# Heater malfucnction = cooked livestock



## Tino (Sep 10, 2012)

My heater malfunctioned somehow and ended up cooking all my inhabitants in my 20Gal tall tank, the temperature maxed out my thermometer and when I put my hand in to clean everything out it felt hot, not warm, but damn HOT!

Both my kids are upset, and I'm frustrated, however I take this as a sign to bring back my 75 and sell this tank.
But I digress, back on topic now. How does one avoid this disaster again?
What could have caused this?
This was a 5 year old 200 watt Marineland visi-therm heater, is the life of these heaters only 5 years?


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

Sorry for your loss.

A 200 watt heater might be too strong for a 20 gallon tank. If you only had the recommended 100 watt heater its possible the temperature wouldn't have climbed to the point of killing your fish.

I've never had a heater fail on me so I can't comment of how long they last but I did have a Visitherm for more than 5 years without any problems.

Now I only use the new electronic Fluval E heaters which have dual temperature sensors and continuously monitors and displays aquarium water temperature in real time. It changes colour to red when the temp 1 degree is above the set temp. It starts flashing when it climbs more than 3 degrees above the set temp.

More info here:
http://ca-en.hagen.com/Aquatic/Heating/Heaters/A772

And a video here:




--
Take care...Paul


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Agree with Y2KGT that a 200 W is too high rated for that size tank 
100 W max would be good 
I have also never had a failure but this can definitely happen 
IMO, 5 years for a Marineland unit is about right 
I have a couple of spare heaters around if you are stuck - I am happy to loan to you 
I am in east end Toronto - Parliament and Wellesley


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## Gehandylan (Nov 13, 2014)

*Heater malfunction*

Sorry about what happened. If it is any help, I can give you some Malawi cichlids to make up for your loss. I am Changing things around a bit and can spare about 10 + cichlids. PM or text me on 6478363690 if I could be of help. I live in Scarborough M1C 2K8. I run a few tanks and only use Fluval, Hydor and Jäger heaters. You may want to consider installing a digital thermometer with an alarm in your aquarium. Costs around $10.

Good luck!

Gehan


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Some kind of temperature controller in my opinion is an absolute must. I have heard of too many horror stories of heaters getting stuck in the on position and frying a tank. 
Something like a Cobalt Neo-Stat Temperature Controller http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5810/c378016449/p17719302.html does the trick but at just under $100 or you could spend a little more and get a used Apex Jr or Reefkeeper Lite and give your tank a chance against a heater malfunction not to mention tons of other applications. At the very least some kind of external (from the heater) thermostat that is able to shut the heater off if it gets too hot.


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

I go with two smaller heaters with a total wattage needed for a tank. In your case I would have used two 50 watt heaters. If one fails to either shut off or turn on it should not be a fatal accident and it will give you time to find and fix the problem.


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## Tino (Sep 10, 2012)

Thanks for all the input guys. I made a mistake, the heater was 150W anyhow what's done is done. I'm putting this tank up for sale and already started cycling my 75 Gal.
I think I'll look into the recommended Hagen heaters, going to plan a school of either neon tetras or dwarf raindows with 4 or 5 Angels and the odd bottom-dweller.
Bullet and Gehandylan I appreciate the offers fellas (this is why I love this community!), but I'll make my way to Petsmart or Big Al's tomorrow for the new heaters, and start stocking the tank when the cycle is complete which shouldn't take so long as I'm transferring the filter from the 20 (dual filtration on the 75)


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## Dis (Apr 16, 2010)

Go with the eheim jager heaters. Very reliable and last a long time. I sent back 4 visit therm heaters within a few months than switched to jagers and not one fail. Goodluck


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Don't trust any heater, even Jaggers, which have cooked their fair share of fish. Do as Frank said above, and make sure the total wattage is not enough to cook the tank.


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## Gehandylan (Nov 13, 2014)

Why don't you consider ordering heaters etc from Angelfins.ca. A lot cheaper than big Als. I have a brand new 300W Jager heater that I ordered from Angelfins and cost me only $30. If you want it, you can have if for the same price.


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