0morrokh

Before you have a heart attack, no, I don't have fish in my tank yet! But I'm so frustrated 'cause I want those fishies now! My first heater I tried was an Aquarium Gardens non-submersible heater, and let's just say it enjoyed changing the temp. itself. As in, one day it was 85 F and the next day it was 75--and I didn't change the temp. The second one was an Aquarium Gardens submersible heater, which worked great--until I left it over night. The next day, the temp. had dropped, like, 15 degrees, and I couldn't get the thing to turn back on, no matter what I did. Needless to say, both of those are happily (or not so happily) back in Petco. Right now I am trying another Aquarium Gardens submersible heater, and it's keeping the water at a good, constant temp., but I had to turn it so far to the left just to get an acceptable temp. that I'm afraid I won't be able to raise the temp. if my fishies get sick. Does anyone have any advise on how to make the things work? Or should I just try a more expensive heater? Are there any brands that work really well? By the way, I'm aiming for a temp. of 80 F and 85 F if the fish get sick. I'd appreciate all the help I can get!

Miss Mouse

Hiya, when I first put my heater in it took a few days to heat all the water up so give it time. I was worried because it wouldn;t go over about 16 C and i needed to to be 25! But it got there - maybe try a higher powered heater if you're having troubles - and try a different brand if that one is giving you hassles because you never know when it might fail

0morrokh

I think my heater is finally working, but thanks for responding anyway. I just have to see if it will go up 2 more degrees.

0morrokh

Aaarrrrrgghhh guess I spoke too soon. The "ON" light is flickering and the temp. dropped at least 4 degrees. I'm going to try a different brand of heater...what kinds work for you guys??

Miss Mouse

Clearseal has always been good for me..
good luck!

onelovie

I use Rena Cal in both of my tanks (10 gal and 55 gal) and I've never had a problem with either one. I got them at PetSmart.

joe

I also use aquarium gardens and it works very well it is a 100 w for a 20 to 30 gallon tank

0morrokh

You use Aquarium Gardens?! That brand must just not like me, because I tried 3 in a row of that brand and each time they just, like, stopped working. Now I'm trying a Tetra Whisper one, and it seems to be working fine...I hope I didn't speak too soon...

Gunnie

Another good choice is a stainless steel or titanium heater. You don't have to worry about breaking them, and I have had good results with both keeping a stable temp. They also usually have the temp. control outside of the tank so you don't have to get your hands wet!

0morrokh

My heater appears to be working finally ! However, my thermometer is reading a temp. several degrees warmer than what the heater is set for. I assume this is because I installed the lighting. Should I lower the heater some more, or will this cause it to get too cold at night when the light's turned off?

Gunnie

If your heater appears to be constant, then set it so it stays at the temp. you want it to be according to what your thermometer says. Some heaters will do that. It's no problem as long as it maintains the temp. you want your tank to be at.

0morrokh

The heater is always keeping it at the same temp. Yaaaay! I checked the temp in the morning after it was on overnight, and it only had gone down 1 degree, so I'll just lower the heater a bit.

Butterfly

Glad its finally working This is what I do when I get a new heater. I put a thermometer in the tank and leave it, then set the heater for what I want it to run on and the leave it for 24 hours. if its not where i want it I adjust it again and wait. I keep on doing this until I get it as warm as I want it and then take note where it has to be set to get a constant temperature that I want. I have several of those floating thermometers with the suction cups on the side and if I put them all in the same tank there are a couple that will be a degree off from the others. So I leave the same ones in the tank with the heater I "calibrated" them with. Hope that makes sense
Carol