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Phew!!!! That was really close.

I had a Titanium Pro 150 in my 20 long for almost 2 years and the suction cups had rotted on me. Because I could not hide this thing after so many attempts and it really stood out on the backwall, I decided to go with a 75w Visitherm Stealth which fit neatly on the side. It ran good for two weeks, keeping my tank at a steady 74F.

I check the temp at least once daily, sometimes twice. How fortunate my fish are that I decided to check again while I was downstairs. It was 83F and I could see the heatwave in the water near the heater so I know it was on (it has no light to indicate it is on or off).

I yanked it out and have the old titanium pro back in there, set to go on at about 76F. I didn't want it to drop too fast. It was down to 79F from 83 after about 2 hours. Last thing I need is a case of ich.

Anyway, I just wanted to alert people that this happened and I do plan on contacting the maker of the heater. I may have shred the receipt ]:|


Last edited by Cory_Di at 09-Apr-2005 23:04

Oh man, that's unfortunate!

Good thing you caught it in time!

Hopefully you'll find the receipt!

Very frustrating. However, it was good that you have a daily regimen of checking your equipment, as all equipment are subject to failure at any given time, whether new or not. I always keep my receipts for anything for the length of the warranty.

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Wow, good thing you check temps and caught it!

That's actually my favorite heater but I had problems with one I purchased in Jan. With a week or so it burned out, or at least that's what it looked like. I did exchange it but didn't contact the manufacturer...I'm interested in hearing what they tell you.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Di, dumb question, but why didn't you just buy a new heater holder for the old one??

I have a few spare heater holders and suction cups laying arund here, as that has happened to me before.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Calla - as stated originally....

Because I could not hide this thing after so many attempts and it really stood out on the backwall,....

This was the real reason. In a 20 long tank, along the backwall, it took attention away from anything else in the tank, especially with its stainless steel tube. My basement temp averages about 70F year-round so any heater doesn't need to work more than 4-5 degrees. Therefore, a 75w is more than adequate. I was going to use an Ebo-Jager, but they didn't have that brand. I'm going after the Ebo this time.

I'll admit, I'm terrible with receipts. I think Marineland makes Visitherm - I'm not sure. But either way, I'm going to find out and contact them. They need to know this happened. I may end up shipping them the defective unit and maybe they'll send me a replacement, but I'm not sure I want it.

I have at least 5 or 6 regular Visitherms ranging from 25-50w and have never had one of these fail-on in two years. What made it worse is that the titanium had a built in digital thermometer that I could easily see the temp on the wall. When I removed that good heater, I lost the ability to check the temp more easily. I'm going to get digital readers for my tanks as it is easier to read. You check it without realizing it. In reality, I was probably checking the temp on that tank many times per day - any time I was at the tank because all it took was to look in that direction for a split second. So, it was subconcious.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 10-Apr-2005 13:52

Last edited by Cory_Di at 10-Apr-2005 16:56

I should add that my plants aren't looking so happy this morning. They were looking so vibrant yesterday morning, but look stressed today.

You're right, marineland does make the visi-therms. I use them almost exclusively in my tanks now, have never had a problem with them. Also, I have a stealth, it works well and was the only heater I could find that would stand up to my pacu!