Good Reliable Water Heater

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-M-300-...iewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

153 reviews on the Fluval M series heater.

Out of 153 reviews, and a 1-5 star rating, 27 gave this model a 1 star review. And, some of those reviews were major fails with the glass tube fracturing.



As previously stated, I think that at this point every single brand of aquarium heater on the market has failed, and a percentage of each brand/model will continue to fail as long as manufacturers continue to use low quality low cost parts. Until then it's pretty much a game of russian roulette, with a $2.00-5.00 (cost) product that's controlled by a 50 cent made in China component.

I recall several yrs back someone asking Dr. Timothy Hovanec (from Dr. Tim's Aquatics) if he would consider creating a high quality reliable aquarium heater and his response was basically that he would not, as the cost would be too high compared to what hobbyists are currently used to paying, that very few people would buy them. Unfortunately he's probably right, which is why most mass produced aquarium heaters are the quality that they are. Some failure is acceptable, apparently from some companies much more failure than others.

The article below is a pretty good read on this subject, the author shares much of my personal views on this subject.


http://www.beananimal.com/articles/aquarium-heaters-what-you-need-to-know!.aspx


To which I will add with regards to overall safety - adding a simple $10 grounding probe, and running all electrical appliances through a GFCI protected power bar cannot only save a disaster in ones tank, it can also save lives.

A couple of years ago when Marineland Stealth heaters were cracking, blowing up, and basically failing left right & center, my probe/power bar combo picked up stray current from an older Stealth heater in one of my tanks that had begun to crack near the top of the heater, and due to the ground probe tripped the GCI breaker, instead of me having to become the ground on my next water change.

I would have never noticed this in my tank with the naked eye, and it potentially saved me from a disaster as many of these "cracks" ended up with the heater blowing up like a small pipe bomb. In a few cases they actually blew out the end of a few individuals tanks.




Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Not knowledgeable enough on the subject to get into much depth here but I've seen a lot of debate on whether or not to ground aquariums, including conflicting explanations, opinions, and recommendations by electricians and engineers on the subject.

What I get out of all of it is 1) stray voltage (such as you might detect with a voltmeter) is basically either a misnomer, as some use it, and/or relatively meaningless as an issue, the real issue is current (actual electrical flow). 2) I've seen some respected aquarium sources make recommendations based on collective anecdotal evidence of hobbyists with little actual electrical knowledge and present explanations that contradict what electrical professionals say. 3) As soon as you ground your tank you create a path for electrical flow, you create a current where there previously wasn't one. In doing this, some are actually creating the situation they believe they're correcting, especially as it pertains to fish in their tank. 4) There are actually naturally occurring and harmless electrical currents in saltwater-- So what effect is there from adding salt to freshwater? 5) Electrical current doesn't always mean faulty equipment, in some tanks it can be proximity of water to light reflectors or similar. 6) If you're going to ground a tank don't do it without a GCFI or similar device or you potentially create a hazard where there was none. 7) Type of flooring and shoes (or being barefoot) can make a difference in the potential hazard.

...There's more, a lot of it more technical than I'm qualified to explain or form an opinion on, for example involving the technical aspects of resistance, capacitance, etc. etc. or the technicalities of how your house is grounded and similar wiring technicalities. I want to make clear I'm not recommending anything or agreeing or disagreeing on anything here or encouraging or discouraging anything, don't consider myself qualified. But what I get out of it is a lot of electrically non-professional hobbyists are responding to forum hearsay by going ahead and grounding their tanks a) without GFCIs and b) without really knowing what they're doing.

Few links:

Ground probes

Static potentials

Grounding sw aquariums?
 
Aqueon Pro for me. Visitherm ---- I have no luck with them. The warranty replacement 'S' I have are now used to heat new water during water change. Lost one too many fish with Visitherm for me to trust them.
 
But what I get out of it is a lot of electrically non-professional hobbyists are responding to forum hearsay by going ahead and grounding their tanks a) without GFCIs and b) without really knowing what they're doing.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Lucky for me I have a background in electrical (now retired) and actually do know what I am doing, and talking about. :) I think I proved this in the following past discussion when debating the safety of ground probes and GFCI's with an electrician with 25 yrs in the trade.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...458766-electricity-in-tank-how-to-test-for-it

Since writing those comments, I have had 5 metal coronary stents added to two major arteries that run in/out of my heart, so I'm even more careful/aware of stray current than I was just a couple of years ago. When it comes to electricity and water, one can never be too careful.
 
Read the thread in the link. Similar to, though not all inclusive, of explanations and opinions in other threads and articles I've read on the subject and if I was reading for the first time I'd draw the same conclusion I've already drawn, it's potentially a bad idea to do a grounding probe without a GCFI, for both fish and humans.

Personally, I do generally shut off equipment when doing tank maintenance, but not necessarily any time I'm going to put my fingers in the tank, for example as a water temp check precisely to check heater function. In fact, I did detect a faulty heater on one occasion because of a tingle in the water and on other occasions detected heater faults because of too warm or too cool water before the heater ever cooked my fish.

I'm not about to give advice on this, as I said I'm no electrician, but for myself I like my tanks on a computer type UPS with fault protected circuits. But no ground probes on my tanks and not something I plan to do or have been convinced to do by what I've read.
 
It's pretty straightforward, one can either add a ground probe to their system (that is hopefully already GFCI protected) or they accept the risks involved by not doing so. :)

Not doing so means not accepting the fact that all brands of heaters currently on the market are made from rather low cost Chinese components, that are known to fail over time. Some, right out of the box. Personally I accept that fact.

A ground probe in unison with a GFCI offers the greatest protection when/if equipment such as a heater fails - and this can become especially important when it comes to heaters. Some of the best examples being the numerous Stealth Pro models that actually exploded in tanks a couple of years ago, and the various makes of glass tube heaters that have broken over the years leaving shards of glass in ones tank. It's not just about the human safety factor, it's about adding a bit more insurance to ones system if/when a heater fails.

Here's what happened when one of the Stealth's exploded.

http://davidwarren.hubpages.com/hub...heater-a-do-it-yourself-DIY-project-run-amuck

I loved these heaters, used them in all of my tanks, but by the time the manufacturer actually recalled them (which I believe the FDA forced them to) there had been "years" of ignored failures - failures where some very serious damage had occured, to humans (such as in the link above) as well as to tank lids being blown to pieces, and even the end of tanks being blown out. Not cool.

Here's a thread where a few people posted pics of their tanks after their heater exploded. The first tank blown out was a 75 gallon.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=103155


A grounding probe very likely saved me from the exact same scenario, a tiny fracture in the heater casing leading to an explosion in one of my 125's.


Not that I am suggesting that ALL heaters will definitely fail, of course they won't, but for me personally the risk factor is too high to ignore.



The author of the info below on Reefcentral was 100% correct.

Scenario 1. Hot line to water via submerged equipment. This is when a submerged piece of equipment like a powerhead, heater or UV lamp fails and the hot line of the power supply gets in contact with the water:

a) No GFCI and No Ground Probe.
As the tank is isolated from ground via plastic piping and wood stands the water becomes energized to 110 V but the main breaker does not trip as there is no current to ground. Fish has no problem because they are in a situation similar to a bird standing on a power line. This is a VERY DANGEROUS situation for the aquarist because as soon as you touch the water you get electrocuted as you become the path of current to ground. Breaker does not trip as there is not enough time for it to act or enough current to create enough heat. (They are slow trippers)

b) GFCI installed but no Ground Probe: Again nothing happen initially but the tank gets energized to 110 volts. as soon as you touch the water the GFCI will trip within 5 milliseconds and below a current of less than 5 milliamps. You may feel a small shock but nothing enough to hurt. This is the safest situation for the tank critters but may still hurt the aquarist mainly if the GFCI is malfunctioning.

c) GROUND PROBE INSTALLED BUT NO GFCI (Our case of discussion in this thread): As soon as the device fails and a short circuit is established then current is established to the ground probe, current may or may not be high enough to trip the breaker. Fish and critters will die and corals will RTN. If the breaker does not trip (Which is most of the cases) the short circuit may not be noticeable and you will be at a loss of why your critters are dying, even if you touch the water you may not notice unless the ground probe is not making a good ground. (See also Scenario 3c below) This is also a dangerous situation for potential fire. The current could be high but not high enough to trip the breaker, wires heat up, insulation melts and they catch fire.

d) Ground Probe Installed and GFCI installed: As soon as the short circuit is established the GFCI will trip shutting down whatever equipment is connected giving you a physical indication there is a short and something bad for you to fix immediately. This is the safest situation for the aquarist but has the downside that if you are away from the tank for a long time the lack of operating vital equipment may put your critters at risk.

So under this scenario the safest for the aquarist is to use both a GFCI and a ground probe. The next safest is to use GFCI alone.



To which I will add - Home Depot sells a "green" receptacle tester that will test for common wiring faults, as well as test GFCI's to ensure they are indeed working properly. (you simply press the red button in, which will trip a properly functioning GFCI receptacle) Test all GFCI's in your home on a regular basis, it only takes a few seconds and could save a life, including yours. :)
 
That was one of the discussions I've seen before. I use option b. But my normal practice anymore is to shut off equipment when doing tank maintenance, not that I'm 100% diligent on this.

As far as the quality or lack of quality in heater components, I've seen a decline in quality in electrical appliances in general over the years, same with a lot of other products and equipment, including brands that used to be bulletproof. These days just about everyone seems to be adding bells and whistles while using cheaper components or cheaper manufacturing methods. So I don't doubt any product has it's early failure rate. All I can say is after a few years frustration trying to find reliable heaters that would last more than a year or two the Fluvals have been good for me.

Not trying to argue these points, but that's my experience. Certainly no intention of distracting from your points on safety, including:
To which I will add - Home Depot sells a "green" receptacle tester that will test for common wiring faults, as well as test GFCI's to ensure they are indeed working properly. (you simply press the red button in, which will trip a properly functioningGFCI receptacle) Test all GFCI's in your home on a regular basis, it only takes a few seconds and could save a life, including yours. :)
Click to expand...
 
But my normal practice anymore is to shut off equipment when doing tank maintenance
Click to expand...

Absolutely a very good idea. My power bar contains my GFCI so I simply switch it off before placing my hands in the tank. GFCI's are basically designed as a last line of protection in the event of an accident, and at the very least, everyone should be plugging their electrical aquarium appliances into a GFCI.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom