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braydog 
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Joined: April 21 2008
Location: Lehi, Utah
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 Topic: big problems
Posted: December 09 2008 at 8:27pm |
OK......Im having big problems with my tank. I came home yesterday to find it at 86.8 degrees so i went into panic mode and worked on lowering the temp. I come home today and BAM 87 degrees. Could it be that my heaters thermostat is gone haywire?? The heater is only 6 months old??? The temp in the house is only 64 so its not the temp in my house.
Any info or suggestions.
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34 Gallon Red Sea Max
It aint over till the fat lady sings!!
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BobC63
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Posted: December 09 2008 at 8:33pm |
The heater thermostat is probably stuck open, which means the heater is N/G.
Have you touched the water to make sure it is actually that warm and it's not just your thermometer that is bad?
What wattage heater?
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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john hill
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Posted: December 09 2008 at 8:39pm |
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unplug the heater and get a thermometer to duble check the temp do you have any fans that you can blow across the water
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out with the large and in with the nano
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Cameron
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Posted: December 09 2008 at 8:58pm |
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Id say take the heater out and watch it closely. Remember to lower the Temp Slowly!
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[COLOR="Red"](801)664-4240
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Mike Savage
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Posted: December 09 2008 at 9:00pm |
The heater is suspect but verify the temperature too.
Mike
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spidermom
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Posted: December 09 2008 at 11:45pm |
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I had the same problem with a brand new heater I bought from my work, it wouldn't shut off, I used a frozen ice pack in a ziplock to bring the heat down, from 106! some heaters can be defective, some brands just suck!
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Dion Richins
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 1:05am |
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106??????????????????? Holy **** I would have died on the spot!!!!!!!!!!!!
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spidermom
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 8:26am |
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yeah it was amazing, one of my pipefish and a few of my corals survived, not a fan of Hydor heaters anymore
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DeepFriedOprah
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 9:04am |
 Mike Savage wrote:
The heater is suspect but verify the temperature too.
Mike |
I agree with Mike. My thermometer say my tank is at 66 degrees, but I know it is not. Double check your temp with another thermometer.
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"So, Just right in half? I have a very large one, Like 4" that I would like to frag, as well as a few smaller ones"
Cameron
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Jake Pehrson
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 9:38am |
Double check you temp.
That is why many people recommend 2 underpowered heaters so if one gets "stuck" it won't be able to heat the tank up too much.
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Dion Richins
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 9:57am |
You mean my 1000 watt heaters are too much. 
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spidermom
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 4:28pm |
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I agree totally....I just usually don't put more than one in a 28 gal
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spidermom
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 4:30pm |
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But if your heater won't shut off another one won't help anyway LOL
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BobC63
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 6:42pm |
WHat I have seen is that most of the time when a heater fails "on" it is usually because it was too small (too few watts) for the tank is was trying to heat. The heater stays "on" for too long of a time period trying to heat up too much water and the thermostat contacts fuse together and the heater cannot shut itself off.
IMO:
A 50w heater should be used only in a 5g tank
75w heater 10g tank
100w heater 15g tank
150w heater 20g tank
200w heater 29g tank
250w heater 30g L tank
(2) 150w heater 40g tank
(2) 200w heater 55 - 90g tank
(2) 250w heater 100 - 125g tank
(2) 300w heater 150 - 180g tank
(2) 400w heater 210 - 240g tank
Above that add 1 additional 400w heater per 150g of water volume
For some reason larger tanks actually require a lower watts / gal ratio than a smaller tank does; something about the surface area of the tank relative to the gallonage is greater on smaller tanks, thus they cool (lose heat) faster than a larger tank does, relative to room temperature being lower than the tank temp.
For the OP - who I believe has a 34g tank - I'd bet the heater that "broke" is a lower wattage than the 250 - 300w that should be used...
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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spidermom
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 7:12pm |
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I always go to a higher watt heater and always tell my customers that ,at my work at Petsmart, I agree with you to a point but there some crappy brands and even defective heaters, I see it all the time, I've worked there for 12 years
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BobC63
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 7:25pm |
Yeah, I'm just surprised you had a problem with a Hydor...
I had (2) 250w on my 125 for maybe 5 years w/o a problem
I have (2) 400w on my 225now, no problems
I got rid of an old 250w that I had had on a 29g that was over 15 yrs old and didn't realize until I got rid of it that it was a Hydor.
Did you have your heater located anywhere near a Mag Drive pump or Maxijet? Crystal pointed out that something in the Mag Drive pump can wreck the electronics in a Hydor heater, which is something I did not know before...same thingapparaently with MJ p-heads...
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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spidermom
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 7:30pm |
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I don't have a mag drive in that tank, it's not near anything like that, I've never heard of any problems with that brand of heaters either, I prefer ebo jager.
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bgreenlee
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Posted: December 10 2008 at 9:20pm |
Jake Pehrson wrote:
Double check you temp.
That is why many people recommend 2 underpowered heaters so if one gets "stuck" it won't be able to heat the tank up too much. |
After burning a tank I moved to this idea.
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