i busted my cheapo heater yesterday. but its aite because my basement stays about 77 all summer/fall. but with winter comming im derfinately gonna need a heater. what heater do you folks use? i have a 55gal. i want something that is shatter proof and is also capable of maintaining 78 degrees. i also want a digital thermometer. any brands youve had luck with?

Titanium heating element with an Aqaumedic Biotherm controller.

You don't want some all-in-one crap! ie. anything from petshit(petsmart) or petcrap(petco).

A titanium heat element is unbeatable because it is simple...it just works but it has to be controlled. The best controller for a heating element is the Aqaumedic Biotherm. Or you could use it with a full blown reef controller like a Reefkeeper but that's a bit more money.

I bought my heater at petsmart. Still going strong.

I have had about 5 different brands of all-in-one heaters. Never had one break or quit working. They all just stuck in the on position. Luckily, I was never out of town or far away when it happened.

The Big Time & Temp buzzer always alerted me to the failed internal controller of the heaters when the temp hit the 82 deg mark.