Sigh -- more heater woes

[Betty]

In the past month or so, I've had three Aqueon Pro heaters malfunction. Two stopped heating and one was stuck on. Luckily I caught that before it cooked the tank like one did a couple of years ago, killing almost every fish in my 60 gallon. It's weird how all three stopped working so close together.

I'm trying to figure out what brand to go with for replacements.

 

[Cory]

How long were they in service? I'm not sure there is a heater out there right now that is super reliable. I've been using Aqueon Pros lately and liking them.

 

[Betty]

Well, some of them I got back when the Stealth heaters were recalled and I bought three more 2013-2014. I can't remember now which tanks the new ones went into, so I can't say for sure how old they are.

 

[DMD123]

Sorry to hear about the heater problems!

Ive been using SERA heaters for a while now and been happy. They are a bit hard to find but I like the built-in heater guards.
I had also used the Cobalt neotherm and was pretty happy but the higher watt (200's) had some meltdown issue but lower watt ones seemed fine, con is price.
On my new 300g Im going with Fluval E-Series, so I have no comment on those yet

 

[Cory]

Yeah I order from Sera, and could order those heaters, they are just spendy and I haven't personally tested them. But as a company for food they seem awesome. I haven't tested much of their equipment.

 

[Cory]

P.S. With the lifetime warranty of the aqueon pro heaters. You should be able to contact the company, they request a picture of the cords cut, and sent out new ones...

 

[Betty]

I'll try contacting them, but when the last one killed my fish, I contacted them and they sent me an email saying that I needed to send the broken heater in to them and they would replace it. I guess I didn't want to pay shipping or something because I have a different brand of heater in that tank now.

I'm not sure I want to replace with another Aqueon. This is broken heater #4.

I'll take a look into Sera. Thanks DMD.

 

[pbmax]

Bummer. I have all aqueon pros and I haven't yet had one die on me. Some are at least 2 years old, I think.

But I'm verifying that all my temp alarms are fully operational this evening, just in case (I have them on every tank, thankfully). Thanks for the reminder!

On a side note, aqueon replaced a light fixture of mine sight-unseen and I didn't have to send the old one back. Maybe it's hit and miss, or they changed their policies or something? This was at least 2 years ago.

 

[Betty]

I hadn't had any problems for awhile; not since that one overheated. I'll post back here after I contact the company and see what they say.

 

[L190]

Maybe try those titanium heaters with a controller? I have some in my tanks and really like them.

 

[Betty]

Maybe try those titanium heaters with a controller? I have some in my tanks and really like them.

What brand are they? I've been looking at some online. They are fairly expensive. If I knew that they would last a good long time it would be worth it. This one comes with magnetic holders instead of those terrible suctions cups. So expensive though. http://www.marineandreef.com/JBJ_300W_True_Temp_Titanium_Heating_System_p/rjb10099.htm

 

[L190]

Wow, that is pretty fancy. I have 3 brands that I am currently using. a 50 watt aquatop, 150 watt finnex, and a 1000 watt Catalina heater. I think the finnex heaters are the best bang for your buck. I have used it for a year and have no problems with it

 

[Betty]

I have the Finnex 200 on my list of possibles. Still looking at reviews, prices, etc. Luckily I have a few small spare heaters that still work.

I discovered that all three of the heaters that are not working have water inside of them! This is not normal, is it??
-------------------------
I called Aqueon and was told, as I was before, to send the broken heaters in and they will replace them. Was also told that no, they shouldn't have water in them.

 

[dleblanc]

I had four Cobalt 200W heaters go out, one killed about $700 worth of discus. I haven't had any trouble with the Eheim/Jaeger heaters, and have about 15 of them. Even so, I now run every tank with 2 heaters, and a temperature controller. The controller is about $30, and will save me if one sticks on, having 2 heaters will save me if one fails open. So far, it works.

 

[Bob]

Id rather have a 50 watt heater on 24 hours a day than a 300 watt heater on every couple hours. Both use the same amount of energy, and one wont fry your fish if it gets stuck on.

 

[dleblanc]

Trying to get that balance right is really hard, though. There's a certain amount of energy loss, depending on the ambient temperature, surface area, tank composition, and whether it is covered. Ideally, you'd have just enough watts to overcome heat loss. Then if the heaters stuck on, they wouldn't get too hot. Nice theory, and I can do the math to figure it out.

Then what happens is you lose power in the middle of the winter, put your tanks on a generator, there isn't enough excess capacity to keep the tank warm enough, and you lose fish that way. When we lost power a month ago, my 180 was running at 4-5 degrees under normal because the two 250W heaters couldn't keep up with the heat loss. You could tinker with it, just keep putting 50W heaters in until it was just right, and I'm sure with even more tinkering you could get them all calibrated the same.

There's also the angle that if one heater will fail on average every X number of hours, the more heaters you have, the more often at least one will fail. The lower wattage units are likely more reliable, but you're offsetting that by having more of them. Trying to figure out which one is stuck on could be a bit of fun, too.

Or you can spend $30, get a temperature controller and set it up to cut off 2 degrees above where you set your heaters, and be good to go.

 

[xicaque]

Try the Ebo Jager. Had them for over 16 years with no problems.