vintagetankgirl

Hi!

For the last 3 days I've been waking up to 1-3 dead neon tetra or Colombian Tetra. I couldn't figure out what was going on all my parameters were good 3 days ago with nitrite 0 and ammonia 0 and Nitrates a little high at 40ppm (missed last weeks water change). I thought that the water in the tank felt a bit warmer than normal but dismissed it as I had just been working in my cold water tank and thought it was just the difference I was feeling.

Well today after taking out another dead Neon, I got out a thermometer and the water came up at 92.7 degrees F!!!! I quickly unplugged the heater and added 5 Ice cubes with a squeeze of dechlorinator (I use API Stress Coat). I plan to add a few ice cubes every once and a while (once the others have melted) until the temp is slowly brought back down over the course of a few hours probably.

In the tank I have (had) Neon and Colombian Tetras (most of which are dead now) and 1 Angel Fish body size 3 inch and 4 cory cats. The angelfish seems fine he's swimming around and eating though has been resting more near the sponge filter lately (wonder if bubbles feel cooling) and the cories have all been very still in the corner under the HOB filter.

The eater I have is a Marineland Stealth 100 watt. This design does not include a light to let you know when it is on. I have it set a 79F. I have only been using it since February of this year!

Has anyone had a heater burn up this soon! And also what type/brand of heater should I replace it with? I want something with an on light!

Any help would be great!

aquarist48

Hello Vintage. Sorry to hear about your over heated tank. I hope the fish are all ok. I have three Marineland Stealth heaters in my 265g. Two of them I used in my 155g before the big move. Never had a problem with them and I'm sorry to hear that you have.

Ebo Jager heaters have also done well for me in the past. They have the on/off light as well. I have them now for back ups.
Ken

ccb04

There was another thread about Stealth's malfunctioning here a bit back.

Member pinkfloydpuffer posted that a Stealth almost nuked her puffers. And in the same thread posted by PFP ... member CHoffman posted that a Stealth killed her puffers.

Sorry you lost your fish. It would be a good idea to leave a thermometer in the tank at all times.

vintagetankgirl

Well after floating Ice in a bag in the back of my HOB filter I finally got the temp down to 84 before I went to sleep. This morning it was right at 76 and I put in my QT heater which is for up to 15 gallons...I hope this heater can hold me over until I can get a new/different heater.

I'm thinking of getting the Visi-Therum Deluxe heater. Anyone Know anything or have any experience with this heater?

Tony G.

i have heard great stuff from Visi therm's...
i dont have one though

ccb04

You should be able to search and read here for some thoughts. I have no experience with them. I've always used Stealth's ... but am getting a little worried about these stories regarding failures. Both of the Stealth's I purchased from DFS have made a clicking noise when turning on ever since I got them ... though I haven't had a problem yet.

I've been considering the Rena Smartheater. I've read good things about them ... and the heating element is safe to the touch even when on. They're also made of a similar plastic to the Stealth's. The only thing is if using it as a stand alone ... it's diameter is thicker than most because the center is hollow, as it was also designed to function as the intake on Filstar canisters or the HOB Rena Smartfilter.

mr.fishy

Sux to hear what happened. I'm using a 50 watt JAGER heater on my 15 gallon and it's been a good heater so far. I've had it going on 6 months and it does a great job keeping the temp stable at 75*. It has a nice orange light on it so you know when it's working and a big blue temp dial on top. It is glass tho if you don't mind that.

One thing I would recommend is getting the smallest size heater for your tank. The 50 watt heater says it's good for 10-15 gallons so I got that instead of the 75 watt. Since I'm only heating a few extra degrees I didn't need a powerful heater. That way if something goes wrong you have more time to catch it. It depends on how many degrees that you need to heat the tank up from room temperature. Goodluck with your next heater.

Time

Freeze water bottles, run a fan at the top of you get more temp problems.

michaelb323

This thread interests me in the fact that any tetra was able to survive at that temperature. I would have thought that no fish could survive that temperature.

mommybaby295

I have an Eheim heater that works well. I also have 2 different types of thermometers (a digital suction cup type and a regular one that fits inside the tank) placed at different locations, in case one malfunctions.

I've tried a couple of different heaters, and neither has been too accurate though. My current one is set at 70 degrees, and the water is 76.6 degrees. But when I had it set at 76, my water was really about 81. So just be careful and check the temperature at least every couple of days. I just glance at the thermometers when I feed the fish.

Good luck!

CatladyDane

I didn't realize that heaters went bad like that. I had imagined that they would fail to heat, rather than overheat. (I discovered this thread when I popped in here to investigate.) My 40g had a Stealth. Yesterday evening I discovered my little swordtail dead; water parameters ok. Today I stuck my hand in the water & it was like a hot bath. Typically I remove the hood and cover with screen (velcro-ed or clothespinned on) until our "winter" sets in to allow extra ventilation and evaporation, as I don't run the A/C until the house reaches close to 90 F; I prefer open windows & fans. It has been cool lately, so I did have the hood on for a few days. When I discovered the hot water I wondered whether heaters did overheat or had leaving the hood on (light usually off) actually allowed the tank to get that warm. The heater did feel quite warm to the touch so I immediately unplugged it, started siphoning out the hot water & replacing it with cool (& Prime!). My 3 silver dollars seem ok so far, but I lost my 3 dwarf otos, Daisy (upside down cat), & Catso (ghost cat). Catso had been with me since my first 10g community tank in Feb 2008. He had survived the summer day that the A/C broke down & the tank water reached 94! (I was at work & the repair man didn't arrive until late afternoon. When I got home I lowered that tank temp by ice cubes in baggies.) No telling how long my 40g was so hot. I don't like thermometers. They seem to be inconsistent and that drives me crazy. I seem to do much better just by sticking my hand in the water and comparing tank to tank; I guess this should become a daily test just to be safe. I think my next step, now that I know that this can happen, will be to stick that heater in a bucket of water and see what happens.

So sorry about the loss of your fish, but thank you for sharing your experience.

harpua2002

I use the cheap glass thermometers and have found them to be much more accurate than the digital Coralifes. Just my 2 cents.

For all of you who are having problems with Stealth heaters (mine works great, knock on wood), I would suggest contacting Marineland for a replacement. Their customer service is excellent and they should work with you on this. Even if you never trust a Stealth again, you may as well get a freebie as a backup for all your troubles. In addition to one or two Stealths, I use Ebo Jagers and Rena heaters, and I think I have one Hydor. All work great for me, but I especially like the Jagers. I've never had a single issue with them and I've been using them for several years. As for the Visi Therm, I had one cook my poor sparkling gouramis once... never again for me!

ccb04

There are apparently 'new' Stealth heaters that have LED indicator lights:
https://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...3&pcatid=21323

aquarist48

Hello VintageTankGirl. Sorry to hear about your fish loss and heater problems. I use the Visi Therm Stealth and have for years with no problems. However, I don't like the idea of not having an indicator light so I'm switching to the ones in the link ccb provided with my next supply order.
Ken

ccb04

Ken, already placed an order for two myself.

CatladyDane

The stealth in my 20g has never given problems. Ok, so now I tested the stealth that failed in my 40g. I submerged it in a 5g bucket of cold water. It was set at 79F. Two hours later the water was hot - 90+ F. So I turned it all the way down, which is about 68F. Seven hours later it was higher in the 90's. The water had the tiny bubbles like you get in a pan when you boil water before it actually gets to boiling. If it got that hot that quickly in the tank, no wonder it quickly poached my poor fish! Definitely a heater failure and not a fish keeper's mistake. So I shall try to contact Marineland.