Heaters Broke and Don't Work

Went on a trip during Christmas and I just got home to find the tank at 62°. Anyone know why heaters just stop working or how I can get mine to start up again? I have three heaters that I've tried and they all just don't heat up. Relatively new to so I am furious and am not going to wait a year for amazon to ship me some new ones.

 

What kind of heater?

 

If you mean brand I have two JBD 50 watts and insten 100 watt. None work

 

it may just be old. I would try buying a new heater to replace it. if it still doesn't work, then it may not be the heater. it could be where it's getting its power from.

 

Preset or adjustable? Humour me and try plugging it into a different outlet. Maybe the plug is shot. I have 2 in my house where only one of the 2 plugs work.

 

I have the whole tank running on one extension cord (one pump one beamwork and the heater) so it isn't the source because everything else is fine and the heater light is on. They are adjustable heaters and I'm sick of buying new ones. Been like two years and I have 5 broken heaters.

 

Don’t know then. That’s weird. I’m assuming you bought them new? Another thing I just thought of, if the heater is maxed out all the time that might fry it.

 

Don’t know then. That’s weird. I’m assuming you bought them new?

Yes

 

sometimes heaters usually get old after about three months. that's why you have to keep buying new ones. if not, I can't help anymore.

 

Honestly, it just popped back to life.

 

Hey , you got any ideas? You have a dozen tanks or so...

 

Honestly it just popped back to life.

HA!

 

Honestly it just popped back to life.

good to hear

 

I bet it'll die out again at a rediculously inconvenient time. I'll be outside now smashing some heaters.

 

Are you following all the guidelines for the heaters? Fully submerged, horizontal/vertical etc?

 

Are you following all the guidelines for the heaters? Fully submerged, horizontal/vertical etc?

Yes, they are always submerged and there weren't specifications on alignment. I keep them at vertical though.

 

I’m a newbie, I don’t understand what’s happening with my heaters. The Top Fin one in the picture, the bottom is all white, did it explode? It seemed to be working ok then the dial for changing the temp broke and I noticed it was like this. So I took it out.

But my other Aqueon 50w heater is in the tank now and it turned white on the bottom similar to the other one, did it explode too or? It seems to still be working which is weird? I’m so confused, what am I doing wrong

 

Looks like it. Does it still get hot when you take it out of the water. Those are real cheap heaters. I would suggest buying high quality stuff.

 

Looks like it. Does it still get hot when you take it out of the water. Those are real cheap heaters. I would suggest buying high quality stuff.

I didn’t notice it was hot when I took it out and yeah I bought a new heater, I hope it works :/

 

I have had nothing but trouble with Aqueon.

 

So the heaters exploded?

 

So the heaters exploded?

No, just were a pain in the neck. I could not stabilize the temp so I trashed them.

 

mine looks like that and doesn't seem to heat at all. the red light turns on then I look at it later and its off again.

 

were looking at buying a new one regardless.

 

No, just were a pain in the neck. I could not stabilize the temp so I trashed them.

I meant did my heaters explode? And that’s why they look like that?

 

I meant did my heaters explode? And that’s why they look like that?

I have never seen that before. Sorry

 

I have never seen that before. Sorry

Oh ok, yeah I’m also confused about it, but thank you for your help

 

Has anyone seen something similar with heaters? What is this?

 

I’ve always kept 2 heaters (Finnex 200W) in my 75 gallon tank. At least in my head, 2 heaters distribute the heat better and would give me a backup if one failed.

Last night, BOTH heaters failed. I’ve had both of them running for around 8 months. Of course it was around midnight when I noticed this and, because of the Coronavirus, I couldn’t even run to Walmart (if they even sell heaters any more) for a quick fix.

Luckily, I had kept an older 100W heater that kept the water from getting too cool. The lowest temperature I saw was 78.1. I typically keep the tank around 79 or 80.

On my way now for a couple replacements (Eheim Jager 250W).

 

Wow 2 heaters going at the same time. That’s got to be something! Could a gfi have tripped? Were they the ones with the controls outside the tank? I think a letter to finnex is in order!

 

Wow 2 heaters going at the same time. That’s got to be something! Could a gfi have tripped? Were they the ones with the controls outside the tank? I think a letter to finnex is in order!

