How often do you change out your heater?

[Lonewolfblue]

Just wondering how often everyone changes out their heater. My 26G is going on 1 year, and thinking of replacing it.

[Lonewolfblue]

Here's what I currently have in my 26G. It's been running 11 months now, and is still very good. I have the 200W model, which they sell here at out lfs. The site I listed is just for your viewing. Our lfs sells them for cheaper than on this site. The prices on the site are kind of high.

http://sciencekit.com/category.asp?c=908923&sid=froogle

[flanque]

Well I have had my 250w for three years without a hitch... well I did have to replace the suction caps, but that's not so bad.

In my fresh water I have had that for around 4-5 years and that's 100w.

I carry a spare one of lower wattage (I actually use it to warm up my change water) so that will go in straight away if anything goes wrong.

My skimmer is a multi-skimmer capable of doing my tank plus more for bio filtering, so that's also a bit of a backup in case the canister filter dies or stops.

[Toirtis]

I have several heaters that have been giving me reliable service for 5+ years.....some over 7....most of my heaters are between 1-5 years of age.

[gheitman]

I voted for 2 years because that was the longest period available in the poll. In actuality I replace my heaters as the need calls for it. Unless the heater is defective (i.e. gets condensation inside the tube or the thermostat is no longer accurate) I keep using it. Several of my heaters are more than 3 years old.

[jgc8fan]

I haven't had to change mine in 6 years... I used to change them every year or so (so I've got lots of spares), and then bought a really good Ebo-Jager, and haven't had a problem since.

[eric1514]

Originally Posted by gheitman

...I replace my heaters as the need calls for it. Unless the heater is defective (i.e. gets condensation inside the tube or the thermostat is no longer accurate) I keep using it...

Is condensation inside the tube a bad thing? My heater's been that way forever and I thought it was a normal condition. Silly me.

Oh boy, an excuse buy a new toy!
Eric

[Codefox]

Ive had heaters last 5+ years with no problem. While heater failure is a dangerous thing for your fish if you have a high quality heater there's little reason to worry it's going to fail on you. Quite the contrary, if you have a working heater that's been dependable, replacing it is only asking for trouble because the more heaters you put in your tank the more likely one of them will be defective.

[Fishyfanatic]

I chose "Russian Roulette with your fish..." because I only change it out if it breaks. We've only had 1 go bad and we just replaced that one last week. But the others have had glass break and ahve been changed out, all with Stealths. Checking the water temp twice a day helps keep the heater in check.

[Tiffi]

I have two heaters in my tank. So I don't really play with the health of my fish in case one breaks. And that would be the time for me to replace one - if it quits working.

[gheitman]

Originally Posted by eric1514

Is condensation inside the tube a bad thing? My heater's been that way forever and I thought it was a normal condition. Silly me.

Oh boy, an excuse buy a new toy!
Eric

It may not have been absolutely necessary to replace the heater because of condensation at the time but I didn't want to take any chances. I've had two Hagen Tronic heaters develop condensation after using them for more than three years. I use nine Tronic heaters right now and highly recommend them.

[Lonewolfblue]

Originally Posted by gheitman

I voted for 2 years because that was the longest period available in the poll. In actuality I replace my heaters as the need calls for it. Unless the heater is defective (i.e. gets condensation inside the tube or the thermostat is no longer accurate) I keep using it. Several of my heaters are more than 3 years old.

Actually, what I mean by Russian Roulette is greater than 2 years or until the heater dies and possibly killing fish if you aren't there to monitor it when it occurs, such as when you are asleep at night.

[Fishyfanatic]

Basically we replace when it dies. If you check the water temp as you walk by it, most likely the breakdown of a heater won't kill the fish. We have had a few times where the temp had fluctuated without ill effect. In the 10 gal tank, the heater became unplugged. I found it the next morning with the temp at about 70. I plugged the heater in and slowly increased the temp. Didn't lose a single fish. When doing water chagnes I accidently hit the heater knob in the 10 gal sending the temp to about 90. Again, slowly decreased the temp and saw no ill effects. I really dont' see a reason to throw away a heater that is perfectly good since the lifespan of heaters varies.

[Codefox]

Also, if you have a large tank and use multiple heaters, you're simply not going to have much danger in the event of a single failure. The chance of two failing simultaneously isn't even worth discussing.

Proper monitoring (and really who has a tank and doesn't look at it several times a day? ) will elimnate most of the danger of a heater failure.

[jrp1588]

I just wait till it starts messing up...

[jsoong]

I voted "Russian roulette" ---- BUT ----- I keep cold water fish and my heater is there only to decrease night time temp drop (I have a 5 degree set-back on my furnace).

My fish will be fine even if the temp goes way down - they just hibernate!

[Todd2]

I voted Russian roulette too because I don't replace my heaters based on age but rather based on how well they function. If one of my heaters starts fluctuating it's time to get a new one. If it's running stable I'll just leave it in there.

[caribou]

I advise to keep a spare on hand. I had a heater go bad recently and it was during a weekend blizzard. I couldn't get out of my driveway, let alone go 30 miles to the nearest LFS. I'm glad I had a backup on hand. This was unusual because the heater was a Won that was about 7 mos old, the thermostat went bad.

[jgc8fan]

I picked Russian roulette too, but only cause it was the longest option... Since my early fiascoes with wal-mart (Tetra, Whisper, Regent, etc... Yes they are all made by Tetra) I only buy heaters online and brands that are "tried and true" As a result I get heaters that last much longer. I only have to worry about it breaking down at night (I only sleep 4-5 hours a night anyway). During the day my compact fluorescents keep the temp right at 82, so the heater only comes on after lights out.

[Arshis]

I just recently had a 300 watt heater from aqua gardens break and toast some of my more sensitive fish. That heater lasted 1.5 months so not to happy with it. Just bought a 300 watt heater from all glass aquarium, hoping the brand will save me fatalities. Anyone else care to share who their heaters were manufactured by?