Heater failed and having problems with multiple replacements

[SciFyDi]

My heater died about two weeks ago on one of the coldest nights of the year. I had been using Marina heaters on all my tanks. Even though I know they are cheap they have always been reliable or so I thought.

I had a Marineland (I think) heater that came with the tank. It was very cheap no temp control just an arrow you adjust. I was using that until I could get a replacement.

The next day I went out to the lfs to see about a heater. There was no selection so I ended up with an Aqueon pro. This did absolutely nothing I just watched the tank temp fall for hours before I switched it back to the Marineland backup.

I ordered three heaters from Amazon and until they arrived I just ran back and forth to the tank every few hours and adjusted the marineland back and forth.

The first one I tried was another Marina heater. This was a 300 watt like I originally had. The pilot light would flicker on but would not keep the temperature. I had gotten another Marina but a 200 just in case the 300 was overkill. This works but I have to keep it set at 86 degrees during the day to get the temp to 78 and put it at 89 at night to get it to 79. For some reason it does not have a temperature control so again I have to dial it up and down. It will not keep a constant temp.

The next was a Eheim Jager 150. My tank was at 80 degrees when I put this in factory set at 77. The light came on immediately and I watched the tank temp soar. I had to dial it down to 73 to get the light off. So that’s where I’m at now I’m watching the tank temp slowly drop until I can see what temperature the light will come on.

I’ve had a Marineland 50w in my five gallon for over a year now. It’s set at 79 and keeps the temp a steady 79-80.
In the 55 gallon I had the Marineland 300. It was set at 81 and always kept the tank 79-80.

For reference right now the inside temp is about 73. It will probably be in the 60’s or lower tonight. This is a 55 gallon.

I have no idea why I’m having such a hard time with this. Does anyone know of a good temp control heater that will actually keep the temperature constant like I had before? Or anything else I can do? Right now I’m just running back and forth adjusting dials before my fish freeze or get cooked.

Thanks

 

[King Fisher]

That's odd. I use nothing but cheap heaters with the arrow you turn on top. No preset heaters only manual adjustable heaters. I keep my tanks in the basement and currently it's 55 degrees in my basement. I have to adjust the temp when it begins to get colder in the winter then turn it back as it warms up in the spring. I think it's a bit odd that a 300 watt heater is having a hard time heating a 55g tank at normal room temp. Do they have hoods? Maybe faulty heaters from the start?

 

[goatnad]

70 degrees out and you can't get a 200 or 300 watt heater to heat up a 55 gallon tank? Something is seriously wrong. The jager heater should have a red calibration marker that you can adjust so that you can set the heater to the proper temp. Tutorials on YouTube on how to calibrate them. I use jager heaters and they all stay at proper temp After calibration. House temp is set at 72 and all my heaters keep the tanks at 75, 78 and 80 degrees without any trouble. Where do you have the heater placed in your tank? If its in a corner with low flow then its more then likely just heating the few gallons of water. I like to keep mine in the path of the filter current or close to the intake on the filter.

 

[SciFyDi]

I guess it’s possible that I might have gotten three bad heaters. They all came from Amazon at around the same time. There was definitely something wrong with the 300 watt though.

The tank lid is very very thin and cheap. I’m considering getting a new sturdier one. The lid came with cutout lines for the filters. I was easily able to pop them out with my hands that’s how thin the lid is. The cutout pieces do leave gaps between the tank and the filter and my water evaporates like crazy. With the original heater the temp was always steady so I wouldn’t think to much heat loss is to blame. Also my smaller tank has a huge gap between the filter and the lid and it’s temp is always constant.
Quick question as of the last two weeks my fish who are used to a constant 80 degree temperature are now in temperatures that fluctuate between 77-80. Is the temperature change slight enough that they won’t be bothered?

 

[King Fisher]

If the temp changes are gradual and not sudden.....over the course of a couple hours or longer.....then it won't bother them.

I have a cheap plastic hood over my 29g with an opening in the back where I have a heater and two HOB's. It's in a room that's 55 degrees right now with a 150 watt heater that's turned up only half way and the water is 77 degrees. It's why I find your issue a bit odd. My tank is also glass and not acrylic so it's even a little harder to keep warm.

 

[SciFyDi]

My filters outlet is pretty much the middle of the water. Not near any sides of the tank. There really wasn’t a lot of space I could put it. If I put it in the middle back wall then it wouldn’t have any water flow whatsoever. I don’t think the water flow would reach it if I stuck it on the very front of the tank. Also I wouldn’t be able to close the lid.
I did have to put it in the corner but I tried to get it as near to the filter as possible. I don’t know if it helps but I have an air pump next to it.
I’ll go look on you tube and look at those videos

 

[King Fisher]

If you have the heater in the middle of the back wall of the tank it should be fine.

 

[SciFyDi]

As far as the Eheim is concerned after I watched a few videos my dumbass discovered it has both a red current temperature setting arrow to set and then a blue ring to turn. The instructions mentioned nothing of this. So with me adjusting only the blue dial I know I threw it out of wack and now probably have to try to bring it back to factory settings.
Good call on the video as I would never have known it had two things to set.

 

[goatnad]

glad I could help. Also yes an air pump near the heater will help as it will churn the water around the heater. Just don't put the air pump bubbling right on the heater. A few inches away is good.