I don’t know what a gfi is, but both heaters were plugged into separate surge protected power strips (plugged into separate outlets). And, the other things plugged into the strips are fine.

Yes, the temperature controls are outside the tank on the heaters.

 

A gfi is a ground fault interrupter. It trips the outlet if it’s grounded. You should have them on your tanks. I have those heaters and like them so hearing this is bad news. I know they had problems with the cheaper heaters with the controls inside the tank but these got good reviews. I would talk to someone at finnex. Heaters should last for years not months! Losing faith here . Had the jagers before these and they were a problem just to set the temp. And would constantly change temps. Had one that would slowly go up than drop all the way down to 70 and work it’s way back up. Jager used to be the gold standard in heaters.

 

A gfi is a ground fault interrupter. It trips the outlet if it’s grounded. You should have them on your tanks. I have those heaters and like them so hearing this is bad news. I know they had problems with the cheaper heaters with the controls inside the tank but these got good reviews. I would talk to someone at finnex. Heaters should last for years not months! Losing faith here . Had the jagers before these and they were a problem just to set the temp. And would constantly change temps. Had one that would slowly go up than drop all the way down to 70 and work it’s way back up. Jager used to be the gold standard in heaters.

Thanks for the tip, but that’s not what I wanted to hear about the Eheim! We put a man on the moon but we can’t consistently make reliable aquarium heaters!

I sent Finnex an email. I’m curious to see what they say.

 

Heaters are, in my opinion, the least reliable of any equipment sold in the hobby. They seem to either fail to come on or fail to go off. Mine always seems to fail to go off.

 

I have a Eheim jager from the 80s that lasted all this time. I just put it away about 5 years ago because I wanted something new. It is about 20” long and 300w so wanted something smaller. Bought 2 new jagers and they have both been thrown away. Bought some aqueron heaters they too have problems. Bought the aqueron pro and so far they are good. And I also have these finnex on my 2 big tanks and was really happy with them. I have the finnex lights and they are good. I just don’t get it. Why is it so hard to make a heater these days?

 

Heaters are the hardest worked piece of equipment we have. Imagine a heater that's way to big. It will click on and off 20 time an hour. Imagine a light bulb being turned on and off that many times and how long it would last. On the other side a heater too small. It will stay on non stop again imagine a light bulb on 24/7. That being said yes heaters are definitely not durable. I just got 2 200w eheim Jager for my saltwater tank. They are hooked up to a inkbird controller. So I just turned them upto 84 and put them in the controller will control the temp

 

I have a Eheim jager from the 80s that lasted all this time. I just put it away about 5 years ago because I wanted something new. It is about 20” long and 300w so wanted something smaller. Bought 2 new jagers and they have both been thrown away. Bought some aqueron heaters they too have problems. Bought the aqueron pro and so far they are good. And I also have these finnex on my 2 big tanks and was really happy with them. I have the finnex lights and they are good. I just don’t get it. Why is it so hard to make a heater these days?

How long have you had the Finnex heaters?

And, do you place your heaters horizontal or vertical?

 

Heaters are the hardest worked piece of equipment we have. Imagine a heater that's way to big. It will click on and off 20 time an hour. Imagine a light bulb being turned on and off that many times and how long it would last. On the other side a heater too small. It will stay on non stop again imagine a light bulb on 24/7. That being said yes heaters are definitely not durable. I just got 2 200w eheim Jager for my saltwater tank. They are hooked up to a inkbird controller. So I just turned them upto 84 and put them in the controller will control the temp

Other than sort of coordinating multiple heaters, are there other benefits to the inkbird?

 

Other than sort of coordinating multiple heaters, are there other benefits to the inkbird?

Here's a review that can explain better, it shuts off power automatically to the heaters automatically when inside the thresholds and provides an additional thermometer to use.

Hands On Review: Inkbird ITC-308 Dual Stage Temperature Controller +WiFi Version

I dont know if Inkbird manufactures a device that can be used to cool multiple heaters. I tried to use a splitter on an Inkbird to power both my heaters off the Inkbird outlet but it did not work

 

The 2 in the 125 are about a year and mounted horizontal. The 1 in the 90 is 2yrs and also mounted horizontal.