Heater burned itself????

[hendrixpujols11]

I was at the local petco recently to get some supplies, and i got the heater, the cheapest one they had. But, I took it out and it seemed to have burned itself. It was oozy and smelled of burning rubber. I might get some tetras or corys tomorrow....i dont even have a thermometer, i just guessed on the water temp. How do I keep the temp regulated until tomorrow??

 

[icecubez189]

im not understanding. you took it out and it was already melted or you placed it in your aquarium and plugged it in already.

whatever the case, never purchase the cheapest equipment for an aquarium. you'll get what you pay for. if your a smart shopper, you'll still be able to purchase the top quality stuff without shelling out as much as you think you'll need.

 

[hendrixpujols11]

i put it in my aquarium a few days ago and let it run, and then i noticed a little white oozy stuff and i took out the heater just now and it looked melted

 

[Malbri]

get a new heater before adding any fish and put it in and make sure the temp is steady, I had four fish die from a heater malfuntion

 

[Reddog80p]

I would take the heater back, explain what happened. Get store credit for it and buy a better heater.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

pick up a Visi-Therm Stealth Heater. used them for years never had a problem. when your taking back your cheap heater spend the money on a thermometer also. you cant just turn it on and guess its ok. do you have test kits? you will need to know about the water in your tank also. you should pick up the ap master kit if you dont have any tests for the water. another thing is look up cycling the tank before you put fish in there. (fishless cycle)

 

[hendrixpujols11]

yeah i have test kits and know anout cycling, both fishless and fishy. Any idea how much a thermometer or a good heater costs?

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

the cheapest one they had

You can go a less expensive route on just about everything EXCEPT a heater.
Take it back and get a good heater. I have read more cooked fish stories then I care to recount. While you are there, drop the big 99 cents and get a thermometer.

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Big Als online is having a sale. You should be able to get one for a good price there. Jager is what I normally use and dont have any problems with them. Price is determined by size, so the bigger it is, the more it costs.

 

[Malbri]

I got my heater for about 20 bucks as apposed to the 10 buck one that failed me before

The one for 20 bucks is working great its a 50 watt for my ten gallon

The best thing to do depending on the size of your tank is to get two with half the wattage you need and put one on each side