Another one bites the dust *Heater Failure # 3

[Sandra the fish rookie]

Nothing gets you flying out of bed like a heater alarm (and a puking dog/cat). I had a heater failure a few months back in the 20G then after that, 1 of the 2 heaters failed in the 40 G (these happened AFTER I got the temperature controller BTW). Yesterday the alarm went off with a E5 Continuous Heating Time Alarm. I checked the tank and the heaters were off.. temp was 78. Tested everything, and everything was functioning normally. Watched it throughout the day, and had no issues (at least from what I could see). Then at 2 am, alarm goes off again, with the same E5 Alarm. I had replaced 1 of the failed heaters a few weeks back with a 150 watt old heater I had as a backup till my new ones came in from Amazon. So, at 230, I took both heaters out, put the 2 brand new ones in, and watched that everything worked okay before going to bed a 330am. 

My issue is that I could not understand the Alarm because the heaters were off.. so I am wondering if its because the 150 W is stronger and was heating more than the other smaller 100 W? Could there be an issue with the controller? It seems to alarm appropriately. My continuous heating time is 3 hrs which has been working up to now. 

Thoughts? Is it REALLY possible that every heater is garbage and just does not last NO MATTER what? It really does not matter the type I get, or the reviews, they DIE! BUT... I will say this.. NONE of my livestock has suffered!!! that is because of the controller. They are worth EVERY penny! and I have them on EVERY tank but the 5 gallon, which I am second guessing that now too.. to add the single probe one (the ITC 308 green model). All I need is another Gazoo incident (see trip to the sump drawer post). If I lost him because of a bad heater I would never forgive myself. 

@Cory If I had a recommendation for a heater it would be that the cords are TOO short. If you have to put a heater on each end of a tank, and your controller or outlet is not right in the middle, the heater cord is quite short. Its just a thought that I wanted to mention before I forget (again). It might just be me and the set up I have, but throwing it out there 🙂. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I completely realize it's not always possible depending on where you live, what you keep your house at, what species you're keeping. BUT these kinds of posts are exactly why I decided if I couldn't be low tech (where the only worry would be if my air pumps weren't working) I wouldn't go into this hobby at all. Heater failure- no matter what kind of failure- is a total nightmare to me!

Edited January 23, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Sandra the fish rookie]

@xXInkedPhoenixX I keep species that "could" be okay in cooler temps, but I do have rabbit snails that prefer warmer water. I keep my house between 68-70 (70 only if its a cold as it is now in NC 30 degrees which is NOT normal). I don't like being hot so keep the house cooler. But I agree with you that it can be stressful, but the temperature controller is a total game changer. I am a nurse, so I have extra of EVERYTHING (human, canine and aquatic) and have learned a lot from the Nerm family to be a prepared as you can for anything. I am "pretty" low tech-ish, but each tank has a HOB, and sponge and air stones for backup. Some think its a "bit much" but if anything goes, something is providing air and filtering. I have only had 1 HOB die but it was part of a kit, and not great anyway so it was a good excuse to get a Seachem Tidal 🙂  

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Yep, totally get it. 70 is not warm enough for most tanks when it comes to ambient temperatures. I personally don't like to be cold and run cold naturally (my hands always ice) so my house is set to 72 and the room where my tanks are have help with a heater which is kept between 75-79 degrees depending on the day/mood and of course the whole room isn't exactly those temps it's just a setting on a heater. I also have a stove that's from 1940s whose (yes whose, when a stove is that old it deserves that title IMO haha) pilot light is on 24/7 I can nearly cook on stovetop without it being on. So I'm lucky not to have to use heaters. I have a Pymeter and heaters in case they are needed so I do have the potential to have a set up like yours because I'm always prepared!

[lefty o]

in my experience, pretty much all aquarium heaters are garbage.

[Guppysnail]

With inkbirds they kill power to heaters when they trigger alarms. This overrides the malfunctioning heater and shuts it off. That may be why it was alarming but you saw the heater as off

[Cory]

I believe our heater will have the same length cord as our power head. 11.8 feet. Quite a bit longer than most cords for products.

