ISTA I H615 Inline External Heater Review

I was skeptical about using the built in heater and the reviews were everywhere. I really wanted to reduce the number of items in my tank so I decided to take a chance with the ISTA 300W built in heater mainly because unlike some others it had a nice digital display with big numbers. Set up was easy and using metric readings is not a problem for me, in fact I generally prefer them when dealing with water sports. Once the heater was on and running it worked flawlessly, the heater kept my…

I had a hard time giving four stars because the thing is packaged in such a way that it spills out like a sieve. Not from the body, but from the connections. Make sure you have four zip ties for all connections. I would rate this product five stars if I didn't have to struggle to improve it. The idea is genius and I would pay more to keep the gear off my tank and off my landscape. In terms of accuracy, the thing seems to be worth the money. Celsius readings suck, but it only takes a second to…

I read other reviews before purchasing as I was looking for a replacement for one of my old Hydor units but they are not now more in stock. It was easy to install, the temperature control is very accurate and easy to use. In fact, I like the good display and ease of use much more than the Hydor unit. I've read complaints about hose fittings. It easily fitted my perfect Ehiem 16/22mm tube. The hose slid nice and tight. But just in case I fitted a worm clamp to the fittings. Also hose fittings…

Works but the connectors suck. Any review that doesn't include this fact is likely a paid review of the company as 100% you will have to buy hose clamps as the fittings supplied are absolutely not the right fit for the hose you are specifying. After a few trips to home storage and trial and error to ensure there are no leaks, a good product. Frustration up to this point was why I removed 3 stars and probably should remove the other two as well. You'd think the person who designed it had actual…

I installed it on my 300g aquarium last year. The sensor failed so I just ordered another one because I really need the built in heater. Well when it arrived I opened it up and the ends were different. I thought I accidentally ordered the wrong hose size. So I returned it. I ordered a 5/8" and it arrived today and THIS IS THE END. First of all the ends on the box picture don't even match what is in the box on both I ordered. The first photo is what is advertised and that's what I had with my…

I really liked this external aquarium heater. It kept a fairly stable temperature in my 125 gallon tank. Yesterday I noticed that the tank was cold and the heater temp gauge read HI. So I turned it off and temporarily put in a couple of immersion heaters. Today I was hoping that a good cleaning would solve the problem, but it didn't. So I decided to open it. As you can see from the photos some water got in, the insulation around the heating element did not work well when wet. You can see…

heater works well. As many here have said, the included "spin clamps" will leak. However, I already knew this. I drove from Hydor. Hydors have the same problem. In my opinion this device is vastly superior to Hydor, which I have had two of. When working with built-in aquarium equipment, always assume that: ALWAYS USE WORM CLAMPS. It's just basic prevention. No one wants 30-200 gallons of aquarium water on the floor. Never use swivel clamps like this heater or plastic compression clamps. Just go

I did a little research before deciding on this product. I read all the reviews and was hoping to get a flawless product as some people claim they are faulty. I've read about pipe sizing and clamping issues that people have reported, so I've prepared. I have a Marineland C-Series canister filter that comes with very thick hoses. The picture of this inline heater shows two sizes of pipe fittings so I figured one would fit. As others have suggested I bought a set of clamps to go with it. I…

Many people complain that the 5/8" size is too small and fits too loosely in their canister hose. And when I got mine I had the same problem The heater adapter went into my pipe so loosely it just slipped out on its own Very loose fit - not tight at all. I actually took the time to measure the heater fitting (OD) and I measured the ID of my filter tube... And guess what? The heater connections are correct - exactly 5/8" - as specified by the supplier. Wrong hose on my filter (Sun Sun 304B) My…