Another heater semi-nuked my tank.

Scorpius · Jun 24, 2019

Been having lots of issues lately and was wonder why more coral was dying. Finally figured out my Cobalt Neotherm 300w heater was stuck on 84 degrees when I run 78. Thanks you worthless piece of junk. This is like the fourth heater fail on me in the on position all different brands of heaters. Might was well tear the tank down and start over now.... I just can't win lately. So disheartening. This hobby is supposed to be fun and all I've been lately is frustrated.

Sorry for the rant, I'll get over it.

tl/dr: Heaters are the devils play things. Replace them yearly.

Subsea · Jun 24, 2019

Yes, heaters fail on too often. I don’t use heaters in air conditioned home.

Flippers4pups · Jun 24, 2019

Look for a heater controller. Ranco is a good choice. Try running two 150 watt heaters with a controller.

Scorpius · Jun 24, 2019

It has to be the saltwater. I've never had nearly as many heaters fail on my freshwater tanks.

Scorpius · Jun 24, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
Look for a heater controller. Ranco is a good choice. Try running two 150 watt heaters with a controller.

I had a ranco controller and it nearly started on fire. Never again.

Silver14SS · Jun 24, 2019

Inkbird is another popular heater controller and a forum sponsor. Might be worth looking into?

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/inkbird.1078/

Flippers4pups · Jun 24, 2019

Scorpius said:
I had a ranco controller and it nearly started on fire. Never again.

Tell us how it happened.

bluprntguy · Jun 24, 2019

IMO, most people vastly oversize their heaters. You only need to heat your tank up once and from then on you should just need to keep it warm. I have a 100 watt heater in a 45 gallon system and thinking I might swap it out for a 50 watt heater. Your system is a little bigger than mine, but your heater is 300 watts!

I always assume the heater is going to fail eventually, and that it's most likely going to be stuck on when it happens. I'd rather have the occasional chilly day then a day when my clownfish are served boiled!

Flippers4pups · Jun 24, 2019

Redundancy is best. If your system needs, say 250 watts of heating to maintain temp, instead of one 250 watt heater, run two 100 watt heaters and a 50 watt heater. If one sticks on, the others will most likely not kick on and may allow you to catch it before it over heats your system.

Scorpius · Jun 24, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
Tell us how it happened.

I smelled burning electronics in my kitchen which is where my tank is located. I narrowed it down to the Ranco controller which was warm to the touch. I took it apart and found the electronics had fried.

Flippers4pups · Jun 24, 2019

Scorpius said:
I smelled burning electronics in my kitchen which is where my tank is located. I narrowed it down to the Ranco controller which was warm to the touch. I took it apart and found the electronics had fried.

How did you have it? Was it the dual or single model? How many watts was on it?

Sorry for the questions, just learning.

Hemmdog · Jun 24, 2019

Scorpius said:
I smelled burning electronics in my kitchen which is where my tank is located. I narrowed it down to the Ranco controller which was warm to the touch. I took it apart and found the electronics had fried.

Was it wet ?

Tuan’s Reef · Jun 24, 2019

What about an apex junior? I see them go for $100-$150 all day.

HB AL · Jun 24, 2019

In 30+ years I've never had a heater fail. Ive also never submerged a heater completely in all those years although most now are fully submersible. For around the last 20 years or so I've used Eheim heaters. I dont even think of the heater failing. Only thing I can think of is that maybe because I dont fully submerged them that is why I've never had one fail. I did just change my 12 year old Eheim heater with another Eheim. I kept the old one just in case I start up another tank. Just wondering if people that have heaters fail are ones that are fully submerged?

saltyhog · Jun 24, 2019

You are right about heaters @Scorpius. In my opinion they are the piece of equipment that fails the most often. Unfortunately they most often fail in the on position.

I agree with the advice above to decrease your total wattage and split it between two heaters. Then if one fails in the on position the other will likely shut off and a disaster is averted (the single undersized heater won't raise temps to dangerous levels). I have two 200 watt heaters and my system is almost 3 times the size of yours. A controller is also a great idea. I have an Apex and I set it to turn the heaters off at about 1 degree above where their internal thermostat is set.

Flippers4pups · Jun 24, 2019

HB AL said:
In 30+ years I've never had a heater fail. Ive also never submerged a heater completely in all those years although most now are fully submersible. For around the last 20 years or so I've used Eheim heaters. I dont even think of the heater failing. Only thing I can think of is that maybe because I dont fully submerged them that is why I've never had one fail. I did just change my 12 year old Eheim heater with another Eheim. I kept the old one just in case I start up another tank. Just wondering if people that have heaters fail are ones that are fully submerged?

I agree completely!

I keep my thermostats out of the water!!

Hemmdog · Jun 24, 2019

I use a ranco with two finnex titanium 300watt heaters. The finnex model without temp control,, it requires a controller. Less that could go wrong if it has nothing that could get stuck “on” via a temp sensor. I rely fully on the ranco to turn the heaters on and off, they are super reliable industrial grade temp controllers. 78 on the dot 24/7

Until now that yours caught on fire ? That’s very concerning.