Dana Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 When I started this tank, a rather intelligent person on this forum suggested I purchase a spare heater. I have a 215ltr and am running a 300. I say rather intelligent as I would have kissed their feet tonight, as I noticed my boys weren't eating. Checked, ICE cold water. Spare heater installed, all fine in under 20 mins, boys currently chowing down. It was fine earlier when I did the tests after a water change today, and am always careful to let the heather cool and off before water change, not to knock it around, keep it away from surfaces, and have it close to the filter outlet. It hasn't kicked back in since then obviously So, 2 questions: 1/ Is it best to run 2 heaters concurrently, thermostat knocking each other out when necessary, and avoiding tonight's mishap. Or do some of you just hold a spare? 2/ What other redundant parts do you hold that tend to fail and require urgent attention? A tad annoyed. Was an aqua one brand (feel free to advise of better) but I didn't keep the receipt. less than 3 months old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 I have had trouble reacently with this brand and am bringing it up with the rep next week I would suggest going for the computer controlled types such as the Aqua one advance, Jager etc... as they are less likely to fail due to faulty metal strip thermostats. I also like to keep a spare plastic tank and an air pump (battery operated one) for emergencies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 I take it you didn't register online for the 3 year warranty? Heaters are the things that fail the most in my experience so I keep a few spare. If you're going to be home everyday, I'd use just the one heater. I check the temperatures each day to make sure the heaters are working. If you're going to be leaving the tank in someone else's care, I'd use two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted September 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Cheers. I'll go have a looksee at the shop. No, didn't register for the warranty :facepalm: I travel with work so have a house sitter for my brood of fur and fin toting additions. I'll run two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ichthus Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 I've found the Eheim Jager heaters to be brilliant... consistent temps. I tried out the cheap Blue Planet brand on a hospital tank. It was okay...but for my main tank I wouldn't use a cheap brand. As for other spare parts, maybe some spares for a filter (such as impeller)? In saying that, I don't bother...we have a good fish store very near by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 In my experience, heaters stick on more than off so running 2 would not necessarily help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 get a jager heater, they keep the temp really close to what you set and if they fail they shut off. Generally on cheaper heaters the fault is they don't turn off. I got into the habit of touching the glass when i feed the fish to make sure it isn't cold, that's a better option than having an extra heater in the tank i think for cost and visual effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 In my experience, heaters stick on more than off so running 2 would not necessarily help. My experience has been the opposite, I've gone through 6-7, all failed off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 The only heater I've had fail so far is a Jager ... just went cold on me. The other heater I lost by pouring cold water on it while on .. sort of exploded on me These guys i suspect are a little biased Reminds me of the AMD vs Intel CPUs when the fan dies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 only lost Aqua one ones, got a 30-40 year old Reliant heater, made in NZ sitting in my breeding tank atm, stil perfect and only +/- 1 degree (looks brand new even though its been used most of the time) and also know of a old jager thats still going strong after 15 years in a commercial breeding tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnacle Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 After setting my tank up again after it was lying dormant for a few years, my jager heater took it to over 30deg before i noticed. Thankfully only a pair of unhappy guppys were in the tank at the time. I replaced it thinking it was useless, but now im using it in another tank and its working fine... something might have got stuck or something? 1st time i had a heater play up on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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