve probably already invested a lot of money in setting up your aquarium, try not to jeopardize the success by saving a few dollars on a cheap heater!

Submersible Heater

This is the preferred choice for saltwater aquariums. It is also called as immersion heater. You can fully submerge it which ever location you want.

• You can put it all the way to the bottom where it will be out of the way of you when you do your routine cleaning.
• Out of the way of your inhabitants.
• Out of the view.
• In a more efficient location for heat dispersion.
• Even in the sump of your trickle filter keeping it completely out of the way!

Submersible saltwater aquarium heaters also have advanced thermostat controls, which make it easier to set the desired temperature.

To avoid hot spots...

Place the heater close to an area where there is a circulation of water to avoid any hotspots in the water which typically is near the filter system.

Recommended Heater Products from Saltwater Aquarium Guide

Text and Photo Source: Saltwater Aquarium Online Guide