Ok this probly has been asked millions of times but when i do a water change it saids turn of heater won't the water drop and won't the fish stress out???.
Heater
- Thread starter Militis
- Start date
just lower the heater to the bottom of the tank so its not above the water. try to get used to this because ive melted the plastic suction caps on two of my filters and the heaters look like crap with the paint burned off. i always forget but realize not too late. the water temp wont change.
The water temp won't change that much, and when you add water, it will change. The reason they tell you to do that, is because of thermal shock. If you take a heater out of water for a few minutes, and then return it to water, it will break, and sometime shatter. The plastic melting is not that bad, but I have seen them shatter. Trust me, cleaning up a glass heater's shards is not fun.
How long do WC's take for you guys? If you have a MFtank, just put the heater below the water line. If you don't just unplug the heater(s), exchange the water, (add dechlorinater, etc.), and plug it back in! 
Really i will just have water ready to go in and do it quick
because i don't want it to go under water as it saids that is bad thing to do.
because i don't want it to go under water as it saids that is bad thing to do.It takes several hours for a large tank to cool down signicantly. Plenty of time do do a water change.
With my bigger tank I have the heater down lower in the water and leave it on so it can reheat the tank if the incoming water is a bit cooler. I then just run the hose slowly into the tank and refill it over an hour or so to reduce any temp changes.
2 important things..
Dont run the heater if it's not submerged - bad for the heater.
Dont change the water temp suddenly - bad for the fish.
Cheers
Ian
With my bigger tank I have the heater down lower in the water and leave it on so it can reheat the tank if the incoming water is a bit cooler. I then just run the hose slowly into the tank and refill it over an hour or so to reduce any temp changes.
2 important things..
Dont run the heater if it's not submerged - bad for the heater.
Dont change the water temp suddenly - bad for the fish.
Cheers
Ian
You are always very helpfull ian also it saids on the box that i should not put it all the way in the water i should put it up to where the black plastic is.
also it saids on the box that i should not put it all the way in the water i should put it up to where the black plastic is.be careful if it's not a fully submersible heater - large active fish may dislodge it (particularly once the suction caps get older and less effective) The fully submersible heaters are best - a lot less worry. The number of times I have found my heater lying on the gravel.... I eventually gave up and left it there (it's fully submersible)
I didn't think they still made the non submersible varieties any more
I didn't think they still made the non submersible varieties any more
They say that but I wonder how many people actually pay attention. Most people have thier heater diagnoly or horizontaly, which in turn, causes the black tip to be in the water. I've had no problem with mine in the water and I dont know of anyone else who has had complications.
i will ask my LFS tommorrow.