[CT_]

On 1/23/2022 at 2:56 PM, Cory said:

I believe our heater will have the same length cord as our power head. 11.8 feet. Quite a bit longer than most cords for products.

I'd love one with a short cord.  I have a power strip strategically placed behind my tank and actually have trouble winding up all the extra cord.    I assume its probably too expensive to keep two SKUs of basically the same thing and I'm also guessing I'm in the minority.  I see some cable splicing in my future ;).

[StevesFishTanks]

Just confirming that you have the heaters manual setting to a temperature higher than the controller set temp.

If they are set to the same or lower temp than the controller they will turn themselves off even when the controller is supplying them power. This will surely trigger a continuous heating alarm with a heater functioning as it should.

[Hoi Polloi]

@Sandra the fish rookie You have persuaded me. My next purchase is a controller. 🙂

[813aquatics]

On 1/23/2022 at 11:33 AM, Sandra the fish rookie said:

@xXInkedPhoenixX I keep species that "could" be okay in cooler temps, but I do have rabbit snails that prefer warmer water. I keep my house between 68-70 (70 only if its a cold as it is now in NC 30 degrees which is NOT normal). I don't like being hot so keep the house cooler. But I agree with you that it can be stressful, but the temperature controller is a total game changer. I am a nurse, so I have extra of EVERYTHING (human, canine and aquatic) and have learned a lot from the Nerm family to be a prepared as you can for anything. I am "pretty" low tech-ish, but each tank has a HOB, and sponge and air stones for backup. Some think its a "bit much" but if anything goes, something is providing air and filtering. I have only had 1 HOB die but it was part of a kit, and not great anyway so it was a good excuse to get a Seachem Tidal 🙂  

Have you considered using a preset aquarium heater? Part of the problem you may be having is just due to the heaters constantly going on and off. The preset heater, while less customizable, may be safer and more efficient. No chance for leaks or moving parts.

[Guppy Guy]

I bought a preset heater once, and I will never buy one again. It was a tetra, so none great to start off with any way. It was preset to 78 F, but over time, it kept warming the water. It was a guppy tank, so I wasn’t too concerned, but I started keeping a close eye on it when it reached 83 F. Then out of nowhere, it failed. But unlike most peoples tetra heater fails(luckily), mine wouldn’t turn on. So I got an Eheim Jager, and everything is great.

By this time, I had recently replaced my 30 gallon heater(it was an ancient all glass aquariums heater), not because it failed, it was working great. I replaced it because water was starting to leak inside, and we all know what that means⚡️.  I replaced it with an Eheim Jager, and it is awesome. It works the exact same way that the old one did, so hopefully it will last awhile.

Incase you are wondering, this is the all glass aquariums heater I replaced:

 

[Wrencher_Scott]

On 1/25/2022 at 5:06 AM, 813aquatics said:

Have you considered using a preset aquarium heater? Part of the problem you may be having is just due to the heaters constantly going on and off. The preset heater, while less customizable, may be safer and more efficient. No chance for leaks or moving parts.

preset heaters turn on and off too. 

I use my controller as just a backup for if my heater sticks on. It will turn off and alarm at 85* F

My house doesn't get below 72 or so, so I don't worry about cold. 

[tekjunkie28]

A heater is a Heater. They will always fail. Just run 2 heaters and have 1 setup so its set a little below the other heater. Make SURE that you get 2 heaters that are small enough that 1 heater alone CAN NOT heat the tank to the desired temperature.  If I had a heater fail in the off position I couldnt care less.  I didnt run heaters on any tank until recently, except for my reef tank.

A 100 watt heat is a 100 watt heater as long as it puts out its rated wattage then there is not going to be one more or less efficient then the other. ANY type of electric heat is 100% efficient. 1,000 watts is 3412.14 BTUs no matter what "type" of electric element is used.