So I had one laying around and put it in my Brute with new make-up water. Set the thermostat on 79.

My water temp? 92.9.

And no, it is not stuck "on".

Wow. :eek:

HAHAHA..Sounds like something that happened to my tank last night..Same heater..Had it on my tank..Set it to 78...woke up to my wife yelling..*** is that smell!!?? I got up and turned on the light..EVERYTHING in her tank was melted...Looked at the temp..98.9!!!!!!!

Same thing wiped out 4yrs of growth. (new heater was 6mo old- thought heaters were heaters)
Thought it was just that one fluke so I got another and caught it at 87. That is the only product I will slam. Ever want to see what your corals skeleton look like? Use it.
Through all of it my powder blue was the only thing ok. Satan's little weirdo

This is one of the few products I've used that was so bad I sent a nasty email to the company. I doubt I get a response, but at least I got to vent.

What size pump did you mix it with. I did the same thing and thought it was the heater but turned out that the pump actually heated the water to around 91 !

THIS is the kind of information I was asking about 2 weeks ago...


(no, I didn't buy a heater yet)

What size pump did you mix it with. I did the same thing and thought it was the heater but turned out that the pump actually heated the water to around 91 !

A Maxijet 1200. I've mixed it with a Mag 5 before and it didn't get that hot! :)

One of the best heaters I've ever used was a Hydor Theo In-Line heater. Temps never fluxed at all and it was very reliable. I know the in-line heaters are very different from the others they manufactur though.

I have live rock curing in the garage... 32 gallon brute with 20 gallon water.I'm using a MagDrive 5 for circulation: no light: no heater. Temperature hangs around 88 degrees.

This is one of the few products I've used that was so bad I sent a nasty email to the company. I doubt I get a response, but at least I got to vent.
Good job. Hope ya get a response.

maybe I should think about replacing my 3 heaters............

A Maxijet 1200. I've mixed it with a Mag 5 before and it didn't get that hot! :)
Yea I don't think a maxi 1200 would heat it that much.

My mag 12 don't put out heat at all.....but my theo's do:lol2:

My response email basically said, "the thermostats aren't that bad. How big is your mixing bucket?"
I replied 45 gallons, and I'm waiting for them to explain to me how the heater isn't doing anything wrong.

I should be able to put a 400w heater in a 2-liter Coke bottle without temps that high... it's supposed to TURN OFF!

Ouch, that hurts.....I think I will upgrade mine and never buy anything from them again, how rude.:yuk:

Well, I don't take it as rude so much as the attitude of "there's nothing wrong with the heater". Not said in these words, just the tone of their response. I'm not going to make up my mind about them until I get a response.

I don't want a new heater; I'd be happy with a "gee, we're sorry you had a problem".
If they offered to fix it/replace it I probably wouldn't bother, as it really isn't worth the trouble.

I just felt like commenting on it because maybe if enough people do that, they'll SOMEDAY redesign their heaters. I can forgive a subpar product, but not one that keeps getting sold year after year without fixing it.

Hey Barry...

Silly question, I know, but did it happen to be in the middle of the day and your mxing container outside??

Hey Barry...

Silly question, I know, but did it happen to be in the middle of the day and your mxing container outside??

Nope. 11pm, mixing container in 76F laundry room. No windows even!

That would be nuts. If not, send them a link to this thread. They're not perfect. When they first came out with the koralia's they were shocking the piss out of people

I should also clarify something. I said in the OP that I sent a nasty email. That's not really true; it was fairly polite. It gave a factual account just like I did in the OP... and the only undiplomatic comment was the last line, which was, "Are the thermostats really that bad?".

I guess I typed the phrase "nasty email" kind of on autopilot because it's such a common phrase. It wasn't until I reread it that it stood out to me. I'm not the type to send a truly nasty email unless they really rip me off or have horrible customer service.

It seems like heaters are like digital thermometers... something that should be very simple is nearly impossible to make rock-solid reliable. I mean, you can get a new controller for $99 and they can't make a $35 heater that works for several years??

what ever came of your response from them?

This is one product that should have a warning for purchase on this site. I had a brand new Hydor heater, had never used one before so put it in a mixing bucket, thank god, because set at 75 it heated the water to 105. Thanks god I stuck my finger in the bucket to test before adding to the tank.

I have heard of numerous reports of this happening. In my opinion, they need to scrap there heater line, or do a better job monitoring quality. Thats just what a reef keeper wants, a 35 dollar heater killing at least ten times that dollar amount in livestock.

GREAT INVESTMENT

One positive thing...boiling your tank's water can cure it of ich and rid it of all parasites! lol

what ever came of your response from them?


What response from them??? :lol2:

Same response I got it seems. Ask them info on the koralia's now that they have fixed that problem and they will answer you.

I've never tried a Hydor but have tried a titanium metal-nuked my tank to 92 degrees, Jaeger-temp swings like mad, and Marineland-just plain old cheap. And currently have Visatherm both with glass and plastic. The best heater on the market I say. Those suckers haven't failed me yet (except I've dropped two before, hence the plastic ones:)) and hold the temp.

Sorry to hear about your heater probs. I hate that something so important to our tanks is an "experiment" to determine if it works correctly.

