Is water heater still good?

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RubisMoon

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Apr 27, 2013
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Location
Quebec
So i was given some fishtank stuff that i want to eventually use for a small fish tank. All seems good except for the heater that i'm not sure off. It heats ( just plugged it quick and it heats but to what point not sure yet) but if u look at the picture, the inside of the heater doesn't look good compared to my current silver one. Like water leaked in. Anyone has or had one like that?
Thanks
 

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Personally, I would replace the heater. Electricity, and water, and your hand in the tank make a bad combination:nono:
 
So i was given some fishtank stuff that i want to eventually use for a small fish tank. All seems good except for the heater that i'm not sure off. It heats ( just plugged it quick and it heats but to what point not sure yet) but if u look at the picture, the inside of the heater doesn't look good compared to my current silver one. Like water leaked in. Anyone has or had one like that?
Thanks

Yeah it looks like water got in there, it could short and stay on and bring your water to a boil killing all the fish ( it happend at my lfs a few months ago) just toss it.
 
It wouldn't hurt to plug it into a GFCI outlet to see if it trips it. If it does, it's no good. Make sure the filter is submersed in water for 20 minutes before plugging it in.

David
 
A GCFI outlet will not do anything in case the circuit is messed up though (like being shorted)... It will only trip if there is some current going to the ground, which is not the only sign of a circuitry problem.
 
It wouldn't hurt to plug it into a GFCI outlet to see if it trips it. If it does, it's no good. Make sure the filter is submersed in water for 20 minutes before plugging it in.

David

The 30 bucks is not worth the chance of killing all your fish, and possibly fire.
 
I have more than a few heaters that have gotten wet inside for different reasons, including one of those. I dried them out and used them. You have to use some judgement here, of course. A couple of times, I knocked a 2' shoplight into a tank, and it is still in use. As well, it stayed lit while in the water; fresh water is a very good insulator. If you had a heater that could boil your fish if it failed in the on position, it is too big for the tank.
If you suspect water may be getting in, you can use the heater with the control end above the water line. Or, you can toss it and get a new one.
 
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