Dojo

Hi i've been having trouble with my heater and am getting a new one tomorrow hopefully.
My question is, what is the best way to do the swap?
Is it as simple as remove old heater, and plug in new heater?

I was told that if I put the new heater straight in and turn it on right away something will shatter.
Any truth in that?
If there has to be a gap between turning off the old heater and turning on the new heater how long is it?
Will the water temp drop much?

Thanks for any help

Lucy

There was a thread about this not too long ago. You'll find the answer here:
Heater help needed!

Dojo

Hi thanks for the link!

I see that the heater will shatter if out of water but sounded like the LFS meant it would shatter underwater if I turn it on right away.. can't quite understand why it would shatter one sec and not shatter a few mins later tho...
so is it safe to assume it is usual rubbish LFS advice and won't break if I turn it on?
I'd rather not be hanging around waiting for it to acclimatise or whatever the LFS meant, if it isn't necessary as im nervous about a temp drop.
The full sentence from the LFS was ' make sure you don't turn it on right away, leave it underwater for a while before you turn it on coz heat expands glass and it will shatter'. I'd imagine the heater is built to withstand its own heat underwater

Would plugging in a new heater be essentially the same as unplugging and replugging in the old heater in terms of water temperature drop?
Or do I need to allow for time it will take to 'kick in' and get warm?

fishlover78

well, Lucy and I both use visi therm stealth shatter proof heaters, they also automatically shut off when removed from the water. they are awesome heaters! I highly recommend you get one of those. and as with an other heater, let the temperature in the heater and the water adjust, then turn it on. Lucy, am I right about you using these heaters? maybe it was someone else?

cerianthus

I think what lfs was trying to tell is that you should let new heater get used to tank temp by placing it in the tank for while before plugging . I would recommend you follow these simple steps to ensure longevity of heater.
As far as unplugging old heater, can do once new heater is plugged in. Just monitor temp for while to make sure new one is working properly, maintaining temp that you set your heater at.
Remember if your room temp is warmer and/or lighting is on too long, your tank temp will be higher than where you setted. This has nothing to do w/ Heater. Your heater will make sure tank temp don't drop below your seting.
Just like we A/C and Heating Units, heater is just heater. One of biggest misconception about heater by new hobbyist.

Dojo

Hi thanks for the advice, so how can I prevent the temperature rising past what I want it to be? It is a planted tank so the light is on a fair bit and I have noticed it rises the temp slightly.
I thought heaters have a thermostat to make them turn off once the water temp goes too high and back on if it drops?
ill be away 5 days a week from january till june so I need to be able to rely on the heater not to go too high.. my sister will feed/check on the temp each day but I can't expect her to check it frequently or be fiddling with the setting to bring the temp down etc. :/

The best heater the store had is a tetratec heater which will be what im buying, and it has a safety regulator to prevent it overheating 'to keep a stable temperature'..
so the light/room temp can make the temp rise, how do I bring it back down then?
Do people have to constantly be changing settings to keep a stable temp?

Dozey

You only have to wait about 20 minutes when you put the new heater in. This allows the thermostat to adjust to the tank's temperature. This prevents the tank from overheating in the event that the thermostat is cold when placed into warm tank water.

In other words. If a heater that was sitting at a room temperature of 65 deg. was placed into a 79 deg. tank and turned on right away the thermostat would still be at 65. The heater would immediately turn on and remain on until the thermostat adjusted to the tanks water temperature (about 20 minutes). In that time the tank’s water temperature could rise significantly and the heater remaining on for that time could damage the heater. Either by overheating the glass and shattering it or burning out the heater element.

Yes the heater will only turn on if the water temperature falls below the set temperature. However, it can do nothing to cool down your tank. If the air temperature in the room is 90 degrees the tank will warm up.

In very warm climates people use water-coolers to keep their tank water temperature down. I understand these can be quite expensive. I’ve also heard of people placing bottles of frozen water in their tank to lower the temperature.

Dojo

Hi dozey thanks that made a lot of sense
The light doesn't affect the water temperature anymore, I guess it was only affecting coldwater. Heaters were swapped and tank is nice and constant now