Heater works TOO good!

[crazyred]

Okay guys, I have my 55 up, running and full of water. I'm putting in plants here and there and now, and I'm having heater issues....thought I would get some advice from my buds.

This 55 came with an All Glass Aquarium brand submersible heater. It's only 200 watts, but man, does thing thing blaze! It seems to always be on! I set it on 75 and checked the temp on my thermometer in there and the temp of the water was well over 80...maybe like 82! :eek: The ambient temp of my room is around 75 so the darn thing shouldn't even be coming on! I set it as far down as it will go and it's still coming on. The water temp is now like 78....with the heater set on 72 or so. What do y'all think? Should I junk it and get 2 x 100 watt heaters or what? This thing is ridiculous. If so, what brand would y'all go with? Ihave a regular Visi-Therm on my 29, but I know the Visi-Therm Stealth is supposed to be good.

[Sofia]

I have had the same problems with the all glass brand heaters that came with the tank kit. I had to purchase new heaters for all of my tanks but still have problems with any heater dial readings. The water temp is always warmer than what I have it set for in the summer and heaters don't come on enough in the winter - water is always cooler than what the dial is set on. This has been an ongoing problem for me. It use to drive me nuts but I leave as is now as long as the fishies are happy.

[Sofia]

i did a search and found this post under "temperature crazy".

I just don't know what to do....like I have previously posted I am having such a hard time with my "new" heater. The control on the heater no way matches the temperature of the water. Example: Control dial is set at 71 and the water temp. is 80...I have to keep adjusting and don't know what is going to happen - last night it went down to 75! I think it is going to kill my fish and sit at work all day not knowing if the tank will be boiled or frozen by the time I get home. The manufacturer is going to send a replacement but I need your input at to whether or not these fluctuations in temp. are really going to mess things up. Should I go buy a heater tonight to be safe? What is the best heater to buy so don't have to keep going through this and get some sleep at night instead of constantly monitoring. This is suppose to be a relaxing hobby but right now I am so stressed. By the way it is only a 10 gallon with a 50 watt heater.

[AngelMom]

Red, junk the heater and get a new one. I personally like the Visi-Therm Stealth heaters.....they are plastic so you don't have potential problems with glass breaking, plus they are all black so they are easier to hide. The temp dials are not perfectly accurate, but they aren't off by much and I've never had a problem getting them set. And yes, it is better to have two heaters at half wattage so if one happens to fail the damage isn't quite so bad.

Sofia, is the heater coming on? What type of thermometer do you have? I'm just wondering if you have one of those external stick on thermometers and it's reading too much of the room temp. If the room temp gets fairly high during the day, and the heater is set too low, you will see a large temp swing like you described.....especially with the stick on thermometers as they are reading a combination of the air and water temps since that's what the glass sees.

HTH

[Sofia]

hI - I have both thermometers on every tank and the stick on and the internal read about the same. The dials are definitely not true readings at all on any of them. I have visitherm stealth heaters mostly - I cannot remember the name of the other offhand but I paid almost $40 for each of them (rip off - I know....I didnt have time to buy online so went to the store and I also live in New York)
I have a small fortune invested in heaters as well as a brand new collection...lol

Also I don't understand what you mean by this

If the room temp gets fairly high during the day, and the heater is set too low, you will see a large temp swing like you described

[AngelMom]

OK - I'll see if I can clarify that......

If the room temperature goes up to, say 90°F for several hours during the middle of the day, and the heater is set to 75°F, then it is possible for the water to get over 80°F without the heater being on at all. Then, when the room temp goes to or below 75°F, the water temp will drop until it is below the heaters set point, at which time hte heater comes on. Of course, the bigger the tank, the less this will be noticable......the more water there is, the longer it will take for it to come up to the room temp, and the longer it will take for it to drop back down.

HTH

[betaboi]

Hey red, get two 150 watters okay? It's better to have a little more than not enough (5 watts per gallon rule). A good 150 watt heater shoudl run you about 15-$30. In my tank i've got an Elite 300 watt submersable heater. Works fine for me although a lot of people say that after a few years they knock out, hasn't happened to me yet so....

[betaboi]

For some reason it posted twice...delete this if you'd like.

