Cobalt Neo-Therm Heater Question

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DeathStalker

DeathStalker

Candiru
MFK Member
Apr 8, 2015
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Ok, so I've had 2 300w units on my 125gal for about 5yrs now, and 1st one started to fail (green on 82, red flashing on 88) and now the other just died - stuck at 94 :( My question is, since the 300w is technically only rated to 100gal, will the one that is steady green on 80 and flashing red on 88 (and it's also still flashing red on 88 if I drop the solid green down to 78), do you (collectively) think the tank will be ok for 2 days until I get a replacement header? Since the house is at ~70, I don't think the tank will hold a sufficient temp without a heater. Thanks! (Also, no I do not have any external thermometer controls/probes)
 
OR, just thought of this - does anyone know how to determine how much heat is lost per gallon of water from a given temp, and given room temp? I could always unplug the heater for X amount of time, as could be determined. Only issue I might have, is that I have no current way to determine the tank's *actual* temp at any given time.

Thanks for any help! Only need to get through the next 48hrs!
 
It's better if you put on some bubble wrap or styrofoam around the glass panels to minimize heat loss also on the top if you have a glass lid.
Keep any windows or doors near the tank shut and open them as less as possible. Saying that if your house is at 70f and if you have fish that are at good size 4-5"+ they may be fine with at 74f (24°c ) . It won't be a problem with larger fishes most probably cichlids would handle tohose temps well
. Would be a problem if you have super sensitive fish like discus . They could also survive but you'll need a gradual lowering of temps.
Deadeye Deadeye what's your thoughts?
 
No discus, only Convicts, Synos, Bichirs, Rope Fish, and my Tire Track.

I have temp probes coming in the am. I think the water was actually hotter than it *should* have been, as 82 is usually rather cool to me - but this evening, when I found the one heater shot, holing HOT at 94, the water felt a lot warmer. Nothing even close to more than warm (like baby bath water), but warmer than it usually seems.

I happen to be doing my 10% water change today, so that will put back in ~15gal of tap cold water. so I'll see how it feels after that all gets put back in.

Basically now, just have to get through the next 15hrs till the probes come. (And no, no bubblewrap available :( )
 
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Ok, new cold water in, water temp "feels" close to what I recall it usually is. Turned the heater on - it's set solid Green at 78 and blinking GREEN (not RED) at 86. Tank to room diff is around 10f +/-.
 
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Is the tank by a window? I keep my sa/ca cichlid tank unheated and it hits 74-78 based on the day. These fish should be fine, no different than a few cold days in their natural habitat. I would recommend getting multiple heater recommended for smaller tanks, rather than one larger one. Easier to maintain from what I’ve read.
 
Yes, the tank is by a window. Yes, I do have 2 heaters (one is shot, the other is on the fritz, as explained above). I've also placed a 2nd order from the ONLY company (literally) that has the 300w units in stock. So I'll have them as a backup. I think 5+yrs is a good enough time for them to have lasted. I just shouldn't have waited so long to get the replacements. I was NOT expecting the 2nd one to just go out so quickly (basically within a few hours for good to as bad as it gets).

I will turn the air down and turn of the ceiling fan (9000cfm from it!, lol)
 
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Ok! I think I found the issue! The 1st unit IS still running correctly. The reason it was showing the RED at 88 was because the temp WAS that temp and it was indicating that - and that was caused by the 100% failure of the 2nd unit! As I've watched it these last couple hours, it has come down from 88, to 86, to 84 now. I bumped up the temp from 78 to 80. So I think I'm actually still good! (THANKFULLY!) If I hadn't gone to do my water change tonight, I expect that I would have woken up to a tank full of boiled fish :(
 
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Ok, good news! Turns out the one that had the green and flashing red WAS working PROPERLY! It was alerting me that the temp was in the RED (because of the other unit failing). I did not see that, as while it was initially occurring, the other unit was still reading green - it wasn't until last night that it went full on red.

So, the 1 unit is now set on 82 as is happily solid :) Nice when a potentially scary situation works out fine (and this had me DAMN scared!) :)

Thanks for the advice all! (PLUS, this did prompt me to get some temp probes, so that's a good things too!)

--- DS
 
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