cathrinetta

I just purchased a "20 gallon" (was actually 33 gallons) from a man on Craig's list. The tank had been stored poorly and still had the old substrate in it but when he sold it to me he gave me the filter with medium still in it (gross), bio wheel, and heater amongst other items.

My question is about the heater he sold me. When I was cleaning everything because it smelled of mold, I accidentally got water on the inside of the heater. I don't think this model is submersible but I know nothing about it. Its a Top Fin brand that could be as old as 1994 (this was the make date on the tank itself) Its got a gray nob for the temperature that says higher or lower and a water line that says do not operate dry. Also, the body is clear glass and I can see all the wiring and solder on the inside.

Does anyone have a heater that sounds like this? Is it submersible? Should I bother salvaging the heater? How much do heaters cost for 30 gallon tanks?

I will not be setting up the tank for sometime as I have no room to even store it. But I would like to know about it before I make future plans for anything.

Also, I know this should probably be a separate thread under filtration maybe but could someone please provide info about bio wheels. I have little to no knowledge about them and I don't even know how to install the one that came with my the tank. I soaked the wheel along with other items in hot bleach water and rinsed thoroughly. Will this damage the wheel as its for bacteria? Should I just throw it out and purchase a new one?

Sorry for all the questions...

agabr123

id definitely buy a new heater....and probably a new filter too. i bought a 100 watt marineland stealth heater and a marineland 150 biowheel off of petmountain.com VERY cheaply. those are normally 35 for the heater and 40 for the filter, but i got them both for $18 plus shipping which is REALLY great, especially considering that i could have gotten a lesser quality heater and filter for the same price.

for the heater especially, you run the risk of it being faulty, overheating by a lot, and frying your poor fish........i'd invest in a new one

cathrinetta

is the bio wheel in addition to my filter. Do I need a biowheel? Everyone seems to like the whisper filters so I will probably look into that. I have a 10-15 whisper that came with my 10 gallon kit and I like it but then again I don't know that much about filters.

prairielilly

If there's water inside the heater, it's likely damaged its electrical circuitry and IMO it's no longer safe with fishies...you can buy another one, newer and fully submersible and KNOWN to work, for around $30 tops. You'll need about 5 watts per gallon minimum, I find up here in freezing Canada I need more (I use a 100W in my 20g but a 25W in my 3g). Everyone's got a favourite, but I really like the Hydor Theo ones, or anything else with actual numbers on the temperature gauge. What you're describing sounds similar to my Elite heater, which can be submersed up to a certain line (about 80% of the body) so the top part has to stick up out of the water. The temp fluctuates too much for my liking and I'll be replacing it shortly with a Hydor Theo.

So far as the biowheel, I have one and I think it's awesome. If you don't know what it's been through and now it's soaked in bleach, it may not work as well as a new one I think as it's made of a papery fibre, however I could be wrong. I believe you can buy replacement biowheels at Petsmart pretty inexpensively. That might be the best course of action.

prairielilly

The biowheel provides a place for your biofilter's bacteria bed to grow. The turning wheel is continuously bathed in water and oxygen and makes a nice little bacterial colony. If you swap out your filter media you don't remove the biofilter, that's its plus. However a lot of ppl here hold to the idea (as I do now too) of not swapping out your filter media until it's falling apart, so the biowheel may be redundant.

I've also read on this forum a lot of positive reviews for AquaClear filters, but I haven't tried them myself.

agabr123

i do NOT like my whisper filters at all, my biowheel is SO much better!!! seriously, if you want a good quality filter go with an aquaclear or a penguin biowheel.

cathrinetta

The wheel that came is a penguin 170- Bio wheel. I have no idea where on my tank it goes or how to install it. I have the wheel piece (filter) and a lid peice plust the filter compartment. Does the wheel go in the filter chamber?

agabr123

you just hang the filter on the back of the tank


when you set it up, it should look like this
http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/112...797_28072D.jpg

wabash

I just bought an Elite 100W the other day, Fish Guy said it is totally submersible and the same heater you would buy in the USA but in order for it to be sold in Canada regulations require that Max Water Level line. He has all of his submerged.

The Prairie Lily is a cool flower. I remember them growing wild in the woods of eastern AB when I was a kid, haven't seen one since.

Edit: further reading indicates that Fish Guy and therefore I, don't know what I am talking about. Do the submersible heaters sold in the USA have that Max Water Level line on them?