[DevinJM]

Just a minor oppinion that I dislike the Elite heaters (the ones with the blue ball thing on top, with the black nob).... I have a friend with 5 tanks (a 75, 49,45,29,10) and within a month he went through 4 Elite heaters, either the thing stuck on or off, but either way it wasn't nice, plus at work I have had to replace old heaters with new elites and then had to replace them because 1/2 of the heaters I replaced were faulty, so I don't recomend them to anyone, and IMO, you get what you pay for and if you want a good heater get a Fluval Tronic, a Stealth or an Ebo-Jager. Just a thought....

[crazyred]

Devin, I saw a Hagen (Fluval) Tronic for a good price on Ebay today. Is this a good heater?

[CrazieEddie]

I like the titanium heaters, no problems about glass breaking, becuase there is NO GLASS. The heater remains in the tank, while the temp control remains outside, so it's easy to adjust the temp. You don't get your hands wet at all.

I own 2 Wonn heaters and they are both very accurate. I also use Big Time and Team digital thermometer to verify the readings. I just recently purchased a Hydor inline heater and used it on my Eheim Ecco 2236 filter, and it's doing a great job. I use an Eheim 2128, which has a built-in heater on my 55 gallon, which is also very accurate.

[crshadow]

crazyred: I also prefer titanium, plastic, or stainless steel heaters, and two weaker heaters are definitely safer than 1 strong heater. I learned this the hard way a couple years back! :eek:

However, that being said, have you considered not using a heater at all? I currently don't use heaters in any of my tanks. It's pretty warm all year round in our area, that's the main reason I feel comfortable making this recommendation. I keep the temps in my house between 70 - 75 F and have never had any problems at all, even with shrimp. Also, that light fixture you have may serve to add some heat to the tank.

-Jeremiah

[crazyred]

Yeah, I finally decided to unplug that stupid thing and wait until it gets colder (that ONE month out of the year here... :LOL ) to get a new heater. I had that thing set as low as I could (72) and it was still keeping the tank near 80!!! :eek: It hasn't been getting nearly that hot in the tank without the heater and my house gets up to 80 inside during the day since I leave the AC set high to conserve electricity. Amazingly enough the Coralife fixture doesn't add too much heat to the tank.....I have it up on legs.

I'll get two 100 watt heaters come November/December. It should be creeping down into the high 60's and low 70's by then.....darn South Texas....I'm amazed we don't need chillers down here, even for the freshie tanks.

[crshadow]

One month out of the year? More like one week! :)

In South Texas we only have 2 seasons.

1. Summer
2. Road Construction

:D :D :D

[crazyred]

How very true!!! My tank is much cooler since unplugging that heater. It stays between 75 and 78 without the heater. Heaters just aren't that much of a necessity down here are they?

[haydenm315]

I may be crazy but I found that aeration plays games with my heater. If bubbles are hitting it, i've found it will raise the tank temp. It is usually a good bit cooler outside my tank than in it, hence the cool bubbles probably play games with the thermostat in the heater.

[Buddha_Red]

hmm i have seen a .point 5 difference in the heat setting and actual temp. Evaporation aids in cooling the tank. I am not sure what would trick the thermostat, its a sealed device. i am not saying its not possible, but i cannot think of a way it would effect the heater.

[crshadow]

Nope, not really needed down here. :) Although, for certain species like Discus, or Zebra Plecos, that prefer higher temps, it would be a good idea. Oh.., and also for certain disease treatments too.

-Jeremiah

[crazyred]

Oh yeah, I forgot about those cases!!! I did use my heater to heat the tank up to treat ick once. I'll need to get a pretty good heater later too since I eventually plant to have blue rams in the tank....they like it very warm as well.

BTW: It is so hot down here that I'm thinking of doing a pond on my patio with some Texas cichlids.....too hot for goldfish & koi!!! :rolleyes:

[crshadow]

The Texas cichlid idea is very interesting. Let us know how it goes. Speaking of Texas cichlids, a co-worker caught one in a local canal a couple of years ago. It's still alive and kicking to this day in his 10 gallon tank! Tough fish! Go figure. :)

[crazyred]

A wild caught Texas in a 10 gallon tank!!! :eek: :eek:

Yeah, I thought about going down to the river and scooping some out for my pond.....probably just get'em at the fish store though. I've seen them at Harlingen Pets, the new PetSmart, and Petland in Brownsville. Harlingen Pets is the best bet...they have some nice fish.