My heater Is broken?

[gn3ranger]

Hey guys I have a Aqueon Submersible Aquarium Heater 50 Watt for my 10 gallon Betta tank, but the light never turns red unless I Put it at about 85 degrees. has anyone else had trouble with this before I poked my finger in the water and it was fairly cold so i don't think my heater is doing anything right now and im scared to put it at over 82 degrees since there are cory's living with him too.

[teeneythebetta]

Put a thermometer in your tank so you know what degrees it is.

The light is only on while it is heating. It should turn off once it reaches the temperature it is set at, then turn back on if the tank gets any cooler than the set temp.

[gn3ranger]

yea but the light doesn't even turn on if its below 85 degrees I want it at 76 degrees but the light will not even turn on at that temperature. I do not have a thermometer at the moment but I'll probably get one soon. Is the light suppose to turn on at any temperature?

[teeneythebetta]

Originally Posted by gn3ranger

yea but the light doesn't even turn on if its below 85 degrees I want it at 76 degrees but the light will not even turn on at that temperature. I do not have a thermometer at the moment but I'll probably get one soon. Is the light suppose to turn on at any temperature?

Sometimes heaters heat tanks to a differe t temperature than they are set to. Once you get the thermometer lmk if you're still having problems.

[Perseusmom]

Yeah you really need a thermometer to check the temp of the water, its hard to tell sometimes by just putting your finger in the water cause if your hands are cold it will feel warm if your hands are hot it will cold. They dont cost much or 3 dollars depending on what kind you get. Hope your heater is not broke, does it also have a green light that comes on when its not heating the water ? Mine does and its red when its heating the water.

[gn3ranger]

Yes i know thermometers are cheap its just always passed my mind to get one. No My light doesn't turn green, right now its just off. feel kinda bummed it's not working spending all this money to make my Betta and Cory's feel comfortable and the thing isn't working.

[MollyJean]

I wouldn't worry. Just because the light isn't coming on doesn't mean it's broken. Remember that the water right around your heater is always warmer. It'll only light up if the water around the heater is too low. If you have it set to 85, it's likely heating to 85, which is bad for your fish. If I where you, I would turn it down to the right temp and get a thermometer as soon as you can. A little temp fluctuation won't kill your fish, so don't worry about them getting cold.

[gn3ranger]

yes there is no way I'll turn my tempt past 82 degress for my betta but i feel past 80 is to much for my cory's. I have a thermometer That is used for my house can i just stick that one in there for now?

[MollyJean]

If you have a digi thermometer for checking fevers, or an under the tongue glass one, you can use one of those, just be sure to place it in a ziplock bag and remove all the air before placing either inside the tank, you don't want to exchange germs with your fish like that. And don't leave it in the water all the time. Put it in for about 10 mins, check the temp then remove it. I would do this 2 or 3 times a day til you can get a real thermometer. These things are not made to be left in water for long times, and if something like this breaks in the tank you could hurt your fish, so be careful.

[MSG]

Add a thermometer to your, "To Buy List".

Next time when you buy a heater, do a little more research. A lot of them are garbage.

Your 50 watt heater could be miscalibrated or slightly damaged.

Also it could be where you mounted the heater that's causing it to not turn on.

• I'm leaning more towards the miscalibrated/slightly damaged.

I had cories in a 86 degree tank & I just increased the amount of air injected into the tank through the bubble wand. They were fine.