Replace your heater

[ninjamini]

I have been working on my sump this weekend. Redoing plumbing and adding a protein skimmer. My tank temp is always 82.5-83.5. I expected it with the MH lights that I have. What I did not expect was for my tanks heater to be on at this temp.
The heater was set to 78. Humm So I turned it down a few degrees. Now my tank is at 81 with the lights being on for several hours.
A heater is one of the cheapest things we put in the tank and its also one of the things that can most easily break. Well I don't know about everyone else but I think I am going to start to replace my heater every year.
Is there one heater that stands out for accuracy and sturdyness? I have used Jager just cuz I herd they were good. But I'd prefer one thats not glass.

 

[xdave]

Jagers are very good. Visitherms are good too, but I use Jagers. Don't think they make a full size heater with anything but glass. I always use 2 that can heat 75% of the water in case one dies. Replacing them every year isn't necessary, but it wouldn't hurt.

 

[ridomart]

bump

 

[gatorwpb]

Ninja, did the heater not heat the water at this termperature prior to just recently?
What Ive found is that build up on the heater itself can cause its internal thermometer to be off. Ive had to turn my heater down over the past couple of months, because of this.

 

[ninjamini]

Originally Posted by GatorWPB
Ninja, did the heater not heat the water at this termperature prior to just recently?
What Ive found is that build up on the heater itself can cause its internal thermometer to be off. Ive had to turn my heater down over the past couple of months, because of this.
The thermometer was way off. My water was 83.5 and my heater was on. I turned it down to 74 and the tank dropped to 80.5 last night. Now with the MH on for over an hour its 80.7. I imagine in the afternoon it will rise to 81.5. But thats just a guess.

 

[saltn00b]

be careful replacing them, you should test them out first, because i replaced one that worked fine with a defective one , that nuked 100 bucks worth of fish over night

 

[ninjamini]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
be careful replacing them, you should test them out first, because i replaced one that worked fine with a defective one , that nuked 100 bucks worth of fish over night
Ouch!
Ya know I think the thing to do is to test out a heater in a 5 gallon bucket. Check how accurate it is and where to set it. It may even be good to calibrate it every 6 months.

 

[gatorwpb]

Originally Posted by ninjamini
The thermometer was way off. My water was 83.5 and my heater was on. I turned it down to 74 and the tank dropped to 80.5 last night. Now with the MH on for over an hour its 80.7. I imagine in the afternoon it will rise to 81.5. But thats just a guess.
My heater has always been approx 4-5 degrees off. Its set at ~74 and turns on at ~78. I try to keep the tank at 79 and the MH raise it to max 80.5