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Heater problems - help please?

934 views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  toad 
#1 ·
Hi all,


I put the new fishy (who still doesn't have a name :/) in my bedroom, which is a few degrees cooler than the rest of my house. I have my other two boys in my kitchen, where they stay at a nice 78-80 degrees (F) with no heaters.

The new boy's thermometer is reading 74 degrees (F) and he's acting chilly. Plus, when I put my hand in the water, I could feel that it was much too cold for him. I bought him this heater:

http://www.petco.com/product/114078...3-_-Tetra Submersible Aquarium Heaters-114078

I rinsed it and put it in the tank with him before I left for work. When I first plugged it in, the indicator light turned red, like I expected it to - indicating that the water was too cold and the heater was actively working to warm it up. When I got home 6 hours later, the light was green, indicating that the water was the target temp, but the thermometer showed the temp hadn't changed at all. When I put my finger in the water, it was still cold, and the heater wasn't warm at all.

I went back to Petco and exchanged it for another of the same heater; I explained to them what had happened and they agreed with me that it must be a heater defect. I brought the new one home, put it in the tank and the same thing happened. The light is green, the water is cold, and my sickly fish is unhappy :-(

Am I doing something wrong and missing it? Or did Tetra send out a lame batch of heaters?

Details: the tank in question is a 3 gallon acrylic cylinder shaped tank with an LED light, that is stone cold (the other boys' lights emit heat - I think they're incandescent or fluorescent?), and is unfiltered.

Thanks for any input you may have!
 
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#2 ·
I really don't know. I have that heater, and it seems to work just fine. What type of decor do you have in there?
 
#3 ·
I'm not sure if you did this or not but most heaters require you leave them in the water for at least 15 minutes before you turn it on. Many people have had mixed reviews about that heater. It is customary to wait 24 hours. It's supposed to heat up slowly so your betta can adjust. If you think its the heater put a thermometer in and watch the water temps.
 
#5 ·
I'm not sure if you did this or not but most heaters require you leave them in the water for at least 15 minutes before you turn it on. Many people have had mixed reviews about that heater. It is customary to wait 24 hours. It's supposed to heat up slowly so your betta can adjust. If you think its the heater put a thermometer in and watch the water temps.

I didn't do that; I popped it in and plugged it in. I figured since the first one was in there for 6 hours and temp didn't rise a single degree, it wasn't working. The second one that I brought home is still in the tank, and still plugged in, so I will see if anything happens by tomorrow.

Thanks!
 
#4 ·
I have regular white gravel from Petco on the floor, then a couple of rocks that I found while I was walking at the park (cleaned and vinegar tested), and an anubia plant. The plant is just a baby, so he's not very big...
 
#7 ·
I've heard bad things about that brand of heater... never used one personally.

I would take it back and get this one http://www.petco.com/product/116663/Hydor-THEO-UL-Submersible-Aquarium-Heater.aspx
I can't rave enough about hydors. I have this one in my boys 2.5 and he's toasty in the winter at 81. I love them so much I picked up a 50W for my 10G.
The 25W model will be fine for your 3G tank. Just make sure you have a floating thermometer (the strip ones are highly inaccurate) and monitor the temperature. Once you find the right setting, your boy will be happy as a clam.
 
#8 ·
I've heard bad things about that brand of heater... never used one personally.

I would take it back and get this one http://www.petco.com/product/116663/Hydor-THEO-UL-Submersible-Aquarium-Heater.aspx
I can't rave enough about hydors. I have this one in my boys 2.5 and he's toasty in the winter at 81. I love them so much I picked up a 50W for my 10G.
The 25W model will be fine for your 3G tank. Just make sure you have a floating thermometer (the strip ones are highly inaccurate) and monitor the temperature. Once you find the right setting, your boy will be happy as a clam.
Thanks for the suggestion :) I have a strip thermometer on each of my 3 tanks, and the two in the kitchen agree with the wall thermostat, so I was trusting them, but I will replace them with the floating ones, instead.

Thanks again!
 
#9 ·
Depending where you live in the US, I would recommend choosing the 50w instead of the 25w if they're the same price.

Once it gets colder a 25w heater would struggle to maintain the temperature.

My friend gave me that heater and I don't like it.

I'll probably give it to my little cousins, I pretty sure they don't have a heater for their turtle.
 
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