Now we are moving into the newer technology. The Inline Aquarium Heater and its Thermofilter counterpart have been grouped together because the heating unit generally does not operate on its own.
Inline Heaters
Inline heaters need to be connected to a secondary unit that will pump the water through it. Just about any external filter, water pump or external UV Sterilizer could be used for this function.
The heater would normally be connected to the water return pipe going back into the fish tank. This is easily done with some flexible piping and you may need a few fittings if your pipe sizes don’t match up.
I quite like these heaters because of their external nature. They are easy to place out of site and maintain the natural look of your aquarium. You also don’t run the risk of a heater failure inside your fish tank, which has its own set of problems.
The main advantage with the inline heater is that the water is forced to circulate past the heater. This is excellent for even heat distribution around your fish tank.
Thermofilters
The Aquarium Thermofilter is a combination of a filter and a heater. These are generally for external use and can be quite expensive. I always say “you get what you pay for”, and it is true with these filters.
A thermofilter has an added advantage of having the two units compacted into one neat design which helps to keep things simple.
I have seen these being used with great success in larger fish tanks, but will work just as well on smaller units and can be bought to match the size of your tank.
That just about covers these units. One thing to be cautious about when combining units together in your aquarium is failure of a piece of equipment. If your filter pump fails you could also lose your tank heating.
If you have been keeping tropical fish for any length of time, the chances are you are like me and have a few spares lying around in a cupboard somewhere? I always keep enough parts to be able to keep my aquarium going should a failure like this occur.
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