Lets talk heaters....

[FishBeast]

@FishBeast, How long have you had your Finnex combo?

Was looking at reviews on the JBJ brand and many complaints on the temperature probe going out and response from the company to buyers was that the probe should be replaced yearly. I know the Finnex and others use a non-replaceable probe... Thoughts on this?

The Catalina I am looking at is non-replaceable too.

The probe is non-replaceable but it seems to be working ok. I've had it for about 3 years I think. I do check temp reading against an accurate thermometer every water change. Seems to be reading +/- 1 degree consistently. I do clean film and gunk off of it from time to time and check the plastic for any holes or cracks.

 

[DMD123]

Three years and still going is a good track record!

 

[DMD123]

Took a picture of my Aqueon heater. If you look at the cord it has white spots. This is where the black outer covering has worn through. If anyone has ever used heat shrink and put too much heat on it and it started to split in areas, well this is what the cable looks like.

There are also stress marks on the cord.... dont even know why unless the puffer was chewing on it?

Anyway, did not feel it was safe so I took my extra Fluval E series and modded it by removing a bunch of the cover to allow for better circulation

 

[FishBeast]

How long have your had the Aqueon? Those marks may indeed be nibbles...

 

[DMD123]

How long have your had the Aqueon? Those marks may indeed be nibbles...

The Aqueon has only been in the puffer tank so if they are nibbles he is the culprit. This is my back up (new in box) and I put it in when the other went out a few months back. I still have the newer 300w replacement for the one that died as my new back up. I put the modded Fluval in tonight to see if it would heat up better with the new open design but it seemed as reluctant as before. Will adjust it some more in the morning and pay attention to the cord on it to see if it is puffer damage.

 

[FishBeast]

I like that modification you did!

 

[clownie]

I swear by Ehiem! I have one that is 20+ years old and still kicking.

 

[DMD123]

I like that modification you did!

So far so good. It reads in the green and is holding heat at a steady temp. Winter is approaching and the tank is in the garage so hopefully no issues.

 

[Joel]

I've had to replace 2 of my Jebo heaters in the last 2 week's. Eheim I find pretty good , I have some ancient ones still going well. For me it's "aqua one" brand as a good trade off between quality and price but that's an Aussie brand you guys probably can't get .

 

[DMD123]

I've had to replace 2 of my Jebo heaters in the last 2 week's. Eheim I find pretty good , I have some ancient ones still going well. For me it's "aqua one" brand as a good trade off between quality and price but that's an Aussie brand you guys probably can't get .

https://www.aquaone.co.uk/accessories_heat.php
They look interesting especially the Thermosafe line. I couldn’t find an easy way to get them here.

 

[FishBeast]

Those look cool, I like the

I've had to replace 2 of my Jebo heaters in the last 2 week's. Eheim I find pretty good , I have some ancient ones still going well. For me it's "aqua one" brand as a good trade off between quality and price but that's an Aussie brand you guys probably can't get .

overheat protection chip!

 

[FishBeast]

So far so good. It reads in the green and is holding heat at a steady temp. Winter is approaching and the tank is in the garage so hopefully no issues.

Should be ok! Hahaha Garage tanks rule

 

[DMD123]

Should be ok! Hahaha Garage tanks rule

My garage tank (65B) started as a empty hospital tank... then it progressed to a grow out. Once it was up and running, then it became a set up tank. The wife never even saw it coming, lol. A great way to sneak in a tank under the radar.

Last year I did end up adding two vents from the heating/cooling system to the garage so it does not get too cold or hot now. Eventually am looking to bring my other 65B out to garage after I build a new rack for the tanks.

 

[Joel]

I'm in need of more grow out tanks. I have a tonne of guppy fry and more on the way , trying my best to keep them separated

 

[DMD123]

The modded Fluval E 300 watt seems to be doing well in the 65B. Temp on heater says 81 degrees and in the green and other thermometers showing good. This is inspiring me to mod another to try in the 300 gallon. I think the heater guards are the issue and prevent good water circulation. Or I could just unsnap the lower guard off the heater and just run the bare glass tube.... not really sure if my fish would hurt themselves. Anyway just updating the heater mod success.

 

[FishBeast]

The modded Fluval E 300 watt seems to be doing well in the 65B. Temp on heater says 81 degrees and in the green and other thermometers showing good. This is inspiring me to mod another to try in the 300 gallon. I think the heater guards are the issue and prevent good water circulation. Or I could just unsnap the lower guard off the heater and just run the bare glass tube.... not really sure if my fish would hurt themselves. Anyway just updating the heater mod success.

Thanks for the update! Makes sense too, as the heater guard may have affected heat distribution but also how the heater sensed water around it. Reminds me of this video of someone using an infrared camera to look for hot/cold spots in their tank.

 

[DMD123]

So the modded Fluval looks to be working well and I think I might just purchase two more and retry them in the 300 gallon with the guard cut out mod. When I originally tried them in the tank I got low flow warnings and the tank just would not heat up to temperature. This was also due to the fact we were still in a building phase of the house and the water heater was not outputting at full temp so the Fluval heater had a long way to go to heat. With current temp where it needs to be the likelihood is with the mod the heater should be able to maintain the temp. I had also placed these right by the FX6 intakes but didnt really make a difference when the guard was in place and the heater had to get the temp up 10 degrees. Overall I really do like the look and usability of these Fluval E series just a bad design on the guard.

 

[DMD123]

Pulled the trigger for the 300 and bought 2 Fluval E 300watt which I am going to mod the guards on.

 

[DMD123]

Got my heaters in and decided to get a cheap rotary (Dremel) to cut out the guard. I had done it with some snips and a laminate file on my first one... very labor intensive. So the hope is that the cut off wheel will make quick work of it.

 

[DMD123]

A little heater update. Been waiting on my cheap rotary tool from Amazon, kept getting pushed out, now I have to wait till November 5th. So still no modded Fluval for the 300.

The new heater came in for my 20L project. I went with a Catalina 100w titanium