Hi and is my heater cause for concern?

[Chiefstrum]

Hi guys. I've been perusing this forum for a while but this is my first post. I've got a 40 gallon breeder with Deep Blue T5 lighting, Aquaclear 110 power filter, Koralia 750 PH and either a 150 or 200 W Marineland visitherm heater (can't remember). I have been cycling with live rock for about three weeks. Once things stabilized I added 10 hermits and 5 turbos. Plan to add a clown in a week or two. So far so good!

My question is with my heater. I had it set for about 77 degrees and it was holding steady around 78 according to my thermometer. When I first turned on the lights though that temperature was climbing and yet the heater remained on. I now have things balanced out but it seems that I have to set my heater to around 72 and then it comes on and off as expected and maintains the water around 78 with or without lighting on. Should I try to get a replacement or just deal with it? My only concern is that if something is a little off I don't want to cook or freeze my tank once I get some more money in there.

I have enjoyed following many of the threads on this forum and look forward to becoming part of the community.

[Bige]

If it is running all the time and the temp setting seems off, I would throw it out the window. I have had a heater explode and it will kill almost everything. If you can get a new one I would. Use the old one to heat your water change water. Better safe than sorry.

[Chiefstrum]

Originally Posted by Bige

If it is running all the time and the temp setting seems off, I would throw it out the window. I have had a heater explode and it will kill almost everything. If you can get a new one I would. Use the old one to heat your water change water. Better safe than sorry.

it doesn't run all the time now, it's just that it is set at 72 to maintain 77

[Maya]

Throw it out. The thermostat in the thermometer is going bad which means it will eventually stop working and when that does it won't shut off. If you don't catch it in time it will boil your water. Like an earlier post said ... Use it for water change water but monitor it.

[Maya]

Didn't someone just post about their marineland heater boiling their water. Lost an entire tank.

[amdninjaboy]

Yep, its goin out.. I have 3 200watt visitherms. The first one I bought did the same thing, worked ok for about a week then I had to keep turning it down to maintain temp. Didnt want to risk having it stick on or off so I threw it out and got another one.. They have been good, set at 79 holding temp at 79.8.. You dont have alot of stock yet but if something happens later on when you have more fish, is it worth $40.. Keep it and use it for when you are making saltwater...

Shane.

[Chiefstrum]

anyone have a recommendation for a more reliable product? 2 weeks is no good IMO. I'd like to get a new one that is more reliable for the tank then i'll send this one back for warranty repair/replace and use it as a backup/saltwater making

[Bige]

Well it seems to be a crap shoot. I bought a real expensive titanium one and it exploded. Like smoking water and a huge mess. It eventually killed everything but my two clowns. But I had a stealth pro that went out too. Hard to recommend one.

[Bige]

Yours lasted 2 weeks? Mine exploded on day 5. Manufacturer said it was faulty silicone. They sent me a new one overnite.

[Rscomia]

Definatly get rid of it I come home one day to a tank that was almost 100 degrees and the heater was still on lost several critters

[mfdrookie516]

I wouldn't be so quick to toss it out. IIRC, Visitherms, Visitherm Stealths, and Stealth Pro's (though the pro's have been recalled) come with a lifetime warranty and will be replaced if they malfunction.

[Maya]

I'm all for returning it and getting a replacement and refund, or hey, even a oops! Sorry that you got a product of poor quality. What I am suggesting is that he not assume this one is okay turned down. I would replace it with another heater. Because I personally would not take that chance.

[Kurt_Nelson]

Just about all heaters out there will not be accurate with respect to the dial or setting knob. Some are better than others, but none are 100% accurate. It doesn't mean the heater is bad or thermostat is failing. It just means it's not accurate.

With that said though... there is a recall going on with the Marineland Stealth Pro heaters and you should NOT have them in your tank. The Stealth Pros are the ones that are totally black, with the red/green led-lit knob on the top. These are the ones being recalled. Marineland will replace them, and if you ask for a Visitherm (glass) heater, they should oblige. The original Stealth heaters are black, but no indicator light on the setting knob. The knob to set the thermostat is just red plastic. Those, in my opinion, are good heaters.

Personally, I'd never trust a thermostat on ANY heater. If you want a more reliable setup, get yourself an industrial temperature controller (Ranco, Johnson Controls, or a full blown aquarium controller) and use IT to turn your heater on/off. Set the thermostat on the heater just a little higher than the controller set point, and you have a 2nd line of defense from overheating. That's about as bomb-proof as you can get.

[Chiefstrum]

I work for a company that does a lot of automation work. Maybe I can get some of the lab rats to put something together for me