|
 Spring and Autumn
They're those in-between periods when it’s not quite hot enough for air conditioners, but it’s warm enough to open windows. This means room temperatures will fluctuate. That's when your aquarium heater gets a
workout. It happens every late spring and early fall. Our office is flooded with calls about aquarium temperature problems and heater failures. Of all aquarium equipment, heaters are most prone to failure.
Bi-Metallic Thermostats
Most heaters use a bi-metallic strip to turn the heater on and off in order to maintain the temperature in an aquarium. It expands as the aquarium gets warm and contracts as the aquarium cools, opening and closing an electrical contact which controls the heater coils.
When the contacts close, the heater light comes on. When the contacts open, the light goes out. Unfortunately, this metal strip can only open and close so many times until it eventually wears out. Just imagine bending a thin piece of wire back and forth slightly several thousand times. It’s only a matter of time until the wire weakens and breaks.
If the bi-metallic strip fails in the open position, the aquarium gets too cold. In the closed position, the aquarium over-heats. During the winter when room temperatures are warm, the heater stays off most of the time. In the summer, with our air conditioners running, the heater stays on. But during the spring and fall, when room temperatures vary, the heater will turn
on and off around fifty times a day. So what can you do to prevent heater failure from killing your fish?
First of all, check your tank temperature twice a day. Look for wide variations in temperature. Check the pilot light on your heater. Does it seem to stay on or off continuously? If the temperature is fluctuating widely or the heater seems to stay on or off most of the time, then you may want to replace your aquarium heater.
The latest modern heaters use micro-circuitry in place of the bi-metallic strip that controls regular aquarium heaters. These electronic heaters are less prone to failure, but are considerably more expensive than their mechanical counterparts. Prices for these high-tech heaters range from $80.00 to $150.00. The price tag may be worth it however, when compared to the cost of
replacing an aquarium full of expensive saltwater fish.
If you have a saltwater aquarium and buy one of these aquarium heaters however, make sure you get a good one. Some of these heaters have a metal sensor probe that is separate from the heater. In more-expensive models, this probe is solid titanium and will not corrode. In other models however, the sensor is made of stainless steel, and folks, even the best stainless steel will eventually corrode in saltwater. We wish the manufacturers knew
better, but obviously they don't, as all of these heaters are clearly labeled "for freshwater and saltwater use."
| Read Other Articles | |
