immediate help needed

[jupoc911]

as some may be aware from my message last night my won heater broke down. the only thing i could get my hands on was a 300 watt heater for my 55. I thought that it would turn off after heating the tank but i was amazed to see that my tank was 85 degrees when i got home today. it is normally at 81. i went to lfs to pick up a jebo. can a heater really do that in one day? I only have 265 watts of power ocmpact lights, 2 maxi jet 1200's and a maxi jet 900. I never had a problem until i added that stupid heater. please help. also how should i bring the temp back to 80?

 

[jupoc911]

the jebo just came on and i have it set at 81. the tank is still at 83.2. am i going nuts?

 

[fishmamma]

Hmm.....I know slowly is the answer but not sure of how per say. Maybe unplug the oversized heater and put in the new heater after 15 or 20 minutes turn on the new heater and adjust to a reasonable temp if available or put it on a medium setting for the thermoestat. Then keep a close eye. If the light comes on indicating the new heater is running tun it down a bit until it goes off again. I think you may need to sit patiently by your tank for a few hours but hopefully you can get the new one to hit a desired range, maybe 82 or 83 degrees for now and continue to drop it back down slowly over the next day or two.

 

[r22wink]

Throw some Ice in some ZipLock bags and let them float around in the tank if you are that concerned. 83 isnt too high..

 

[jupoc911]

83.7 now and the jebo which is set to 80 is on. i am in aww right now. should i trust the jebp or the digital thermometer?

 

[jupoc911]

does anyone know why the heater eould come on if it is set at 80 and the tank is 83 degrees?

 

[sawsman]

Your digital is probably ok. I would turn your heater setting down one degree per day until desired temperature is met and remains stable. 83 is not too high in my opinion. The fluccuation is what you dont want. You can buy a stick on type thermometer just to compare to your digital if your that concerned. They are more accurate than some people will say, they have always read + or - one degree in my experience. some other factors to consider is the ambient temp of your room and location of heater/cooling vents in tank room. Hope this helps.
-sawsman

 

[jupoc911]

do you think the maxi jets are causing the temp spike? I have a stick on thermometer, and it is measuring 83 as well. i am just confused as to why the jager heater would go on if the temp is higher than what it was set for. i thought these were supposed to be accurate heaters?

 

[sawsman]

a couple of heaters that I have used in the past never actually matched up with the arrow on the dial and were as far off as two degrees. My guess is your heater setting is off. Turn it down until your temp readings are where you want them and if they remain stable then why worry.

 

[jupoc911]

this is very true. i will give it a whirl and see how it goes. im in the process of moving everything into a 75 gallon. couldnt have happened at a better time. lol

 

[jupoc911]

actually i have the heater set for 78. sorry. so there is actually a 5 degree difference. that seems like a lot.

 

[sawsman]

OK. is there a light that tells you when the heater is cycling on and off? If there is does it stay on steady? It sounds like a bad heater. :thinking:

 

[jupoc911]

the heater is bran new just purchased. the light comes onfor a miute or two then shuts off. i have acutally bought 2 heaters in the last 2 days. A P.O.S. and the Ebo. both come on through out the day.

 

[sawsman]

The dial must be misaligned with numbers. If your digital temp and stick-on temp agree then heater is wrong. If it cycles on and off then I would keep it and just ignore the setting number. go by your digital and other temp readings. Good luck with the bigger tank.
-sawsman

 

[creative]

As stated before just keep droping the temp on the heater until you get the desired temp. Heater settings are often wrong. Do not be discouraged it's just part of the hobby.
Todd