Thats it!! I turned off my heater

[lovemybarbs]

That's it!! I have a very good heater, but I had it turned down to 76 and it still kept my flipping tank at 82. It kept turning on!!! I unplugged it.

I moved my temperature indicator to the front of the tank so I can keep an eye on it.

I have a Rena Cal Top Light 200W. Anyone else have this problem???

 

[Andos99]

Yes....Rena Cal heaters are garbage. I only use visi-therm stealth heaters now.....they work great.

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

I had the same problem with a rena-cal. I switched to via-aqua stainless steel heaters. External temp control. Cool.

 

[hc8719]

then why not turn it down to 70, and it would leave the water at 76?

 

[lovemybarbs]

That's a good idea. I thought of it, but I thought this might work as well. So far it is down to 80 degrees.

 

[JRagg]

I've got my rena set on 75 and it keeps the tank around 79-79.5.

It took me a little while to get it set to where it stayed at the temperature I wanted it at.

Yeah, the actual temp setting on the heater stinks, but it keeps the temperature spot on. I've had worse heaters.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I have a Rena cal in my 55G, a 300W, and it's very stable. I never use the numbers on the dial, but use my digital thermometer instead. Once it was set, I have had no problems with it since.

 

[Guest]

Yes....Rena Cal heaters are garbage.

i hate when i buy something for my tank and someone comes along later and says it's garbage. mine works ok, no complaints so far.

 

[Pleco]

I have a Jager heater, i keep it at 77 and my water temp is a consistent 78-80.

I have noticed most heaters are never on the mark, but i usually see them +2 degrees over what they say the temp is, not +6

Good luck finding a reliable heater, the Jager i have works great.

-Pleco

 

[AquaJoe]

Personally I don't even pay attention to what the heater's temperature range says. I use sensing elements to determine the water temperature and adjust the heater accordingly. If I want to raise the temperature one degree, I give the peg a little turn (maybe 2/8 of a turn?) then wait 24 hours and check to see if I have if achieved the desired effect. If not, I continue making adjustments using this method.

Maybe I do this because I don't trust the equipment from WalMart. However it has not failed me yet. Mind you I set everything up prior to having fish in the aquarium(s).

Best,
Joe

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Yes....Rena Cal heaters are garbage.

i hate when i buy something for my tank and someone comes along later and says it's garbage. mine works ok, no complaints so far.

I have to completely agree with you. And especially when the person saying it has never even had one. Until someone can prove mine is garbage, then it's not, lol. Mine is as stable as a rock.

Oh, and I'm not saying the above people have never had one. Just referring to those who have never had a product and put's it down because of hear-say....

 

[lovemybarbs]

I turned it back on because it got down to 76 and I started to get scared. I turned the heater to 72 and now it has been at 78 since yesterday.

Weird.

 

[JRagg]

The easiest way to adjust it (imo) is if you're sitting there when it comes on. Then you go look at the temperature and give it a turn up or down based on where you want the temp to be.

I have to do that since ambient temp in my room over the summer led the tank to sit at 80 without the heater ever coming on. Since it has cooled down some it was dropping down to 75 or 76 before coming on, and I have slowly moved it up to 79.