HEATER ISSUES & FAVORITE HEATERS! Prevent a tank crash with good heater knowledge!

[Albertan22]

I was trying to get a skimmer pump attached in the depths of my sump years ago and in the process of twisting and banging the skimmer body around, cracked a glass Eheim heater. I didn’t know I did it though, and ended up losing most of my fish and all my acros by the next morning... It was a terrible lesson.

My second heater story was not having enough wattage when I upgraded tanks. My 120g aquarium got by fine with a pair of 200W heaters. I was upgrading to a 180g tank so I figured adding one more would do the trick. Well I couldn’t hold more that 75F. I kept adding heaters until I had no more room in the sump, then I started getting bigger ones. In the end it took 1200W of heaters to hold 78F. I’m currently running 4 heaters to achieve this, but eventually want to upgrade some to bring the number down to 2 or 3 to free up some plugs on my Apex.

 

[Scott's reef]

It's funny how you ask the question about heaters as for right now as we speak I'm trying to figure out what heater and controller is right for me. The problem is I've been using an inkbird and it's not staying calibrated and everyday I'm having to re-calibrate. What di I do??

 

[Steph72]

I got a phone call at work that my glass break detector had been tripped and the police were on their way to my house. The whole drive home I was sick with the thought that my home had been broken into. Once at the house, no sign of any problem...we thought maybe a bird crashed into a window or something else may have tripped it.

Later that afternoon I noticed black burn marks on the ceiling above my 75 gallon cichlid tank. I checked the tank and everything seemed normal seemed normal...then I saw my large frontosa on his side behind a log. He had literally been blown apart !!! My best guess is that he hit the heater and the impact made it explode. He was 9 years old and it broke my heart losing him. I got out of the hobby after that....but here I am again! Lol No glass heaters ever again though!!!

 

[Nhjmc]

What a coincidence this poll pops up today.....this past weekend was out of town. Got a frantic call from my husband saying something was wrong with my heater that the heater chamber had no water in it or very little and was smoking! It was smoking because of plastic piece that covered the heater. That water temp was 86 degrees! My heart sank. He said all the fish were laying on bottom not moving much and all my corals turning grayish in color. He put ice packs in sump and fan blowing over top of water and slowly dropped temp over the afternoon. Somehow everything survived. Was running a Hygger titanium heater with temp controller. I was quick to blame the unit but once I got home discovered I had a blockage or air lock can call it in mini sump (RSM 130) that reduced flow. Heater got hot not enough water evaporated rest melted and smoked like crazy. I got SO lucky. Purchasing a new better temp controller that has auto shut off at a temp I choose and a seneye reef monitor this week (wish I could afford an Apex but not in budget right now) so this never happens again.

 

[Nhjmc]

It's funny how you ask the question about heaters as for right now as we speak I'm trying to figure out what heater and controller is right for me. The problem is I've been using an inkbird and it's not staying calibrated and everyday I'm having to re-calibrate. What di I do??

I’m in same boat was gonna buy an inkbird Leary as a lot of bad reviews on amazon stating won’t stay calibrated.

 

[laverda]

Heaters are the least reliable single piece of aquarium equipment you will probably ever buy. I have had all sorts of heater failures in the 55+ years I have been keeping aquariums. Two of the worse were one where the seal failed and let water inside it. Icould not figure out for months why corals and sponges I had had for years were drying. One day my ex said she saw a flash of light where there should not have been one. I imeaditly pulled the only price of equipment there out, a heater thatcame out with out the glass tube attached. At all everything was all black, crusty and smelly. My corals that had not died looked 100% better the day after I removed it.
The other was a almost new titanium heater that failed again my corals were not happy so I started checking all my equipment including my heaters. My new titanium heater had what looked like something growing on it. When I reached in and touched I got zapped big time. It had corroded through in less than 2 month and what I guess were calcium deposits around the area.
Never rely on just one heater if possible. I have 4 on my 300 gallons n tank on 2 seperate controllers. One pair is set to come one degree lower than the other pair.

