heater

[fishNCovice]

this will prob get moved but there is hardly ever anyone in the hardware forum

anyway my question is can i turn on my heater even if my aquarium water line does not reach the heater waterline point? there is about a 1" separation between my waterline and the heaters marking line. it is the penn-plax 15" therma-flow [acronym:04b936983b="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:04b936983b] Plus.
will i risk any damage?

[Menagerie]

The markings are there for safety. The heater may warm up too much outside the water and crack--major damage to your finned friends.

[Endgame319]

it depends, at the bottom of your heater there is this coil part, that part must be totally submerged, otherwise you're fine