top fin heater explosion

jft

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Aug 24, 2010
447
30
61
PA
hjad this heater explode in 40 breeder a warning to you all please be careful with this brand from petsmart and will i have to do a complete water change or just 50 percent and add polyfilter and carbon to adsorb any contaminents from water please give opinions. Tomorrow off to petsmart to have a word with the manager. Thanks
 

jft

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Aug 24, 2010
447
30
61
PA
yeah i took it slow it was on tank for three months so go figure all the fish are dead
 

BryanENC

Feeder Fish
Nov 24, 2015
1
0
1
50
I just had a Topfin 250w blow the cap off, shoot fire out and smoke up the house. Glad I was home. Iv'e been in damage cleanup mode. Used paper towels to soak all the burnt goo floating on the top of my 75gal saltwater tank, of 7 years and running. I replaced the heater a few months ago due to old one quit working. Don't buy this crap!
 

krichardson

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jun 19, 2006
27,587
14,509
480
Datnoid Island
Good thing the damage wasn't more extensive and no one was hurt.
I don't recall buying any of their products...they just seem kind of cheap and chintzy to me.
 

xraycer

Arapaima
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2013
5,383
2,571
203
Southern NH USA
I've owned 2 in the past, they only lasted about a year.
 

nossalucard

Candiru
MFK Member
Jan 3, 2015
267
75
46
North Carolina
They had a recall on their heaters ever since a few months ago. I had a 250watt completely quit heating but the light would come on like it was. One day walking through Petsmart I noticed a recall notice in their heater isle. Needless to say i went back home and got my failed topfin and got a replacement marineland.

Check there when you get a chance. Sad thing is, ALL of them (other than Ebo Jager ) are primarily made by the same manufacturer (since Tetra and marineland got bought up) Pet group or something like that.

Sad our hobby is now under the attack of the cheapest "crap" you can produce under what USED to be good name brands....
 

pops

Alligator Gar
MFK Member
Nov 24, 2013
6,247
3,304
188
WA
so this heater blew up in the tank while filled? and water level was not below the heater line?
also do you run a GFI power strip?
 
Never had a problem, but mine are older than the recall date.

From the web: "The recalled products were sold from August 2014 to March 2015 in Canada and from August 2014 to April 2015 in the United States."
 
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