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I have a question regarding my tank’s temperature. I have a 29G AGA
tank, a 150W Jaeger heater, and an AquaClear300 Hang-On Filter. The
heater is located in the left back corner of the tank and the intake for the
filer is maybe 2in to the right. My thermometer is in the right front corner
of the tank. The heater is submersed to the line that says “no further” ,
or something like this.

Now, for quite a while, I had the dial to 80F and my thermometer
showed 81. Well, no big deal. A few days back I decided to lower the temp
a little, so I turned the dial to 78 and NOTHING happened, still 81. Two days
later, I reduced it to 75 and now I have 80 on the thermometer. I took out the
thermometer and it responds immediately to the cooler air temp.

My questions are:
-Can it be that the intake for my filter is sucking up all the warm water,
and then spits it out to a different area of the tank while the cooler water
streams to the heater?
-Or is it simply broken?
-Or what is going on here?

The heater is only 3 months old and is supposed to be accurate to .5 degrees
(but I guess Celsius, which would be .9F).

Thanks,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I'm a fan of Ebo Jager heaters & i find them quite reliable & your's is only 3 months old.

Try to move the termometer to another part of the tank & see if it makes any difference.


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i have to agree with jason...then, see what happens...i too...like the jager better than the hydor..i got both of them...i even like the marineland "neptune" better than the hydor.

i find jager ..top of its class

Since changing the heater can really stress out fish i would definitley play around with the placement of the thermometer versus playing around with the temperature.

jasonpisani, tankie, and Hooktor

I certainly agree with your opinion on Jaeger heaters, the thickness
of the glass and the “Made in Germany” quality of the product.

Hooktor, I did place the thermometer in various spots in the aquarium,
always with the same result (as described above).

My question was actually more designed to find out if anybody had
a similar experience, or any knowledge if the heater – filter intake
position could influence the aquarium temperature to behave like in my tank.

Only if all fails would I question the heater.

Thanks,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The old Ebo Jager heaters were well constructed, quality instruments. The quality level declined substantially over the past few years. The combination of quality issues and market consolidation resulted in Eheim purchasing the company. One indicative problem of the thermostats was the poor calibration of the new units.

Your instructions may include the calibration technique for the heater. I remember reading it on-line but I have been unable to find the link. I'm sorry.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Interesting....my jager is the same exact way too ....I think it's closer to 10 degrees off though...set on the lowest and tank reads around 82 :%).

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

Hm,

Babelfish, interesting that you seem to have the same issues.
Let me ask you a question (actually two):
How many watts is your heater and what is the net water volume in the tank?

I have a suspicion that my 150W in my 29G (25G net) is too strong.
I would have about 6 WPG heating power.
If this would be true and I am off by about 5 degrees, then you should
have an even higher value in WPG because you are off by 10.
I know that there is a general rule (I think 5 WPG) for the selection of heaters,
but maybe it doesn’t apply to Ebos. Dr. Foster & Smith list an Ebo (not mine)
with 150W for a volume of 40 to 60G.

Let me know if you think we are onto something here, or if I am just trying
to ignore the fact that the quality of Ebo Jaeger heaters is declining.

Thanks,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

More info,

I just visited the German Ehein site and they suggest this 150W heater
(the one I have) for tanks up to 79 Gallons (300 Liters). Wow! :%)

In addition, Eheim talks about a rule of thumb: between 0.5 W per Liter,
or 50W / 100 Liters (= 50W for 26G) and 1W per Liter (= 100W for 26G).
I would be way over that value.

They also explain that this general rule cannot be applied to every tank size.
They say that the smaller the tank the higher the WPG should be and vice
versa. “A tank twice the size does by no means require double the wattage”
(freely translated).

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Hmmm well I've got a 30 gallon, 3' long.
Pretty sure my heater is a 150 although I may have gotten a 200w I cant remember right now:%). Bought it about a year ago (+,-, you know how memory gets in old age ).
Filtration is an AC 500 (yes I know it was supposed to be for the 75 that didnt happen....yet ), and a powerhead. Because it's a longer tank I have the powerhead set up opposite end as the filter with the heater in between to diminish possibilities of cold spots. The thermometer is on the opposite diagonal as the heater is. Now I only have the one thermometer, the glass ones with the suction cup....seem to remmember that theresa started a thread about their innacuracy .

^_^ [hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

Yeah, the old age

Well, I almost wish you would have a 200W heater,
that would proof (more or less) my point above.

I also have only a glass/suction cup thermometer but I
placed it all over the aquarium with the same result.

Maybe I should spend the $2 to get a second one, just
to see if there is any difference.

So, when evaluating how warm your water is, what do you
trust, the heater settings or the thermometer (or in between)

Thanks,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

nothing's perfect. learn how far it's off and go accordingly.