Annoying thermometers

[Lady Hobbs]

I have 150 watt thermometers in my 20 and 30 gallon tanks and can't get the temp up higher than 79-80. Angels like 84. Should I toss these out and get higher wattages or what! And they are new.

[jeffs99dime]

how old are they? i read a few times that heaters only have a life of about 2-3 years before they start to go wrong. the wattage that you have for those tanks should be enough.

[Lady Hobbs]

One is a week old. The other about 3 months.

[Fishguy2727]

I guess you mean heaters, what brand and model? What is the room temp? In general those wattages should be enough, but if the room they are in is abnormally cold that would be the only reason they should not be able to keep up if they are functioning properly. If you go with new ones I don't plan on buying anything besides Stealth heaters anymore. They are made by Marineland/Visi-therm. They are made from shatterproof thermal plastic and are solid black, so they look really good. They are calibrated in water and are accurate to within one degree. The other issue is your thermometer (not heater). It may be the culprit of error. I only use ESU/Coralife electronic digital thermometers. They give a constant readout on a very easy to read display. The display suction cups to the outside of the tank while a probe on a 52" wire is suction cupped alomost anywhere in the tank.

[Lady Hobbs]

Heaters? Yes! Sorry bout that.

I changed from the glass to the the stainless steel and have them set as high as they will go. My house is never colder than 72 and averages 74. I have baseboard hot water heat here and the heater vents sit right behind the tanks. I was actually afraid too much heat might come from the vents and I thought I may have to shut them off. Guess not.

These heaters won't cut it if I ever have to treat the tanks for sure. My angels sit right next to the heaters all day.

[jeffs99dime]

I guess you mean heaters, what brand and model? What is the room temp? In general those wattages should be enough, but if the room they are in is abnormally cold that would be the only reason they should not be able to keep up if they are functioning properly. If you go with new ones I don't plan on buying anything besides Stealth heaters anymore. They are made by Marineland/Visi-therm. They are made from shatterproof thermal plastic and are solid black, so they look really good. They are calibrated in water and are accurate to within one degree. The other issue is your thermometer (not heater). It may be the culprit of error. I only use ESU/Coralife electronic digital thermometers. They give a constant readout on a very easy to read display. The display suction cups to the outside of the tank while a probe on a 52" wire is suction cupped alomost anywhere in the tank.

i was thinking of getting one of those units for awhile. after you just posted this, my decision has been made. i'm getting one. my question to you is: will one be enough for my 55 gallon? i'm running two regular mercury thermometers on each side of the tank right now. thanks, jeff

[Incredulous_Ed]

how many heaters do you have in the angel tank, and is it near the filtration device?

[Fishguy2727]

I guess you mean the thermometer. There should be enough flow where there should not be a cool area and a warm area. I would just use one.

[Lady Hobbs]

Well, I tried to change the heading from thermometer to heater and it changed here but not on the main menu. Odd.

No Ed, I keep the heater in the back corner and the thermometer in the front opposite corner. I even changed thermometers around today to see if possibly one was giving me a bad read. These just aren't putting out the heat they should.