Problem with Cobalt 200W Heaters

[dleblanc]

I had been using cobalt heaters - they've gotten great reviews. I had two fail in one weekend, overheated both tanks. While the guppies all lived, my 6 discus did not. When I pulled a third off the shelf (about to build out a new tank), it failed, too, though not overheating.

They are typically listed as out of stock, but I think there is a reason for this - they should have been recalled. The biggest thing I did wrong, and will never do again, is to not have a temp controller as a backup.

I like the design, and know others have good experiences, and that any brand of heater can fail. They may sort it out, but right now I'd stay away from the 200W models.

[musicmarn1]

oh wow im so so sorry, that's awful, and i thought cobalt was a good make,

HOWEVER i have learned, the hard way too, though not lost any discus to it thank goodness, that its a really really great idea to have all heaters attached to a high quality temperature controller

[kris2341]

it seems the top tier heating systems involve a discrete temperature controller attached to a quality heating element.

I personally have always avoided those new fangled all in one electronic heater designs like the plague because of how they can potentially fail. All the hardware is encased in the heater, it can overheat, melt, leak or take on condensation in that all in one enclosed unit with those complex controllers. If you are going to use an electronic controller, it is best kept as far away from the water and elements as possible!

I either stick to basic thermostat heaters like Jagers or get an external controller like the Ranco/AquaLogic/Jehmco models

http://www.jehmco.com/html/temperature_controller.html

I am sorry for your loss, but good luck in moving forward!

[dleblanc]

I've gone back to the Eheim/Jaeger heaters - they seem simpler, less to go wrong. I have heard of them failing, so... I managed to pick up a used Apex Jr, and am using it primarily for temperature control in the discus tank. It has a neat graphing function, and I can see how the temperature varies in the tank over time. Over the course of 2-3 days, I've seen the temperature only fluctuate by 1.2 degrees F. I think that's pretty good, and that's all on the heaters - it never has gone up high enough to trip the cutoff on the Apex.

Next week, I'm going to restock my discus - very sad at starting over, had gotten really attached to them. But all I can do is move forward, all the tanks have temp controllers now - redundancy is a good thing.

[kris2341]

redundancy is a good thing.

one of the most true statements in any endeavor we face... I am always deeply saddened when I lose fish to some kind of equipment failure, or my lack of preparation.

Thats why I have invested a lot into the equipment I have now, and I always make sure to have a back up plan.

[Susie]

Thank you! Thank you! for the jehmco link. After two of my Cobalt heaters failed and I woke up to my discus at 82 degrees, I went shopping at Jehmco. I bought three of their heaters and a temperature controller. That should keep my discus nice and comfy. They also sell a safety siphon. I had to have one of those. I will shop there more in the future.