20 Gallon Tank Marineland Stealth Malfunction

[bolivianbaby]

Yesterday, I was adding "inside tank" thermometers to my tanks that didn't have them since we've had so many posts recently about the outside stickon thermometers not being accurate.

My 20 gallon tropical community tank that houses 6 flame tetras and 6 threadfin rainbows was scorching hot! The temp on the heater said 79, but the mercury on the new thermometer started skyrocketing up to 88 when I put it in the tank.

I immediately unplugged the heater and removed it from the tank. I'll be calling Marineland today. I'm not very happy atm. The current tank temp is now 76.

 

[Lucy]

Yikes! I'm glad you caught it. Good luck with Marineland, I understand they're very cooperative.
That reminds me, I need a few more thermometers. Seems like I never have enough.

 

[Aquarist]

Hello BB.

I'm glad that you caught the increased temperature before it got any hotter. Was the heater a Stealth Pro or the regular Marineland Stealth? (the pro has indicator lights).
I hope the fish are ok!
Ken

 

[chunkdaddy]

If you go to ebay you can pick up digital thermometers dirt cheap. I have one and a second on the way. The first one seems to be working fine. I got both of them from a dealer in Hong Kong for $.01 + $3.99 in shipping and handling. Takes about 2-3 weeks for them to arrive, but worth the wait.

 

[bolivianbaby]

Thanks everyone for your support! Yes, all of the finned babies are fine (thank goodness).

Ken, It's the regular Marineland stealth. I'm glad you asked. It seems like a few of our members have had trouble with these lately.

Lucy, I got my therometers from Kensfish.com. I think they were around $1.25 each? I hope this gives you a starting point for price comparisons.

 

[Flyfrod]

Glad to here everyone is ok. I only use glass thermometers in my spawn tanks to get the temp right. I have the stick-on ones on all the rest. I,ve nocticed a 1-2 degree difference between the glass and the stick-on. I also only use Visitherm heaters. They seem to work the best. One thing I did learn is to put the heater in the tank and let it rest for about 15min. before plugging it in. It seem to help set the internal thermometer in the heater better.

 

[Aquarist]

Thanks BB!

Ken

 

[harpua2002]

Yikes! How are the fishies doing? Glad you caught that in time.

 

[bolivianbaby]

They're doing good. I think they're happy that the heat wave is over. There was no color change or activity level change, so I have high hopes of no negative side effects from this.

 

[flyin-lowe]

I never trust the temps on a heater to be accurate. I use it as a guide and use the standard glass thermometers. They seem to be pretty fail proof and for the price you can't go wrong.

 

[bolivianbaby]

They're sending me a replacement. I'm so glad they have such excellent customer service.

 

[Aquarist]

Yeah!!!!!! Hopefully you'll have better results with this one.

When it comes to heaters, you just never know. I wish they weren't a necessity, or a necessity for me anyway. But...

Thanks for keeping us updated BB!
Have a good day today!
Ken

 

[bolivianbaby]

Thanks, Ken

I hope you have a fabulous day!