mnvikes8484 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I ordered JBJ pico from Dr Fosters and Smith, went to the stealth heaters page and got the 10w heater because it was very small, low energy consumption, and supposed to be for tanks up to 3 gallons. Come to find out it does not have an adjustable thermostat like the other stealth heaters, which wasnt mentioned on the website so I didnt know that until I got it. It is supposed to be factory preset at 78F, after ~6-8 hours my tank was holding at~74-75F and still not going up after 24 hours. So it might be fine for a FO tank, but I wouldnt recommend using this for a reef tank if anyone else is considering it, get a 25w. Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I ordered JBJ pico from Dr Fosters and Smith, went to the stealth heaters page and got the 10w heater because it was very small, low energy consumption, and supposed to be for tanks up to 3 gallons. Come to find out it does not have an adjustable thermostat like the other stealth heaters, which wasnt mentioned on the website so I didnt know that until I got it. It is supposed to be factory preset at 78F, after ~6-8 hours my tank was holding at~74-75F and still not going up after 24 hours. So it might be fine for a FO tank, but I wouldnt recommend using this for a reef tank if anyone else is considering it, get a 25w. the 10w heaters are only really made to keep a tank 6-8degrees above ambient room temp's... I know... It sucks. Link to comment
flojophoto Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 check for stray voltage with that stealth. Mine "leaked" 20 volts into my aquarium. Link to comment
Dustin C Mills Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 check for stray voltage with that stealth. Mine "leaked" 20 volts into my aquarium. how do you check for that? Link to comment
bluefunelement Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 I had done something similar in my 6g during summer but now that the room temp has a 12deg delta I've upgraded to two 25w compact Fluvals - they are so small and I can drop back down to one for summer. big recommendation Listed in the accessories for $24 Link to comment
DaJMasta Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 check for stray voltage with that stealth. Mine "leaked" 20 volts into my aquarium. Stray voltage? Leaking volts? That's not how electricity works.... Are you trying to imply that it electrified your tank without shorting your GFCI? Go with a slightly larger heater than you need, so that it can heat the water faster if it needs to. I would go with a 25W in your case and I've got a marineland stealth 50W in my main tank and a 25W in my fresh seawater bucket - both of which seem to be fine. Link to comment
scubasteve Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 How long did you let the heater set in the water before you plugged it in? Link to comment
nick1912 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 How long did you let the heater set in the water before you plugged it in? +1 Link to comment
gregzbobo Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Stray voltage? Leaking volts? That's not how electricity works.... Induction. Some heaters (and all powerheads for that matter) have some pretty decent windings inside them, making weak magnetic fields that can generate current in the water if conditions are right. Leakage is maybe not the best term, but it fits. And any heater without a thermostat is risky IMHO, DFS and other retailers should state whether a heater is thermostatically controlled or not. I have a 50W Finnex titanium heater in the AC70 of my Picotope, works great, hysterisis seems to be very stable, and no worries of overworking the thing if it gets really cold in the room its in. Link to comment
pimp4cheddar Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I was thinking of buying the 10watt Stealth Heater...glad I didn't. The one turn off I had was the fact that it was preset... I found a Petco near me that had a 50watt heater and put that in my fluval edge...so far so good! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.