Heater too small?

[Tastee]

Sometimes I am not so good with visualization in my head. I have been getting better with that! However, I just want to regurgitate some things to you to be sure I am on the same page.

The heaters are connected to a base outlet, which is how they are controlled via a controller. The controller uses the probes, and kicks the heaters on and off accordingly, much like how an Apex would work? So, if these heaters do have internal thermostats, they are more than likely being overridden? If I could get a picture it would help me understand the placement better.

I agree with the original comments, a single 250W heater sounds undersized for your tank. Having a second heater would address that and give you some redundancy. If you do lose one heater however you will need to replace it fairly soon otherwise your tank will start to run cooler again. There are a number of good brands out there, different people like different ones, but Eheim is certainly a reputable brand with a good reputation. I run an Eheim in my FW tank personally, but for no particular reason a different brand (Aquael) in my SW tank, which is also a good brand.

If you run your heaters off a controller, with two active heaters, you can set them to both go on and off at the same temperature. You should then set your heater’s internal thermostat just above the off temperature, that way if your controller fails on the internal thermostat will stop them cooking your tank.

I use a different system however to cover more bases. I have a 65g tank and a 300W main heater controlled by my Apex. The internal thermostat of the main is set to turn off just > the off setting of the controller to allow for a controller failing on situation. I then have a backup heater not connected to the Apex and only controlled by it’s internal thermostat. It is set to turn on just < the main heater’s on setting in the controller. This gives me protection against the controller failing off. In both these cases I would get an Apex alarm advising of an issue.

The other situation to protect against is the controller, or the backup heater, failing on. In my case I have a chiller which would kick in to ‘fight’ the heaters and either manage or at least mitigate the situation. If it was managing the issue I would not get an alarm and would have to rely on manually noticing the chiller was permanently on. If it was only mitigating the issue and the tank temp climbed above the high alert I would get an Apex alarm advising of that issue. If I was able to get an EB8 (I am in Australia) I could set an alarm to advise of a chiller running unusually long.

You could do similar with two main heaters and a third backup heater. Like me however you still need a way to protect against controller or backup heater failing on.

 

[Jvesche20]

So yesterday I picked up a 300w heater. Set the heater to 77F and placed it next to my other heater. It's in the same chamber as my other heater only a few inches apart. I think that this is the issue now because it's been 18 hours and the water is reading 74/75. I don't know if placing the heater so close is the reason why the water isnt warming up. Maybe the 250W is producing heat and the 300W thinks the temp is 77F because its so close together. Not sure thought maybe I should move the heater to a different chamber? I just don't want one heater doing all the work

 

[mich2599]

Are they calibrated? I know it says they are factory calibrated but I would check just to make sure.

 

[Jvesche20]

Are they calibrated? I know it says they are factory calibrated but I would check just to make sure.

What do you mean by this? I have it set to 77F and the light is on if thats what you mean. I haven't done much more to it

 

[mich2599]

You have Jagers right? They can be calibrated. Look at the instructions that came with them

 

[Jvesche20]

You have Jagers right? They can be calibrated. Look at the instructions that came with them

Alright so I almost just died trying to calibrate my heater. It ended up exploding and glass shattered everywhere. No idea why this happened or how. Here’s the email I sent to ehiem. Not sure if I should go through them or take it back to my lfs.

I purchased a 300Watt heater from my fish store Wednesday night. I turned it on left it in my tank till tonight (Thursday night). The heater wasn’t heating my tank. I have a 250W but I added more water so it wasn’t able to keep up with my tank. I noticed the heater wasn’t working because my tank was still cold. I had both heaters set to 77°F but the temp was reading 73°F in my tank. I was trying to calibrate the heater and I left it in a 5 gallon bucket with colder water. I wanted to see if it would heat it up to 77°F or if I needed to calibrate it. I walked away for about 5 minutes and came back and it smelt like something was burning. I looked at the heater and it melted the plastic from the 5 gallon bucket. I took the heater out of the water for about 30 seconds to look at what happened. I thought nothing of it and I would hold it so it wasn’t touching anything. Then as I placed it back into the water it started to sizzle and it popped really loud and about scared me half to death. I pulled it out and the glass had shattered. Below I have some pictures attached. Is there a warranty on these products? I’m not sure if I should go back to the fish store I had purchased this from or not.

Guess we have to wait and see what they say

 

[mich2599]

Sorry to hear....I had troubles with my heater some months ago and contacted aqueon they sent a replacement and it was bad as well..ran over 77°F even though I had it set at 77°F. Then I ordered a Jager from amazon and I had to calibrate it as the temp was around 80°F overnight. Now I just have my apex control it. BTW they should have warranty.

 

[Jvesche20]

Sorry to hear....I had troubles with my heater some months ago and contacted aqueon they sent a replacement and it was bad as well..ran over 77°F even though I had it set at 77°F. Then I ordered a Jager from amazon and I had to calibrate it as the temp was around 80°F overnight. Now I just have my apex control it. BTW they should have warranty.

Thanks. How long did it take for you to get the replacement? I’m not trying to wait a few weeks. My tank is gonna he too cold. This 250W heater is probably on all day and can’t keep up with everything. Only other issue is my lfs never gave me a receipt. I paid with cash also. All that’s in their receipts if they give it is just the amount paid. Nothing about the product so hopefully they will still cover it I’m sure they will though.

 

[mich2599]

almost 2 weeks. I would go to where you bought it and see if they can give you another one.