ikan Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 i bought a second hand visi-therm 300watt heater, no instructions, and never use one before so the question is --> 1. what happens if it breaks? will the fish fry? what are the % likelyhood of the fish keeper being electrocuted!! 2. min water level mark--> do i need to turn it OFF if i change water and it drops below the min level? 3. i have seen pictures of heaters totally submerge, does this model work that way? if so can it be place flat /horizontal at the bottom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 1. If it breaks it will stop working. If it sticks on it will fry the fish. If the glass breaks it is possible for the fishkeeper to be electrocuted. Water and electricity do not mix. 2. It is always safer to turn the heater off when doing waterchanges. If left running and the water level gets too low the heater will get very hot and when you add the water the heater will shatter. 3. Don't know about these particular heaters so can't answer. I thought most these days were submersible. Lying heaters on the substrate isn't good for them as they like the water to circulate. Buy the suckers to attach it where you want it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Most heaters work underwater, including the Visi-Therm (I have one here, 300W). Only cheapass heaters like the Masterpet need the top sticking out of the water. Caryl has answered your other questions Also in addition to what she said about question 2, make sure the heater is not hot. Paticularly if you're removing the heater from the tank. What I do during water changes, is just push the heater lower in to the tank (since you shouldn't change more than 20-30% of the water at once anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 most of my heaters sit in the lower half of the tank because of the large w/c's i do or they get switched off before the w/c starts. im not sure how painful a heater zap would be and i dont wana find out :lol: since you shouldn't change more than 20-30% of the water at once anyway i often change around 50% in most of my tanks weekly (discus get 50% every 2nd day), i dont NEED to because tanks arent over stocked, i just like doing bigger ones and my fish like it too :lol: its not going to hurt anything if you prepare the new water properly (dechlorinator if you need it and temp matching if you want to). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Yeah I do 50% changes on some of the tanks, just dont recommend it to new people much in case something goes wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 good point Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikan Posted February 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 i set the to 26c and after just a short while it goes off. but the thermometer shows 22. i set it to 30c but it clicks off after a short while...i touch the water and its still cold...whats going on? a dude heater?? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 Heaters never have accurate thermometers, think of it as a vauge guide rather than a temperature setting. Also give it some time to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jn Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 A lot of pictures I see of tanks with heaters in them seem to have them at an angle (like 45 deg. maybe?) and towards the bottom of the tank. I assume this is for convection purposes? Since heat rises and the water around the heater gets hot and rises up towards the thermostat making it seem like water is hot enough? I've never used a heater myself But maybe someone could confirm this to see if it might help you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 you are right jn sometimes there isnt enough water flow around the heater to stop the vertical placed ones switching off due the the hotter water rising which can result in a chilly tank- depends on where you have your outlets from your filter placed whether a vertical one may cause problems for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharronpaul Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Agree completely. If water cant flow properly once heated, the tank won't get hot. Another thing to keep in mind is that the thermomoter can be just as inaccurate as the thermostat on the heater. IMO its a good idea to get a decent thermometer (ie a glass one, like the ones they use in school labs) or a digital one. I bought 3 $2 thermos from the LFS, one read 26, one read 27 and one read 21. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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