HELP heater issues!!!

silverdak

silverdak

Active Member
So I wake up this morning and go to look at my tank and see my thermometer says 90* !!!!!!!!!!!!! the heater I have is a Via Aqua glass heater (75W). this is installed on a 14G bio cube in chamber one. I am wondering if anyone else has had bad experiences with this brand? also what heaters are you 14G guys and gals using. I think I just have a bad heater or its just a piece of junk. need help asap tho cant have the water getting that hot. the heater is set to come on below 78, and when it comes on it seems to stay on till i turn it way down or off. someone please help me!
 
gmann1139

gmann1139

Active Member
Since you have some time while your tank cools down when you won't need that heater, get a 5 gallon pail, put a thermometer and the heater in, and see what happens.
This will separate out whether the issue is with the heater or with the tank. If the tank stays up in temp, its the tank. If the heater makes the pail boil, its the heater.
That said, heaters are pretty much the cheapest thing in this hobby ( besides damsels, of course). Its not worth the risk for $20.
 
gmann1139

gmann1139

Active Member
There are several other heat sources in tanks besides the heater itself.
Powerheads, lights, and anything else with an electrical cord all generate heat as well.
Nano tanks, because they are so closed-up, tend to have problems with overheating. This is why some tanks in warmer climates don't even have heaters.
Your problem may not just be with your heater, but with another source of heat. It could be from your lights, it could be that your tank is getting direct sunlight, it could be that your powerhead isn't getting enough water and is overheating.
By taking the heater out, to check on its operation, you should also be able to see if there is another source causing your tank's temperature to get that high.
 
blazin2k6

blazin2k6

Active Member
You could also just leave open the front lid of your hood also and it would level off some of the heat. I leave my lids open pretty much 24/7 because the temperatures here are like 100 degrees lately and it helps keep my tanks at about 76-80 degrees pretty much always :) I have just a cheap heater in my jbj nano cube from wal mart that heats it until 78 then automatically shuts off. i think it was 14 bucks. Then in my aquapod i dont have any heater cause i have heat issues in that tank. It seems to get quite hot without a heater. another reason i leave the lid on it even at night. Well hopefully that helped you some and i hope you dont lose any of your stuff you have.
 
silverdak

silverdak

Active Member
well turns out it was a crappy heater! basically just gonna throw it out. went to pets mart to get a visa-therm stealth 50W heater... works better right already. I was overheating over the night with only my moon lights on... no direct sunlight either... I have all my chambers filled up so I dont believe the pump on the filter isnt getting enough water...
seems like this is a much much much better heater from what I have heard
 
alexknight

alexknight

Member
I had my 24 Gal, run about 90 for a week, It did harm a couple of things but they recovered from it and are doing fine now. turned out to be a bad thermometer. now I am running 2 now. lol. just turn off the lights and leave the lid open for a while it will come back down.
 
gmann1139

gmann1139

Active Member
Glad to hear it was a cheap solution.
Assumed it was, as you said the temp was in the high 80's, but you never know.
 
silverdak

silverdak

Active Member
ya this morning I used a digital thermometer to read it... 93*
took it a while to cool down with the lid open and the A/C on in my room... but its all good now and I just turned on the stealth to max just to make sure it came on and sure enough it did! temp seems fine now! Its set at 79-80 degrees which should be fine I imagine
 
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