Sunstar Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I have a 50 W hydor that is turned on its absolute lowest temperature setting and the thing will not turn off. I noticed slight increase in temp lately so I decrease the setting and now I cannot decrease it any further. I woke up to a term reading of 88f on my digital and confired it with a glass as well. It read 79 last night What can I use in the mean time? I have one of those things that I use in a betta tank that increases temp in relation ship to ambient. This is in my 1.5 pico, I keep the heater in my filter. I have two of these heaters and both are no longer turning off. they were bought at the same time, although not necessarily in use for the same length of time. The corals don't seem to be overly stressed at the moment, However I am thoroughly stressed. Suggestions? Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 Urgent Response required Link to comment
GTi Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Hi. You need to buy a new heater. Sounds like the current one is stuck 'on' which is one of the failure modes. All I can suggest until you get the new one is to either remove the heater if your home is temperate (and add the betta heater) or to perhaps put it on a timer switch so it limits how long it is on. Maybe on for 10 minutes then off for 10? After a couple of hours check the water temp and adjust the on/off times. Temp variations are generally bad so you need to replace the heater asap. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 Thank you. I'll use the failures in the mix bucket. Link to comment
GTi Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Thank you. I'll use the failures in the mix bucket. That makes sense but make sure the change water is temperature matched to the tank - I'm sure you knew that but it would be easy to forget. Good luck with the tank! Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 Its not so bad, the bucket is 5 gallons and the heater is hard pressed to boil that. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 +1 new heater - why even risk it this is a no brainer. On top of that small heaters should be readily available I'm guessing there's a store within 30 minutes of you that has something. Link to comment
markalot Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 If you don't want to use a full sized controller I would suggest at least getting a Finnex heater controller. http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Max-300-Digital-Aquarium-Controller/dp/B007480AP6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429991732&sr=8-1&keywords=finnex+heater+controller Link to comment
VW_TDI_02 Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 If you don't want to use a full sized controller I would suggest at least getting a Finnex heater controller. http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Max-300-Digital-Aquarium-Controller/dp/B007480AP6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429991732&sr=8-1&keywords=finnex+heater+controller That's a great idea and also rather cheap. I would also recommend getting a ReefKeeper Lite. You can get them for $75 used and they come with a temperature probe and four controllable outlets. Toss the heater on one of those outlets and you're good to go. I have mine set so that it turns off the outlet whenever the temperature reaches 80 degrees. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 26, 2015 Author Share Posted April 26, 2015 Right now, I am in a bit of a pickle. My nearest shop for a decent heater is an hour bicycle ride. Its been a bit too cool lately. I am checking mail order sites that have what is at the moment affordable. Link to comment
VW_TDI_02 Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 In my tank I've been using SunSun or Aqueon heaters. I've only had one explode but that was my fault (had the PC4s mixed up and while on Stand By mode the heater didn't turn off during a water change and blew the heater). The thermostats are always off (have three SunSun) but I run it on a RKL so even if it fails on, it will turn off at 80 degrees. It keeps a steady temperature in my tank once it gets set and I haven't had any issues. Link to comment
rone_kevin66 Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 In my tank I've been using SunSun or Aqueon heaters. I've only had one explode but that was my fault (had the PC4s mixed up and while on Stand By mode the heater didn't turn off during a water change and blew the heater). The thermostats are always off (have three SunSun) but I run it on a RKL so even if it fails on, it will turn off at 80 degrees. It keeps a steady temperature in my tank once it gets set and I haven't had any issues. +1 a controller for a heater is a must. Mine failed in the on but my RKE Killed power to it so it didn't boil my water Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 26, 2015 Author Share Posted April 26, 2015 I will strongly consider a controller as soon as I can get job again. Sort of recently between jobs. I have had a heater fail in a fresh tank and it boiled my livestock. Make a sad story slightly happy, was a single fry survived the situation. After I removed the dead fish, I let the tank sit for a week or two and noticed a tiny fry swimming around. Link to comment
