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I just got home and my water temp is 69.1. I have 3 themomters and all are reading right around 69-71*. How do I check to make sure my heating element is working still? I have a PRO HEAT 150W heater if that helps.
Water Temp HELP!!!!!
- Thread starter oceanreefer124
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get another heater seems like the one you have is not working
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The best way to see if a heater is working? Touch it and see if it's hot. Just don't hold onto it for too long. You'll know right away. And just like Corigan, I've been through countless heaters. Buy one at at least 5 watts per gallon so it won't have to work as hard, hold the temperature more stable, and last longer.
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Best way to check if your heater is still working is to look at your thermometer.
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Your *glass tube* thermometer.
Agreed with the dual therms above. Two common problems with therms is they either stick on or burn out. Using two undersized therms will prevent one from heating the water too much or burning out and leaving a tank with no heating at all.
imo....best heater on the market is the stealth.....havent had one break on me yet....the only problem they have is taht they dont have an indicator light but that isnt that big a deal in my opinion...youll know if it isnt working if you check your temp enough.....the idea aof having two is real smart...now ill know for my next tank. dont feel like buying new heaters right now.
I have had a stealth leak and short (shocked me)... but then I have blown all of them one way or another.
A note on the "touch" method... be very careful. If it is the right kind of short or a leak, you may get zapped. Perhaps unplug it first and check it quickly to see if it is warm.
I use two or three of them, depending on the season, as the folks above mention. I put one in the sump, ever since I had my return pump fail for most of a day, letting the sump get really cold (it is under my house). It was hard to bring it back on line (well, I was talking someone through it over the phone while working with my Neptune via internet) without causing a temperature shock on the display tank. I now keep one in each of the sump and the tank. Oh, and since my fuge is a small 20g, I keep one in there as well.
I have used about 6 different ones, and tend toward the ViAqua Titanium heaters. Not ideal, but seem to work best for me. All are backed with a "secondary" temp control (one on my chillers controller, one or two on my Neptune). Department of redundancy department.
-Mike
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I use multiple Visi-therm classics and Visi-therm stealths. I never had a heater fail in the off position before. When they fail for me they fail in the on position or leak (and short out). I have several heaters on my current system, one in the sump, overflow, fuge and frag tank all controled by an Aquacontroller. Controlling several heaters at once is a nice benifit of X10 and the Aquacontroller.
Another tip for those of you using a secondary controller to run your heaters: set the built-in thermostat on your heaters to 1 or 2 degrees above your controller's temp setting. This way, if your controller fails with the heaters on, the built-in thermostat will cut off the heater before you cook your tank.
Another tip for those of you using a secondary controller to run your heaters: set the built-in thermostat on your heaters to 1 or 2 degrees above your controller's temp setting. This way, if your controller fails with the heaters on, the built-in thermostat will cut off the heater before you cook your tank.
