proudmomoftwins

I had to take a trip to Walmart last night at 11pm to buy a new heater for my aqaurium! I was turning the lights off over the aquarium and checked the water temp and it was dipping down below 70! My husband looked at the heater and said I better go buy a new one. I've only had my tank now for four month, I can't belive that the heater crapped out on me already. Walmart only sells Tetra heaters, so thats what I got. I'm still trying to get the temp back up to where it's supposed to be.

I just hope that the drop in the temp hasn't stressed the fish out too much. They seem to be doing okay.

jdhef

Hopefully your fish will be fine. If you don't feel real good about the Terta Heater, Drs Foster and Smith are having a heater sale (up to 25% off) from now until October 5th. Also, if you use Discover card and access their site thru ShopDiscover.com you will get 5% Cashback.

iloveengl

Holy smokes, I'm glad the fish are okay!

All three of my heaters (one for 5g, 10g, and 55g) came from Walmart and work great, but they weren't TopFin brand. I've heard that the only thing TopFin is good for is their food.

Shawnie

oh ive so been there ..but with a stealth believe it or not grrrr...I am a tetra heater user haha..but thats because of availability...lowering temps usually is much better than going too high...the lower kinda just makes their organs relax per say...sorta like someone can survive freezing temps but hot ones take them quicker...did I ramble? LOL ...just raise the temps slowly and dont be surprised if the lower then higher induce spawning

chotee

I also bought a Tetra heater at Wal Mart as my first choice in heater since it was A) cheaper and B) easier to come by since there was a random heater shortage in my town at the time.

I did not notice when I purchased the heater that it was a +/- 1 strictly 25* C heater. This would have probably been ok for tanks which are not so tall and wider but since I had a taller narrower tank it caused my some problems. I had my heater turned up on max and was at times struggling to keep the tank at a solid 23* C.

If you have the same heater I have I suggest getting one which allows you to change the temperature settings a little more. As some diseases such as ick are best treated by increasing the heat gradually in a more natural way - if you are like me and would rather not place chemicals in your tank.

Outside of that I never had any trouble with my Tetra brand heater giving out but if you have the 25*C +/- 1 degree like I had I would suggest looking elsewhere. Those heaters don't seem like they would last too long.

I purchased a Fluval one and have successfully gained the temperature I was seeking to cure my ick.

Kitsune

I use the marineland stealth and am quite happy with it. I personally will NEVER use another topfin heater. I took it out while cleaning the tank, wiped it off and low and behold had the same issue other people have complained about. The paint was coming off.

It's supposed to be warm and submersed but the paint comes off? Can't be good for the fish.

aquarist48

Hello ProudMom. May I suggest having 2 heaters in your tank? It's always great to have a back up. Too, it will help eliminate those cold spots by placing on on each end of the tank.
So glad the fish are ok.
I've moved your thread to the "freshwater tanks/equipment/heaters" section of the forum. Thanks!
Ken