My temp is going nuts

[Newbie101balla]

My temp went from 78 to 86 in one day i checked my heater and it was on even though i have mine set to 78 wut the heck is going on is it broken or somethin cuz my thernometer saids 86 what could cause one of these things to go grazy

My thernometer uses that red stuff i think it's mercury

 

[webcricket]

Heaters do malfunction/break - better take it out before it heats the tank up anymore! What kind is it?

 

[fish_freak]

I would take the heater out and get a new one. From the sounds of it might get stuck on and overheat your water.

 

[flyfly]

yup, thats a classic sign of a broken heater. I'd get a new one

 

[plah831]

My thernometer uses that red stuff i think it's mercury

red actually means it's alcohol, not mercury. mercury thermometers would be silver, and i don't know if they make them anymore.

what kind of heater are you using? if it's a cheapo one that came in a kit, those are very unreliable in my experience. They fail to turn off when the temp gets above the set point. for awhile, i even had to resort to unplugging them during heat waves otherwise they would keep turning on even when it was 82+ degrees in the water (and the heaters were set to 76!).

I'm going to upgrade to Visitherm Stealth's for all my tanks. Rena Cal was slightly better than the Whisper and All-Glass heaters, but still not as good about turning off as I'd like.

 

[mostlycichlids]

I use the marineland neptune heaters they are the most acurate in my opinion and very dependable never had a problem with mine. They were recommended to me by someone on this site I have been using them ever sense.

 

[dorkfish]

How hot is it outside (in the room) outside the tank?

 

[Newbie101balla]

Thanks for the help guys which one do you think is necesarry to get

http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...T<>prd_id=845524441810432&bmUID=1155229600580

for my 38 g

 

[dorkfish]

Thanks for the help guys which one do you think is necesarry to get

http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...T<>prd_id=845524441810432&bmUID=1155229600580

for my 38 g

Answer my question. It may not be nessisary to buy a new heater at all.

 

[Newbie101balla]

In the room it was like 85 degrees or so yesterday maybe 90 outside but it's still doing it today and it's much cooler like in the 70's either way the temp saids 80 write now and when i turn my heater to 78 it turns on even though it shouldent in less i have it set to like 82


btw could how high your water level be have any effect on either my temp or my heater malfunctioning bc i moved it up like 2 inches to reduce noise form filter ( the splash noise)