 

[southerntnreefer]

My heater fail came when i tried to do the right thing to a point. I had an inkbird controlling to finnex 300 watt heaters in my big tank. I came home and it said it was like 85 degrees, so i freaked out. I stuck my hand in to feed, and it was cold cold cold! I tested it manually with another temp gauge i had, and it was really 60. had been at 60 all day while i was at work. Ran to LFS got new heaters with built in thermostats to get me by and slowly brought the heat back up. And this is why i now own a aquarium controller...

 

[ZoWhat]

A
P
E
X

=

no issues

 

[John Bolden]

i had one that heated up and then tured white and it was super hot

 

[Big Boy]

DON'T FORGET AFTER YOU READ TO TELL US WHAT YOUR FAVORITE HEATER IS!

It's starting to cool down outside and with the cool down comes the need to heat the aquarium water! But with that also comes many opportunities for heater failure and tank loss! Eek! So let's talk about heaters today and your experiences! The following are a few of my experiences.

Heater Explosion - Personally I have had glass heaters explode in my aquarium. One instance it happened in my sump and I didn't find out until the tank crashed! I don't think glass heaters are that prevalent anymore but what about other materials. Can they explode?

Heater Sticking On - I have had even the best of heaters stick on but thankfully these have not been in my aquarium but my saltwater mixing container. I mitigate this in my reef tank by having my controller shut off the heaters if the tank reaches a certain temperature.

Heater Not Large Enough - Again I have had this problem before where my heater didn't have enough "watts" to keep the amount of water in my aquarium warm. Be careful here because while you need to have a big enough heater you don't want to oversize it. Matter of fact using a couple or a few smaller wattage heaters to accomplish the temperature goal is the way to go! If one of these stick on then it may be more likely that it will not heat the water enough to kill the tank inhabitants. But then again I would still make sure you had a failsafe in place like I do with a controller in my previous point.

So it's your turn here!

Tell us about how you mitigate the chances of heater failure and tank loss. Help me out by listing some issues that I may have missed or forgotten.

1. Have you ever had a heater fail in some way and what was the results? How did it fail?

2. What are some safeguards you have in place regarding heaters in your aquarium?

3. WHO DO YOU THINK MAKES THE BEST HEATERS and what brand do you use?

 

[Big Boy]

I had a glass heater crack in my sump many years back. I don’t recall the brand. What I do recall is that I had just installed a GFCI outlet a few days prior. I stuck my hand in the sump and it snapped. I pulled the heater out and it was cracked. So +1 on installing a GFCI. I had a second heater melt. It was a Marineland Stealth. The vendor Drs Foster and Smith ended up swapping it for a different heater at no charge. There was a huge issue with these heaters. I ended up getting a JBJ 140 watt titanium with controller. Other than the temp probe going bad twice it hasn’t been a bad heater. Used it for 10 years before the probe cracked a second time. My other heaters are Ebo Jager. No issues other than I hate the adjustment on top-awful. I do have 2 Viaqua titanium with digital controllers. Had a few years. No issues so far. Hold temp better than an Ebo Jager. May be the way to go.

 

[Terri Caton]

I do not trust ANY heaters. I always seem to have problems with them no matter the brand or cost. Why can't anyone make an awesome heater?

 

[Robert Ranciato]

DON'T FORGET AFTER YOU READ TO TELL US WHAT YOUR FAVORITE HEATER IS!

It's starting to cool down outside and with the cool down comes the need to heat the aquarium water! But with that also comes many opportunities for heater failure and tank loss! Eek! So let's talk about heaters today and your experiences! The following are a few of my experiences.

Heater Explosion - Personally I have had glass heaters explode in my aquarium. One instance it happened in my sump and I didn't find out until the tank crashed! I don't think glass heaters are that prevalent anymore but what about other materials. Can they explode?

