skimmer overflow & finnex heater

[Fishie]

hey guys i had a few alarms go off on my tank and i am trying to figure what triggered what. I believe that they are 2 separate incidents...but here goes.

 

i got a notification of low sump levels ( which i usually ignore cause my ato catches up unless i get them frequently enough indicating a real problem). so i did get it a few of them today and went to look into it.

i found that it was a real issue cause my sump was low in the area being monitored & my skimmate locker was nearly full.

Now i proceeded to look at my return pump and found a fatty turbo snail (empty shell) partly blocking it.

 

I figured that the shell which was partly restricting water flow caused the water level to rise in the sump thereby increasing the skimmate level and causing it to overflow.

i fixed everything and thought it was all good.

 

then i hear a constant low volume alarm like sound. I look into it and it turns out that one of my heaters , the BRS Finnex titanium heater is showing 92 degrees and flashing. the tank temperature was actually 79 so i realized the finnex was malfunctioning. 

I cleaned the temp probe a little and it looked like it fixed the finnex but i took it out and i am giving it a vinegar bath now.

 

so my question is does this look like 2 unrelated incidents or could the finnex have resulted in the skimmer overflowing in some way?

 

also i did not know that the finnex have a but in alarm sound..which is good i guess..but i want to confirm that it is indeed an alarm sound due to the temp being too high and not something else that tells me to not put it back in.

 

the apex graphs show my power to the titanium heater going off today at 7am based on the power drawn so its not something that i just happened to catch while fixing the skimmer/tuurbo snail shell blocking.

[zygote2k]

FWIW, I've personally seen a Finnex Titanium heater malfunction and boil the water in an acrylic sump, then melt thru the side of the sump like a hot knife through butter, then continue to cook and catch the melted acrylic on fire. IMO, these are some of the worst heaters to use. Made in China specials!

[Fishie]

FWIW, I've personally seen a Finnex Titanium heater malfunction and boil the water in an acrylic sump, then melt thru the side of the sump like a hot knife through butter, then continue to cook and catch the melted acrylic on fire. IMO, these are some of the worst heaters to use. Made in China specials!

 wow thats scary...i thought they were good cuz of the reviews on BRS 

 

i cleaned mine up and its good again...

 

i also don't think it could overheat in this case cause the apex would detect the temperature increase and cut power to the heater. 

so even if the finnex  controller malfunctions and decided to be always on ...the apex would not allow it.

 

for now everything is working good again

 

seems like there is a horror story for almost every heater model

Edited March 1, 2015 by Fishie

[Fishie]

i also have a eheim jager heater and an aqueon pro...

 

are those 2 better safer...i always keep 2 in tank so i don't mind switching to those if they are "safer"

[epleeds]

I prefer the ehiem's.

[zygote2k]

The Finnex heater stuck on and bypassed its' own internal safety switch as if it wasn't even there. 2 out of the 3 in use on this particular application malfunctioned in the same fashion at the same time. That's a good enough argument to me not to use poor quality imported heaters.

I personally use Eheim Ebo Jagers and have used them for the past 20 years. I've seen some fail over the years but never in this dramatic of an example.