Heater HELP!

[myownreef2015]

Okay so I have my heater set in my tank, it ranges from what I've seen 76.7 to 77.5....today when I got home from work, it was at 79! Never have I seen it climb that high! I turned it down, it's still reading between 78.7 and 78.9 and the light turns on like it's heating up!

I know heaters go bad in tanks. But can it happen gradually like this?

 

[MondoBongo]

it could, it could also have something to do with ambient air temperature.

i'm not sure where you're at, or what the weather is like, but when it's warm in my house, my tank can easily pick up a degree or two.

before you turned it down, was the heater on? usually there is a light or some other indicator that it is currently heating. if the temperature of the tank is above what the heater is set at, that could indicate that the internal thermometer on the heater is broken, or incorrectly calibrated (it's rare that you find a standard analog heater control that is actually correct).

if the tank temperature is up, but the heather is not indicating that it is heating, your tank could be picking up a few extra degrees from the room, or from your equipment. remember, lights, pumps, powerheads, etc... all create heat to varying degrees.

 

[BrokenSpoke]

This is why most people attach their heater to a controller of some sort. I was researching controllers a couple of years ago, went away for a 3 day weekend before I bought a controller, and the heater stuck on. Came home to 94 degree water and a completely dead tank. Needless to say I have a controller now.

Most people seem to like the Ranco controllers.

http://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE

 

[myownreef2015]

Thanks for the advice! As far as the heater goes, I went ahead and got a titanium heater with a tempurature probe. Got rid of the old analog one.

My next upgrade is definitely a controller. I'm going with the Apex Jr. I've heard too many horror stories about tanks without a controller, so I'm definitely buying one.

 

[MondoBongo]

which model titanium heater did you get?

i have two via aquas and have liked them quite a bit. they have a shutdown mode that kicks in under certain conditions. i found this out when the sump on my QT tank sprung a leak and drained. thankfully the heater shut itself off when the water level dropped and it began to overheat.