mling July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 Work up this morning and found this in my 40G sump ! Lucky for me it's summer and the heater did not kick on ! So much for glass heaters. This heater was always lying at the bottom on the sump. There is thing in there to have done this other than a little sponge crab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 (edited) Ouch! Do you know how it happened? Could anything have fallen on it? Look into Cobalt Heaters. Edited July 24, 2014 by DuffyGeos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 Ouch! What brand and how old? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mling July 24, 2014 Author Share July 24, 2014 Don't have a clue what caused this. There is nothing above it or near it. I do know it was working fine about 2 weeks ago when a water change caused it to turn on. I have had it for about 5 years. It is a Marine Visi-Therm heater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 Cobalt ones look nice. I'd been specifically using glass so they'll break if they are exposed to air and lock on. I feel that's less of a catastrophic failure mode than the titanium ones that get hotter and hotter and eventually set things on fire. One of these days I'm going to wrap my entire return PVC in heat tape to keep the heating function totally out of the water. I'll plug it into an outlet on the Apex and control it with the apex temperature sensor and call it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 (edited) ALERT: Had a glass heater break once and found out they contain a small copper element. I watched as all my snails and hermits moved slower and slower until they stopped like a slow motion video. I found the copper element in the sump and plucked it out then I did 4 water changes -in a row. All inverts returned to normal. Your heater may not have copper in it but I suggest you carefully watch your tank for the next few days. Also, lifting a glass heater in and out of the water may cause it to break. Edited July 24, 2014 by sen5241b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 Wow glad no one and nothing is hurt. Sounds like you should do a full examination for copper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Garrett July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 I had one do this in my sump because the water level dropped and it overheated. Replaced it with a less cheap one Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 I've used nothing but titanium since my glass heater broke some years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 BTDT...titanium only for me....I really like the jager titanium heaters.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2nhle July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 BTDT...titanium only for me....I really like the jager titanium heaters.... +1 I used jager for awhile no problem yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 Jager Eheim for me, but nothing helps as much as having it on a controller. -- Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy G July 24, 2014 Share July 24, 2014 Jager Eheim for me as well Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rburgee July 25, 2014 Share July 25, 2014 I wish ebo-jager was still around, I have been using jager heaters since 2001. I hope everything is ok! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mling July 25, 2014 Author Share July 25, 2014 Wow glad no one and nothing is hurt. Sounds like you should do a full examination for copper Just got home not long ago and so far everyone seems normal, all inverts too. Looks like my heater did not have copper or I had removed it this morning. It was easy to remove all pieces since there was nothing else near that heater. This heater was at the bottom of my sump and is never out of water; I learned not to have a glass heater out of water the hard way many years ago. I have 2 other titanium heaters in this system (156DT + 44 Sump). Looking to invest in an Apex to alert me to temp issues due to a bad heater. I have used 3 separate heaters (100watt each) so that a bad one would not wipe out the system. Only issue is that I don't know if I can tell if one goes bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k July 25, 2014 Share July 25, 2014 If you use Titanium heaters, be sure there is a water gap between the heater and any other hard surfaces. Ti heaters get very hot, very quickly and can cause accretion of calcium scale around them which can transfer heat to the hard surface instead of the water. Use a reputable brand and stay away from cheap ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b July 25, 2014 Share July 25, 2014 (edited) I just got a Finnex titanium. The label says it has a built in controller. I'm guessing its not a real controller. Edited July 25, 2014 by sen5241b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mling July 25, 2014 Author Share July 25, 2014 I just got a Finnex titanium. The label says it has a built in controller. I'm guessing its not a real controller. I think the "controller" is just referring to it showing the temp on the display. I have a similar heater. It is good to have the temp clearly displayed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k July 26, 2014 Share July 26, 2014 Finnex is a brand that I wouldn't trust. They are a label, not a manufacturer and they put their labels on the cheapest imports from China and Taiwan. I've seen first hand what happens when those particular heaters get wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mling July 26, 2014 Author Share July 26, 2014 If not Finnex, what titanium heater would you buy ? Since I plan to get an Apex to monitor temperatures, should I just get heating rods; would the brand matter then ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mling July 26, 2014 Author Share July 26, 2014 If not Finnex, what titanium heater would you buy ? Since I plan to get an Apex to monitor temperatures, should I just get heating rods; would the brand matter then ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k July 27, 2014 Share July 27, 2014 Why not go with a tried and true Ebo Jager glass heater? They've been around forever and have a better reputation than most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k July 27, 2014 Share July 27, 2014 If you have to go with Ti, then use a JBJ Ti with controller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crob5965 July 27, 2014 Share July 27, 2014 I had a glass one that cracked once during a wc, it was on a LR cooking tank so there were no inhabitants, I was not so fortunate and got on heck of a shock, I still have 1 glass heater in my current sump but I have a Titanium heater for my new setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 July 27, 2014 Share July 27, 2014 Nothing is foolproof in this hobby - people have had tank crashes due to glass and titanium heaters, on and off controllers/Apex/Aquacontrollers/etc. Find what works for you and if you can have multiple fail safes, then do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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