Heater Trouble

C

captainhook

AC Members
Dec 26, 2005
23
0
0
Pittsburgh, PA
My thermostat reads 84 degrees in the tank (If I take it out of the tank it will read room temperature).

My heater is set to 75 degrees.

Ambient room temperature is 68 degree.

The heater comes on periodically.

I assume that my heater is bad and that my thermostat is ok. Does this sound right?

I have a 20 gallon tank. What is a recommended heater? Should I just go to the LFS and pick up one? I don't want to have to replace a heater every two years, unless that is normal.

Thanks for you advice in advance.
 
What kind of thermostat is it?

One of those strips you stick on the outside, check to see if the water level is above the strip and reading correctly.

Floating bulb looking thermostat reads more accurate I believe.

Digital thermostats, put it as far away from the heater you can, and it might be picking up heat from your hood. Maybe 1-2 degrees.

Other than that, dunno.


Giants scored :(. 17-14.
 
I would recommend a digital thermometer as well. It's always good to have two thermometers. I have a digital and a stick on one for all of my tanks. As far as heaters go I would recommend the Marineland Stealth heater. Made out of shatterproof plastic and it has an automatic shutoff, which is nice. I have one on my saltwater tank and I love it. Not sure where your heater is located but it's always best to put it near the filter intake. That will help to distribute the warm water.
 
is it a new heater ? or an old one that just started doing it ?
it's not uncommon for the thermometer to read different than what the dial on the heater is set at,just turn the heater dial down more..I have one heater that the dial is set to 75 but the tank temp is 80-82 with anything I check the temp with and another thats farther off than that,as long as the tank temp is stable where you want it,it shouldnt matter what the heater dial says.Some will be spot on,others off some.
 
The heater is a little over two years old.

I had it set close to 80 degrees and the temp in the tank was 82-84 degrees.

I have since set the temp at 75 degrees and the temp in the tank is still 82-84 degrees.
 
hmm wierd, is it submersible? if so do you have it all the way under the water? If it just clamps onto the back, do you have the water to the fill line on it? If not it could be getting the wrong readings and trying to overcompinsate. Also how long has it been set at 75, bc if you just turned it down recently, the water will take some time to cool to the desired degree.
Or it could be just old and out of wack, those are all possibilities.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom