Heater Problems : /

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
M

Megiddo

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 11, 2009
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So im on my 2nd day of cycling with my new tank and i have run into a problem, my heater broke : (. It is a Top Fin 200 watt Submersible Heater. The employee at the store said this was more than enough power for my 36 gallon tank but even before it stopped working i hadn't felt a real change in the water which makes me think that it never worked to begin with. I read the instructions before installing of course, i let it sit in the water for a little more than a half hour before turning it on so it would not break. So i set it up last night and left it on overnight. When i got up i went to check the temperature and it had bearly changed! Only a couple of degrees higher! So i decided to give it more time to take effect because i know sometimes these things take a while. I then checked it again about 3-4 hours later mid-day-ish time and it had stopped working! It does not having a time setting feature or any of the sort. I can tell that it stopped working because the "working" light is no longer functional and it is not given off any heat. I then did some research online and found that Top Fin heater are notorius for breaking, but not in the way mine did, they usually break and give off too much heat. Any ways to fix this or just bad product? I will be going to my lfs tomorrow to get a new heater ... a NOT top fin one. Also has anyone else had any troubles with Top Fin Heaters?

p.s. sorry for all the reading :(
 
get a jager from eheim. Heard they were the best ones out there..
 
I have so many large tanks that it makes no sence to buy equiptment from lfs, I've had heaters for 12 years+ and some short timers Jagers are excellent Stealth are problematic at least for me but you can use a 100W for your 36g. 200W work well in my 75s.
 
i had a 200w that i bought for my 55g. set it up and turned it to max and it only keep my tank at 75ish. dont know if its broken or not but the light will go on from time to time but the temp doesnt go up. dont buy top fin or any from petsmart.
 
Buy a visitherm stealth-right up there with jager's.
 
Do you have a thermometer or are you just judging water temp by feel?

Top Fin are low quality, I've had a couple of stealths go bad but they do have a lifetime guarantee.
 
Top Fin doesn't make the best product, IMO. They seem to be good for a cheap back up until you can get a new replacement for whatever. I have a Jager and Stealth running. Jagers are pretty large, but works great. The Stealth is pretty good too, but it doesn't have a light to indicate if it's working or not which is the only thing that bothers me. I had a Rena running for awhile and I think that was probably my favorite heater.
 
Those are relatively new and unproven, even though it does look very technologically advanced. Also judging by how much it is online even if your lfs had one it would definitely be over $75 (IMO all LFS overprice). I would just go with a stealth or jager, they are proven heaters.
 
stealth
 
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