My Neotherm 150w heater split

NPD_289 · Oct 11, 2019

Went to feed my fish this evening and the room smelled like burnt rubber which I realized was coming from my tank. Upon checking everything electrical, I found that my Neotherm 150w heater had a crack in the housing.

I quickly removed it from my tank and replaced it with a spare heater then did a 20 percent water change (all I had mixed at the moment).

Should I stay up and do additional water changes? All fish and anemones seem to being doing well at the moment.

This heater was 13 months old and I'm so ticked at myself for disregarding the reviews stating this is a common defect. Never again will I purchase a Cobalt product!

infinite0180 · Oct 11, 2019

Yikes! Got any polyfilter? You could throw a piece in to help with any metal that may have leeched out...

NPD_289 · Oct 11, 2019

Unfortunately no. I can grab some tomorrow. I do run carbon in a reactor but not sure if that will help.

Schweezy · Oct 11, 2019

I mean... this happens with most all of the heaters. My 9 month old Jaeger just took on water and stuck on. Luckily I run two smaller heaters so nothing fries when this happens.

NPD_289 · Oct 11, 2019

My apex didnt indicate a problem with temp. I have an AIO tank so no room for 2 heaters. I'm worried about what leached into the water.

EmdeReef · Oct 11, 2019

These heaters have a flaw that causes them to explode like this. I had this happen 4-5yrs ago and many other similar threads.

you’ll want to do large water changes and definitely keep running carbon, perhaps change it after 24hrs After a large water change run a polyfilter or metasorb and you should be fine.

NPD_289 · Oct 11, 2019

Thanks. I will pick up a poly filter tomorrow. I just remembered I had a ChemiPure Blue which I just added to the tank. Hope it helps.

jurgenph · Oct 11, 2019

i wonder if you purchased an old stock model.
recent ones shouldn't blow up anymore.

can you snap a picture of the back?
maybe send it to cobalt and get their side of the story? what was the manufacture date of this heater?

J.

NPD_289 · Oct 11, 2019

My bad. It's a 200 watt. Here are the pics...

NPD_289 · Oct 11, 2019

I purchased it sometime in September of 2018...

jurgenph · Oct 11, 2019

so, the 200 watt model is known to have this problem, but it got fixed (i think)
i do not recall WHEN they fixed it.

sorry to hear that it happened to you.

i have been using various neotherms for many years, but i have always use the lower watt models.

J.

Flippers4pups · Oct 11, 2019

Sounds like you have caught it in time! I concur with everyone about GAC amd water changes. Polypad wouldn't hurt either.

Reminds me I should replace my heaters soon. Good idea to replace them every couple years, even of they are still working. Thermostats kicking on and off thousands of times.

NPD_289 · Oct 11, 2019

Good news is that the water smells a lot better. I'll put some new carbon in tomorrow and grab a poly filter.

NPD_289 · Oct 11, 2019

What makes me so frustrated is that I'm about to upgrade to a larger tank and I pray all my fish make it. My daughter and I have grown quite attached to them (with names) and they have all thrived in this tank for over a year. My only fish death was a yellow tailed fang blenny who committed suicide when I had the tank lid off.

Flippers4pups · Oct 11, 2019

NPD_289 said:
What makes me so frustrated is that I'm about to upgrade to a larger tank and I pray all my fish make it. My daughter and I have grown quite attached to them (with names) and they have all thrived in this tank for over a year. My only fish death was a yellow tailed fang blenny who committed suicide when I had the tank lid off.

Sounds like you should be fine. Doing all the right things now. Water changes help a great deal quickly in times like these. Dilutes any toxins. GAC works slower, but longer. Polypad pretty quick.

The heater crack looked like it was fairly recent and didn't have much melting going on. Good thing!

NPD_289 · Oct 11, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
Sounds like you should be fine. Doing all the right things now. Water changes help a great deal quickly in times like these. Dilutes any toxins. GAC works slower, but longer. Polypad pretty quick.

The heater crack looked like it was fairly recent and didn't have much melting going on. Good thing!

Thanks, this makes me feel better. Making another batch of SW just in case. I was literally in the room when the burnt rubber smell started, thank God. Took me about 30 minutes to discover it was the heater.