overall score:

1   2   3   4   5

Product Review

Models Used for this review->50, 150, 200 watt

Top Fin makes inexpensive aquarium products that are commonly sold at PetSmart in kits.  While there heaters are the cheapest on the market, this is a case where saving a buck is not a good idea.

Accuracy (7)

The heaters are initially fairly accurate.  They typically will stay where you have put them and do a decent job of maintaining the water at it's set temperature for a long period of time with minimal maintenance.

Ease of Use (4)

One of the most difficult things about heaters is that they are touchy to set.  This problem is compounded with Top Fin heaters as the heaters are touchy overall.  When setting a heater, you turn it until the light goes on, thus letting you know that it is on and heating slightly above the water temperature.  If it is getting too hot, you can turn it down slightly. 

This all works well enough except in the case of cheap heaters.  Often when ever you touch the top fin heater, the light will go on.  You can turn the temperature up or down and the light stays on.  This makes setting the temperature nearly impossible and very frustrating.

Reliability (1)

This is a dive into personal experience.  I've been keeping fish for 20 years.  In that time period I've had 3 heater failures...A heater failure is a sickening experience.  You go to the tank and instead of swimming fish you see fish gasping for air at the bottom, dieing.  The tank will be near 100° and if you are lucky, perhaps the pleco is still alive.  All of the fish you have spent so much time, energy and excitement on have just died.  Victims of a cruel mechanical device.   Now as I was saying, I've had 3 heater failures in 20 years in the hobby...all 3 were Top Fin heaters.  I've had other heaters stop working, but I've had no other heater "stick" and fry the tank.  (Basically what happens inside a heater is that a connection is made between two metal plates when the temperature in the tank hits a specific temperature, per your setting.  When those plates touch, the heater turns on.  Over time, those plates become more likely to stick to each other, thus leaving the heater on and heating until you manually unplug it.)  Without a doubt these are the least reliable heaters on the market and a danger to the fish you are keeping.

Overall (1)

In buying heaters there are some cheap heaters that will work well for you.  The Penn Plax series comes to mind.  However, typically you want to stay away from cheap heaters as they are likely to cause you more pain and cost you more money in lost fish in the long run.  This is the worst heater on the market and I would recommend that you avoid it at all costs.