heater malfunction

[Giniel]

How can you prevent heater malfunctions??

I just had a 29 gallon tank barebottom over heat thermometer said 102.
Unfortunalty the breeding pair that was in it is gone:(

Just don't want it to happen again if I can keep from it.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Debbie

[brewmaster15]

Hi Debbie,
Sorry to hear that! It wasn't the green turqs was it?:(

All heaters can fail on or off..I haven't seen one brand that didn't. Its sad but thats how it is.

The two things you can do that come to mind..Is add a temperature alarm to the tank.. and use 2 heaters instead of one..If you normally would use 300 watts...use 2 150watts...Then if one fails...The other will most likely not...This will prevent sudden temp drops and can buy you time if one heater sticks on.

Hth,
al

[Giniel]

Hi Al, no it wasn't the green turqs it was a very nice pair of red turqs. They had gotten to freeswimmers stage a couple months back. They were getting ready to lay eggs last night too. It was a 200 watt heater. I already have another heater. I am going to clean it out and hopefully go visit Jack in KC soon.

Since the move I have fish pairing off like crazy . But some of them I don't want to breed for one reason or another.
If a pair of pigeon bloods has some peppering on them will it carry over to all of the fry?? I have a few that are very round and nice finnage but have peppering on them.

Thanks
Debbie

[CAGE-RATTLER]

I believe a heater controller will keep a stuck on heater from coooking the fish too since it shuts the powere to the heater off when it reaches the desired temps.

But i guess they could malfunction as well.

[White Worm]

yep, 2 smaller heaters, that way, if it does stick on, it wont make it to boiling point. Had problem with heaters cooking fish in the past. It was salt water tank and very pricey because they dont do as well as discus do with higher temps. 100% loss. 102.

[AADiscus]

Sorry to hear about your fish :( It's always sad to lose a fish.

Haven't had problems with a heater getting stuck on but putting my hand in the tank and the heater has stopped. We keep 2 heaters in all tanks but breeder tanks. Our fish room stays pretty warm so the heaters seldom come on. lol (helps on electric bill)

Cage, we have quite a few with the control on the outside. We have more problems with the control than the heater. Haven't found a brand we really like that doesn't stop working after 3-4 mos.

[CAGE-RATTLER]

Im talking about a dedicated temperature controller ........... not just a heater with an outside the tank controller.

One that shuts the power off to the heater at the plug in.

[hexed]

Debbie,
Sorry about your loss :(

I try to change my heaters once every 12 - 15 months. I buy them off ebay in packages of 6. Sometimes I will go as far as 24 months but no longer. I had one heater stay on and cook my puffer :( I tried to use titanium but they always died within 4 months. I always do a check on the temp once a week to be sure the heaters are working, if the red light is on I will turn the temp down to be sure the light does go off and if the red light is not on I turn the temp up to see if the light comes on. If either of these fail I replace the heater. I hope this helps!
Frank

[White Worm]

Doesnt help me frank with the stealth....no pretty little red lights lol. I check tank temp all the time though so i will notice if something goes wrong. 2 temp gauges in each tank though so i have a good idea at all times. In the past, my neighbor cooked my koran, coral beauty, yellow tang and sailfin while i was out of town.

[Westie]

I just had the same problem with a brand new heater. A Rena Cal. Was recommended as the best. Luckily, I keep two thermometers as well as heaters. Fortunately, I caught the problem at 94! It killed my pleco's and a couple plants.

[Alight]

I believe the stealth's have a high temperature cutoff, so if they stick on, they will cut off, at or below 90F.

Some of the other heaters have high temp cutoffs, too.

I use two heaters, each rated below what would be needed to raise my tank to 90 F in a house with our ambient temp. I don't believe one stuck on would get the temp higher than 90. In fact when one was on all the way, and one was off, it wouldn't get the temp much higher than 83 F.