Heater Sticking On - I have had even the best of heaters stick on but thankfully these have not been in my aquarium but my saltwater mixing container. I mitigate this in my reef tank by having my controller shut off the heaters if the tank reaches a certain temperature.

Heater Not Large Enough - Again I have had this problem before where my heater didn't have enough "watts" to keep the amount of water in my aquarium warm. Be careful here because while you need to have a big enough heater you don't want to oversize it. Matter of fact using a couple or a few smaller wattage heaters to accomplish the temperature goal is the way to go! If one of these stick on then it may be more likely that it will not heat the water enough to kill the tank inhabitants. But then again I would still make sure you had a failsafe in place like I do with a controller in my previous point.

So it's your turn here!

Tell us about how you mitigate the chances of heater failure and tank loss. Help me out by listing some issues that I may have missed or forgotten.

1. Have you ever had a heater fail in some way and what was the results? How did it fail?

2. What are some safeguards you have in place regarding heaters in your aquarium?

3. WHO DO YOU THINK MAKES THE BEST HEATERS and what brand do you use?

I just had a Cobalt heater wipe out my whole frag tank. It over heated and killed everything. This is the second time a Cobalt heater has failed and over heated a tank. I would recommend not to use Cobalt brand heaters

 

[robert teseo]

teco chiller with built in heater. set/forget

 

[Bigtrout]

I have had jager, aqueon pro(version 2 made in china), visitherm and marineland heaters all fail on me in various ways.

I have my trusty spare Renassaince branded 200w thats 25 years old and still working and has outlasted them all.

That being said my favorite heaters are the italian made Aqueon Pros but my Reef-pi is set up as a failsafe heater controller/email alert for malfunctions.

Aqueon pro version 1, made in Italy. Blue knob to adjust, led in heater body...great accurate and knock on wood, never a malfunction. Can only find new old stock now.

Aqueon pro version 2, made in China, clear knob with led in knob to adjust, absolute junk. 2 have failed on me, and the replacements on aqueons lifetime warranty both failed. Their lifetime warranty only allows a one time replacement. One stuck ON, the other just quit heating.

 

[shnapper20]

had 2*300w schego titanium heaters for over 10yrs havent missed a beat

 

[Scolymia88]

I've been using finnex the last few years and stopped after the third one shorted out on me. 2 did the same thing, over heated the plug and melt it. The 3rd/last one was releasing stray volts while the unit was on and off. Literally turned it off using power button and it was still leaking volts. Had to unplug completly for it to stop. I always use more heaters than whats necessary for my 300g and 155g.

Currently using 3 aquatops 400watt in the 155. Going on a year with them and no issues. For the 300, 2 800watt hyggers which I found on Amazon after my 3rd and last finnex shorted. While they havnt gone through a full winter im very happy with them both so far. Control or wires never feel warm to touch like the finnex did. And both effortlessly keep my tank at 81 with the ambient air at 74. Can't comment on long term use yet but they have my hopes up. I also have a 4th 400watt aquatop heater by the sump which I only put/plug in when its freezing.

 

[Zerodameaon]

Aqueon V1 Rev 2 cracked on the back and the reason I found out was I got a pretty good shock sticking my hand in the tank. Fish didn't seem to care though it was freshwater so that might be why.

I bought another one as this one was petty old at that point and nothing seemed to have as good a reputation. Eheim were very low on stock at the time, when I replace this one this year I won't be buying another. For my new reef tank I went with Eheim because the new Aqueon heaters are back to their V1 Rev1 junk status.

 

[Robert Ranciato]

I have had 2 tanks totally wiped out from Cobalt heaters

 

[Tired]

Any heater can fail. There is no brand of heater out there that has no negative reviews, except maybe ones that nobody's bought yet.

I will always maintain that the best heater is one plugged into an Inkbird or other controller. If you have multiple thousands of dollars worth of coral and fish, maybe consider two controllers, one plugged into the other. They're like $30.