rone_kevin66 Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 I will strongly consider a controller as soon as I can get job again. Sort of recently between jobs. I have had a heater fail in a fresh tank and it boiled my livestock. Make a sad story slightly happy, was a single fry survived the situation. After I removed the dead fish, I let the tank sit for a week or two and noticed a tiny fry swimming around. Ya it is a must seeing how we a 20 dollar piece of equipment could kill thousands of dollars of live stock. Also just don't buy a temp controller not worth it when you can find a good reef controller used for cheap Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 26, 2015 Author Share Posted April 26, 2015 Believe me, I have far too much invested in my pico, so this is definitely worth while sound advice. Any suggestions on good controllers? So I can keep it in mind for that time? Link to comment
CJJon Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 This is the best controller IMO. Commercial design that is very reliable. http://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430056319&sr=8-1&keywords=ranco+heater+controller Oh, and don't re-purpose a failed heater for anything. Hit it with a hammer and throw it in the trash! Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 26, 2015 Author Share Posted April 26, 2015 This is the best controller IMO. Commercial design that is very reliable. http://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430056319&sr=8-1&keywords=ranco+heater+controller Oh, and don't re-purpose a failed heater for anything. Hit it with a hammer and throw it in the trash! that looks like fun to do :3 Link to comment
VW_TDI_02 Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Believe me, I have far too much invested in my pico, so this is definitely worth while sound advice. Any suggestions on good controllers? So I can keep it in mind for that time? The Apex system is better than the ReefKeeper but it is far more expensive. Like 3-4 times as expensive. Like I said earlier, you can get a RKL for $75 used easily and that comes with the temp probe and four controllable outlets. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 I will look them up. I am studying the heaters in a bucket in any event see if I can understand what was going on with them. the lights are turning on and off now. I think it really needs to be calibrated but that can't be done. Hope to get to a shop tomorrow. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Okay, so I am cutting the wires and throwing the heaters out. My test in a "control tank" had the temperature shoot up to 100f which means yeah totally, absolutely undeniably broken. I am so glad I caught it before it killed off my tank. The betta heater is okay for a short while. It increases the temp of the tank about 4f. Its warmer today, so teh tank has been warmer. ergo I have to be wary of temperature of my unit so I do not cook my tank. I generally remove the heater in the summer anyway. I am looking into an aircon, so I probably would resume with a heater then. Hopefully if my interview pans out, I can look toward obtaining a heater controller as advised. Link to comment
aviator300 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 If you don't want to use a full sized controller I would suggest at least getting a Finnex heater controller. http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Max-300-Digital-Aquarium-Controller/dp/B007480AP6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429991732&sr=8-1&keywords=finnex+heater+controller +1 on the Finnex. I bought one a month ago and use it with my Hydor 50w heater.. Keeps the temp withing 0.5 degrees of where i set it at. Keep in mind that i have to set it to 75 to keep my tank at 78.4 but it's all relative and consistant. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Oh wow, finnex sounds like a great start for the time being! Okay that will be an option as soon as I get back to work. Edit: =.= Only just now I noticed it posted before. I will order it for sure. Link to comment
VW_TDI_02 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Just remember that if you plan on buying a real controller, this will end up being money wasted. Like when buying a bunch of individual timers and then replacing them with a single reef controller. Then you're stuck with having wasted a bunch of money by going with the cheaper option at first but in the end it ends up costing you more. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 I generally have enough tanks this should not be a problem. I would consider 29 dollars a lot less money wasted then waiting until I can afford a 75 dollar one hwen my tank crashes and I lose 400 dollars of coral/animals. In the end my betta can have it if I upgrade. Link to comment
aviator300 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I generally have enough tanks this should not be a problem. I would consider 29 dollars a lot less money wasted then waiting until I can afford a 75 dollar one hwen my tank crashes and I lose 400 dollars of coral/animals. In the end my betta can have it if I upgrade. Totally agree. Just because we can't afford the "good stuff" now doesn't mean we shouldn't try to provide the safest environment that our budget allows as soon as possible. Link to comment
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