The plastic Stealth heaters throw voltage. I quit carrying them years ago. I still test tanks regularly that have them and seem to be having "mysterious" problems. Almost always, we find voltage, and it's the heater.

Jenn

The plastic Stealth heaters throw voltage. I quit carrying them years ago. I still test tanks regularly that have them and seem to be having "mysterious" problems. Almost always, we find voltage, and it's the heater.

Jenn

Oh really? I use the plastic ones for the water changing can and the glass ones in the tank. Do those voltage grounding probes really work? I've got one in the sump.

The grounding probe will help in the event of stray voltage, but a device that's leaking voltage should be repaired or replaced.

Last one I pulled was casting 60 volts. One before that cast 94 volts.

Jenn

there shouldnt' be any danger in using these THEO heaters if you've got them plugged into a dual temperature controller, should there ?


Right now I've got an aquanetics single stage controller for the chiller, but I'll be adding a RKL to control the lights and temperature soon....

Do not use digital heater controllers. I've removed all the ones on my clients tanks(yes, these are the $100 controllers) and replaced them with Ebo Jagers(Never had an issue and have some running 7 years). The digital controllers can change settings(over 140 degrees in 2 cases) when the power flickers. Reef controllers are your best option.

The plastic Stealth heaters throw voltage. I quit carrying them years ago. I still test tanks regularly that have them and seem to be having "mysterious" problems. Almost always, we find voltage, and it's the heater.

Jenn

Hey Jenn,

I've been having mysterious problems in my tank and have 2 stealth heaters. Could this be the problem? And could stray voltage kill an anemone?

Colin

Do not use digital heater controllers. I've removed all the ones on my clients tanks(yes, these are the $100 controllers) and replaced them with Ebo Jagers(Never had an issue and have some running 7 years). The digital controllers can change settings(over 140 degrees in 2 cases) when the power flickers. Reef controllers are your best option.

Danny, Are you talking about ranco controllers?

I'm using a ranco controller with a ti element on my 240 and 265 FW setups and they work fine. Rock steady, with power burps and all.

OTOH, I have had nothing but problems with Jaegers (new name) since Eheim bought Ebo-Jaeger and redesigned them (renamed them Jaeger as well). Ebo-Jaeger heaters were/are great, reliable, and lasted forever. Bought six Jaeger heaters and had half fail within a year.
Dave

The plastic Stealth heaters throw voltage. I quit carrying them years ago. I still test tanks regularly that have them and seem to be having "mysterious" problems. Almost always, we find voltage, and it's the heater.

Jenn

Ive got them on all my tanks and have never had a problem at all. Koralias are known to throw current but Ive never had it with stealths.

I'm glad you've not had a problem. You do need a voltage meter to check - you won't feel volts, but you will feel amps (ouch!).

Nowadays whenever we begin servicing a tank that has one, we check. I've replaced a LOT of bad heaters over the last few years - not all Stealths - and it's not always a heater - we've found other devices can cast voltage too.

It's a common problem that many are unaware of - so we check routinely every now and then on tanks we maintain. If we find voltage, we unplug everything and plug back in one at a time to determine what is the culprit.

Jenn

Danny, Are you talking about ranco controllers?

I'm using a ranco controller with a ti element on my 240 and 265 FW setups and they work fine. Rock steady, with power burps and all.

OTOH, I have had nothing but problems with Jaegers (new name) since Eheim bought Ebo-Jaeger and redesigned them (renamed them Jaeger as well). Ebo-Jaeger heaters were/are great, reliable, and lasted forever. Bought six Jaeger heaters and had half fail within a year.
Dave

It's the purely digital ones like these (http://www.wonbrothers.com/product/heater/d58.htm). They're also sold under Aqua Medic, just rebranded. I haven't seen anything bad with Ranco. It's probably a flaw specific to the board they're using in D-58s and rebrands.

The dial style with the LED readout are fine.

I'm glad you've not had a problem. You do need a voltage meter to check - you won't feel volts, but you will feel amps (ouch!).

Nowadays whenever we begin servicing a tank that has one, we check. I've replaced a LOT of bad heaters over the last few years - not all Stealths - and it's not always a heater - we've found other devices can cast voltage too.

It's a common problem that many are unaware of - so we check routinely every now and then on tanks we maintain. If we find voltage, we unplug everything and plug back in one at a time to determine what is the culprit.

Jenn

Ive checked them all with a voltmeter after my K4 was zapping me. The safest thing is a quality temp controller with a titanium heater in it. I still wont go with a glass heater.

We've had 2 stealths throw voltage. I'm afraid of glass. I had one blow up in my tank two years ago. Was that a mess to deal with. I need a new one for this winter but don't know what is safe.

I guess VisiTherm it is... gotta get a real heater for Sandie's cube (and not the one from the Box O Crap swap). :eek:

It's the purely digital ones like these (http://www.wonbrothers.com/product/heater/d58.htm). They're also sold under Aqua Medic, just rebranded. I haven't seen anything bad with Ranco. It's probably a flaw specific to the board they're using in D-58s and rebrands.

The dial style with the LED readout are fine.

I had a bad experience with a Won Brothers heater myself.
Dave

silly question but....


why pay over $90 for a dual temp controller when you can get the ReefKeeper Lite system 1 for less than $100 ?

even if you run ANOTHER controller on your system later, you can still just use the RKL for a dual temp controller..