Bad Heater

[troy tucker]

In the last few weeks. A few members tanks have been getting hot. First thing everyone would check is the heater. No one had a bad heater.
A few days ago I nottested my Fry tank was hot. It was up at 92 degrees. I could see the red lite on, on the heater. So I turned it down all the way. It didn't turn off. The Heater was stuck in the on position. I unplugged the heater and just left it alone. It cooled slow and I didn't loss any fry. Now I need a new heater.
The bad heater was an Eheim and was the oldest one I had. So I'm not mad about it. Just thankful it was seen befor it cooked my baby fishies...
Still can't beleave I didn't loss 1 fry...

[L&M]

Bad Heater

When you say oldest, how old was it?

Also, for those that use two heaters to add up to proper wattage, do you use them near each other or at opposite ends of tank? I use mine at opposite ends, but I've heard it doesn't matter if you have good water circulation. Just wondering what you guys think works best. And I have to replace one of mine ASAP....

[allysangels]

i always put heaters ion opposite sides just because it makes me feel better. ive only had one go haywire once, it was when i was about 16, and i had a little blood parrot (a baby at 2 1/2 inches) alone in a 5g. i noticed something was wrong when i was feeding and he had turned white but was still alive. the heater was stuck in the "on" position that time as well. the tank was at 98 degrees! i removed the heater, and his color came back, with no ill effects after. lately, i've only had one malfunction, and it was my own fault. it was my small tank (10g) with a breeding pair of convicts and all their fry... i was doing a massive water change (like ya do) and forgot to unplug/remove the heater. it was a really old hand-me-down from my father in law, the kind that you have to hang off the back of the tank. the glass cracked from the temperature change, and it shocked the crap out of me when i put my hand in the tank! lol. the fish were fine but i cut my hand when i got shocked because it made me jump so fast.

[jsbaker]

I purchased a brand new Jebo a couple months ago locally and after a day of seeing the light on all the time I finally checked it out. Had the same problem brand new out of the box it wouldn't shut off at all so in the trash it went. Luckily it was an open top tank so it never over heated. Purchased a penn plax cacade for a new saltwater tank two weeks ago that would be on one minute and off the next or would come on when you bump it again brand new out of the box so it was replaced the next day By an Eheim Jager. Needless to say I'm not buying anymore cheap heaters especially for a saltwater tank.

[allysangels]

wish i knew/could remember the brands on my bad heaters... as far as the penn-plax, i don't think i've ever used a heater made my them, but i run their canister filters, and i love them. had one for 2-3 years now, and it's quiet, easy to use, and no issues.

[troy tucker]

I want to say Ally I'm sorry to hear about your courent plyt. I'm sure you will bounce back and be in a better place...

When you say oldest, how old was it?

Its hard to say. I got the heater with the little tank. from my dad after he passed. that was 28 years ago. So maybe 30 years. It has been in a tank most of that time. It was in my youngest sons room for 16 years. When I was out of the hobby. I took it back from him years ago and have keeped oddballs and now fry in it.

It was an Eheim. They just don't make them like that anymore...

I have had other brands go bad too. But this is the first Eheim I've seen go bad...

Also, for those that use two heaters to add up to proper wattage, do you use them near each other or at opposite ends of tank? I use mine at opposite ends, but I've heard it doesn't matter if you have good water circulation. Just wondering what you guys think works best

If you have good flow it doen't matter. I over size my heaters so they don't have to work real hard and you only need one. I my self place my hearter in a corner of the tank strat up & down.

[jsbaker]

I have one of the cascade canisters on on a 110 tank for about 5 months now and it has been quiet and trouble free and keeps it crystal clear. Only thing I don't like about it is how the white pads compress and turn to mush if you got too long between cleanings.

As for their heaters, I already had two of them when I bought the last one. They are sized for a 55 gallon but being used on a 29 gallon and a 36 gallon and work very well for $18. This last one that had issues just made me realize with something that can cook your fish I should be spedning a little bit more. As for placement I usually have them near the suction for the filters or in my salt water tank it's in the wet / dry.

[mistahoo]

30 years is a great lifespan for a heater! The only heater that messed up on me was a Marineland stealth heater. It was leaking voltage. It wasn't so bad, and when I unplugged it and let it dry for a while, it went away. I had one fry up my injured pbass though...

[mistahoo]

I'm now using a 300w Eheim Jager on my 100g and I have no complaints. Paid $18 for it brand new and it's very accurate with temp. Only problem is that it won't fit in my sump because it's too long, but when I make a DIY wet/dry, it'll fit in there.

[allysangels]

I have one of the cascade canisters on on a 110 tank for about 5 months now and it has been quiet and trouble free and keeps it crystal clear. Only thing I don't like about it is how the white pads compress and turn to mush if you got too long between cleanings.

i don't use their pads at all anymore, i just buy the bulk cut-to-fit stuff. i'm currently in love with the acurel media infused pads, i'm using the carbon and the nitrate reducing types. they are very stiff and don't melt even after 3 months!

[troy tucker]

yep! Mistahoo 30 years is great. I never expected it to last that long and then I thought it would never Queit. I have 5 others, all Eheim. that are all less then 5 years old. So I feel real good about choosing to Buy Eheim!

[trbkrb]

I read about cooked tanks before I started getting into my reef tank, so one of my early purchases was a Ranco temperature controller. I found a used 2 stage one and now it controls my heater and my cooling fans. The heater comes on anytime the temp is below 78 and turns off at 78. The fans come on above 80 and turn off at 80. This way I have two thermostats on my heater, the attached one set at 79 and the controller set at 78. Hopefully they won't both fail at the same time! I also got a titanium heater with a remote mounted temp control for an extra measure of safety from broken glass.

[L&M]

Bad Heater

I just recently got one of those Azoo brand heaters that has the temp control on the cord. I put it on the kids' tank so I wouldn't have to stick my hand in the tank to mess with the temperature. I haven't had it long enough to know how reliable it is, but it seems accurate enough. Has anyone had any experience with those?

[Totenkampf]

a sticking mechanical thermostat is an eventuality for every glass type heater. i run two half sized ebo-jagers or visitherms in the winter only. since i have good circulation, i dont feel it matters where you put them. heat disipates pretty quickly in water so i think it would be hard to get much of a thermal gradient in the size aquariums that hobbyists use. although i strongly recommend the two heater routine, the electronic thermostat type heaters are getting inexpensive enough to warrant the upgrade over two glass heaters

[troy tucker]

I do under stand that some of the new heaters are much improved over the old glass tipe....
But Why 2 heaters Token?