Some Questions about New Equipment.

[justintoxicated]

Hi I just recieved my order from Dr Foster & Smith.

1) I have a Fluval 204, I can't put it behind my tank for now because I'm about 1 inch short on clearance, plus it would be insainly hard to access back there. I dropped a sution cup it came with behind my dresser and now it's gone for good. (without moving a Huge dresser, Large widscreen CRT Television and my 20 gallon tank) to get it.

I read that it has to be below the tank level, but then I have to put it on the floor in front of my dresser...Which kinda sucks. So is it ok to put this thing at the same level as the tank after I prime it?

On a second note this thing is HUGE for my 20 gallon, alot of people were telling me it is not overkill, but wow!

2)I got a Coralife Digital Thermometer because I read good things about them. It seems to be way off on temp readings. I have an IR thermometer that registers the tank at 75 deg (accurate to .5 degrees), which is what I set my new heater to. But this thing is only reading 73.4 degress. Should I send it back?

3) I got one of those stealth 100 watt heaters, There is no way to tell when this thing is turning on right? I'm thinking I should have got another THEO...

4) Finaly I put my old 50 watt THEO in my 3 gallon fry tank to keep them warmer at night, Is this ok for now?

 

[cherrypie]

1) Sounds like you're not getting that suction cup back, I'm guessing it's for the spray bar or the intake, as long as you can get them securely in place it should survive without it. As for the level of the canister, as long as the top of it is below the level of the water it'll be fine, I'd be inclined to make sure it's at least a few inches below.

2) Don't know the Coraline thermometers, best to test it against a regular glass thermometer if you have one.

3) Not familiar with the Stealth heaters, would be suprised if there's no indicator lamp though. Ahh well if you have to get another one, the Hagen (Aquaclear/Thermal Compact) heaters are another good choice, they respond quickly to temp change, have a nice bright indicator lamp, are available almost everywhere and are compact and reliable.

4) A bit of an overkill, but should be fine as long as it's properly submersed and the thermostat is reasonably quick. I'd be inclined to lower its temp setting a little, just incase it's slow to turn off.

 

[justintoxicated]

yea I don't need the suction cup as I have a background on the tank anyways, just describing the bottemless pit back there.

If I was to set the filter next to the tank it would be about the same level as the top of the tanks waterline.

My Glass and IR thermometers register the same temp, I guess this one is just junk. It does me no good being 2 deg off. I don't trust it, I'll go throw it in the trash. (Waste of $5)

I left teh 50 watt heater at 75 deg (I like to keep teh tank about 78 but it also has a light) I noticed this morning the tanks temp is at 80 deg and the heateris not kicking on like it normaly does even when the tanks temp is over the heaters setting.

I asked about this before and no1 replied, perhaps that heater is also bad? (Waste of $25 it is 3 months old) to the trash it goes then...

I thought ordering online would be cool, but I think I will from now on just buy stuff from petsmart so I can return it when the piece of crap does not work. I guess I broke even here, but had to wait over a week to get the equipment.

 

[LunchBox]

I've had a heater thermostat go bad before. several years ago I had my heater short out or something and it heated the tank to bathwater and it was only set to 75 degrees. Long story short, It's definitely possible if the water is too warm that the heater could have a bad thermostat. at least you caught it before it cooked your fish

 

[justintoxicated]

it has done this since it was new I jsut was not sure how it was supposed to be working, I'm setting it down anotehr couple degree and im going to see if the temp drops.

I'm not convinced yet, perhaps the light is also heating up the 3 gallon eclipse.

On the other hand I thoguht the light fixture was heating up my 20 gallon to much, now it seems to be steady at 75, I won't be suprised if it jumps to 77 but before it would jump to 80+ so I have a feeling it is the heaters fault. I will have to play with it a bit more, the tanks is warm yes, but the heater is not turning on right now either.

So Generaly speaking the heater should ONLY turn on when the water is at or colder than the heaters setting?

it MIGHT be worth warrantying, however the brand new thermometer that does not work, is not..

Maybe I can find one at a LFS or petsmart and try swapping it out.

ALOT of people on here recomend the stealth heaters, but would I be better off with a heater with an indicator light?