I purchased the 50 watt Cobalt Aquatics Neo Therm heater for a 7.5 gallon acrylic cube aquarium. I like the styling of the Neo Therm and it appears to be very well constructed.Setting the heater up is very easy to do, and its high tech look blends in nicely in my aquarium.
As for digital heaters, I also own a few Fluval E series heaters which are well made and do an excellent job of heating my aquariums.
However, the Fluval E series has suffered from quality control issues (I had an E 300 fail at 10 months while another is still working after nearly two years).
Because of its digital microprocessor, the E series also has difficulty operating properly when not in a steady flow of water.
This must be considered to be a design flaw, since this heater should be capable of operating when mounted either vertically or horizontally.
Yet, when this author placed my Fluval E series heaters vertically they would not function properly.
However, when I placed them horizontally and directly in the flow of my filter's output tube, they've performed perfectly.
As for this design flaw, in a number of instances E series owners have posted on fishkeeper message boards, in regard to how they were forced to return their heaters because they could not get them to function properly.
As previously stated, I found a similar problem with my E series heaters which was remedied once the heaters were placed horizontally, and in the flow of a filter's output tube.
It is the complex microprocessor circuitry in the Fluval E series heaters that can prevent the heaters from functioning properly when they are placed vertically instead of horizontally.
The microprocessor in the E series simply determines that there is not enough water flow around the heater, and prevents the heater coil from turning on.
This has left many an E series owner completely exasperated.
Thus far, this has not been the case with my Neo Therm, which is working flawlessly and in the vertical position.
It is also interesting to note that in its instruction manual, Cobalt says not to place the Neo Therm horizontally (or upside down).
The other concern in regard to the Neo Therm involves the use of epoxy in which to seal the heater.
In fact, another purchaser of a Neo Therm heater who also left commentary, mentions the design flaw of the Marineland Stealthpro heaters which were also sealed with epoxy.
The problem with the Marineland heaters involved the chassis of the heater bursting when the heater would be removed from an aquarium, if it had not been unplugged first.
This author experienced this first hand when I forgot to unplug my Marineland Stealthpro 150, and the chassis of the heater split and began spewing smoke. However, I must also state that the Marineland 150 had worked flawlessly
for nearly a year before this incident occured.
However, I have heard of other Marineland owners who've stated that the chassis of the their heaters actually split while the heaters were still emersed in water.
So there is a serious design flaw with the Stealthpro series of heaters, which is why they were recalled by Marineland.
As a general rule, it is always a good idea to unplug a heater from an electrical outlet before you remove it from your aquarium.
However, sometimes a fishkeeper can forget to do so, which is why it is so crucial for the automatic shut off safety feature in an aquarium heater to function properly.
Hopefully, this will not be a problem with the Cobalt Aquatics Neo Therm.
Based on my early observations, the Neo Therm appears to be a very well constructed and cleverly designed aquarium heater which has the type of high-tech sleek aesthetic that looks great in a rimless aquarium.
If this unit can avoid the pitfalls of the Fluval E series and Marineland Stealthpro series, it should develop a loyal following.
Moreover, if the fishkeeping hobby ever needed an improved product, it is in regard to aquarium heaters, which for the most part leave much to be desired.
Hopefully, Cobalt has answered this need with its Neo Therm series. The company at present offers four versions of this heater ranging from 25 watts to 100 watts, which is good for smaller aquaria.
However, they have stated that they are developing more powerful versions of the Neo Therm for larger aquariums.
These heaters are not inexpensive, however, if they turn out to be reliable and can last for more than a year or two, Neo Therm will have a winner on its hands.
I will update this review after I have used the Neo Therm for a while to see if my early impressions still remain.
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This heater is thin, but wider than most round heaters. The heater is small enough that I don't have to worry about any small fish getting stuck behind.The material is made of "unbreakable" plastic. While this sounds great, we all know what happened to the recalled Marineland Stealth heaters made of similar black plastic. I'll keep my fingers crossed on this one.
Unlike the typical round tube heaters with two suction cups at top and bottom, this heater has a single slide holder with two cups to keep it in place. The heater simply glides in and out of the holder with almost no resistance to make maintenance easier.
As for the controls, there is a single button on top that rotates the temperature setting one way, in a round-robin fashion. The settings jump by 2 degrees, so you'll have to settle for 74 or 76 if what you really wanted was 75. The temperature keeps steady.
The only downside is that this heater lacks a second set of holder for the bottom of the heater. In my case, I mount the heater sideways at the bottom near the filter intake or outflow to maximize the efficiency with circulation. Some might need this with more aggressive fish population where the heater can be knocked down if hit on the bottom of the heater.
I would also recommend looking at the Fluval E 50-Watt Electronic Heater and HMA 50: Finnex 50 Watt w/ Electronic Controller Aquarium Titanium Heater (5-10 Gallons). They have both been around longer and proven to work at lower price as of date.
Read Best Reviews of Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm 50-Watt with Plastic LED Here
