Heater got me :(

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
InkBird is about $35 and gets tons of praise over on SimplyDiscus. I have one for my large tank and the programmability is great and it's very easy to use. It also has low and high temp alarms.

At that price I guess there really isn't much of a reason not to use them if only to save yourself the headache of the cleanup. I've not used the inkbirds but the ranco units are solid, they might take more wattage and be more ideal for larger tanks then.
 
At that price I guess there really isn't much of a reason not to use them if only to save yourself the headache of the cleanup. I've not used the inkbirds but the ranco units are solid, they might take more wattage and be more ideal for larger tanks then.

http://www.ink-bird.com/products-temperature-controller-itc308.html

Here's a link. They are actually rated for 1000W. They have an outlet for heating, and for cooling, for those that use some sort of chiller. The way the people on Simply use them is opposite the way most people use them here. They set the heater thermostat to the temp they want it at and then set the InkBird a few degrees higher. This way the heater works as intended and if the thermostat ever gets stuck the InkBird will shut it off after the temp gets a few degrees higher, but still plenty safe for the fish. The display also shows the current temp and the set temp at the same time. I have also not heard of any issues with the probe not holding up to being water proof.

There is also a 306 model but that one seems to have some issues according to the other forum, so they mostly just run the 308 and leave the cooling outlet unused.

There is a setting that most would want to change, and it's probably why a lot of people have ridden them off, but you can change the temp differential setting. It comes preset at 3 degrees, which means that if your tank is set at 80, the controller won't turn the heat on until the temp is down to 77. Then it will turn on until the temp is back up to 80. This setting can be changed to 1 degree so that the heater would come on at 79 and then turn off at 80.
 
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Not to be mean but why a heater in a goldfish tank. It is to bad this happened and we never know when it will. If you get more god fish don't bother wwith the heater though will save you some coin.
 
I should probably invest in one myself. I have always used Jager heaters even before Eheim bought the company. I have never had a single problem with these and I currently have 13 tanks going with them in each tank.
 
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Not to be mean but why a heater in a goldfish tank. It is to bad this happened and we never know when it will. If you get more god fish don't bother wwith the heater though will save you some coin.

I believe you may have read the OP too fast? He had a tank full of glofish or glow fish, not gold fish.
 
Not to be mean but why a heater in a goldfish tank. It is to bad this happened and we never know when it will. If you get more god fish don't bother wwith the heater though will save you some coin.

Lol, it wasn't a goldfish tank, it was a glofish tank. They were the white skirt tetras that were genetically modified to have the neon colors that "glow" under a blue LED. I don't care for them but my son is three and absolutely loves them. He points them out and tells me they are his favorite every time we go to the pet store.
 
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This reminds me, I should probably start replacing my heaters with better quality units. All of them are getting up there in age and who knows how old the one on my 90 gallon is. I'll keep one or 2 for my quarantines tho.

Seems to be a lot of braised fish stories lately haha.
 
It was a 50W heater that was some generic brand from Petsmart. It wasn't even adjustable, just plug it in and it was preset (it ran about 77 degrees).

I went ahead and pulled everything out and bleach soaked it for about 20 minutes, wiped out the tank with bleach water, soaked the filter media and then put it all back together with new water. It's all set back up minus the heater and fish.
I've had issues with those heaters too. Every topfin heater I've had has randomly stopped turning on within 2-3 months of buying it. I have Aqueon pro and Eheim Jager heaters on my newer tanks now, and plan to make the upgrade for my older tanks soon. I'd rather save money on dead fish than a heater.
 
Cant go wrong with a Jager. IMO
Mine work fine, just always a little over in spring which is difficult since the temperature fluctuates but in summer I just leave it unheated. The one tank with a cheap heater just has fish that can take lower temps or higher year round.

At least your son didn't find out though
 
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