Help! Fraustration! Heater Issues!

[hillmar77]

Well this has not been a good week for me at all!!! The week started with a email from petsmart:
February 11, 2011

Dear Valued PetSmart Pet Parent,

Marineland has issued a voluntary withdrawal of the Stealth PRO Submersible Heater (100, 200 and 250 watt). The product is being withdrawn due to a quality issue.

If you have this product, please stop using it immediately and take the following steps:

1. Unplug the heater from the wall to stop the flow of electricity
2. Let the heater cool for 15 minutes
3. Remove the heater from the tank

Please bring the product to your closest PetSmart for a full refund or exchange. Replace the product with a comparable heater as soon as possible to maintain the temperature of your aquarium. A PetSmart store associate can help you select the right heater for your aquatic environment.

If you have questions about this withdrawal, please call Marineland Customer Service at 800-526-0650 or 800-432-6986.

At PetSmart, we are concerned pet parents, too. We will continue to do everything we can to help you and your pet during this time.

Well that's a great start to my week, so I went to petsmart and returned the heater. Then drove off to my LFS that I deal with on a regular basis and bought the most expensive heater they have and it was the Fluval E300 built for a 100Gallon tank for my 55 gallon. Set it all up and looks pretty good with a bright LCD screen and all. Dialed up my Temp of 84 degree's for my Discus tank and went to sleep. Woke up and the temp is 82, so I increased it even more before I head off to work to 88 degrees. Come back home and its still at 82. So now I'm starting to get frustrated so I return the E300 for another one thinking its broken. Do the same thing and temp reads only 82. So I start cranking the thing to 92, but nothing... It won't go above 82. All 3 of my temp readings from my glass temp, strip temp, and LCD temp all reading 82. I'm at the point of taking this heater and throwing it out the window hoping a truck runs over it!!! sama:

 

[VaegaVic]

Get a better heater?
Expense does not always equal quality.

I use Rena smart heaters in all my tanks, had all of them for over a year now. No cracks, problems, explosions, heat loss and all cut out when I accidently leave them out of the water if doing a water change,

 

[raptorrex]

Well this has not been a good week for me at all!!! The week started with a email from petsmart:
February 11, 2011

Dear Valued PetSmart Pet Parent,

Marineland has issued a voluntary withdrawal of the Stealth PRO Submersible Heater (100, 200 and 250 watt). The product is being withdrawn due to a quality issue.

If you have this product, please stop using it immediately and take the following steps:

1. Unplug the heater from the wall to stop the flow of electricity
2. Let the heater cool for 15 minutes
3. Remove the heater from the tank

Please bring the product to your closest PetSmart for a full refund or exchange. Replace the product with a comparable heater as soon as possible to maintain the temperature of your aquarium. A PetSmart store associate can help you select the right heater for your aquatic environment.

If you have questions about this withdrawal, please call Marineland Customer Service at 800-526-0650 or 800-432-6986.

At PetSmart, we are concerned pet parents, too. We will continue to do everything we can to help you and your pet during this time.

Well that's a great start to my week, so I went to petsmart and returned the heater. Then drove off to my LFS that I deal with on a regular basis and bought the most expensive heater they have and it was the Fluval E300 built for a 100Gallon tank for my 55 gallon. Set it all up and looks pretty good with a bright LCD screen and all. Dialed up my Temp of 84 degree's for my Discus tank and went to sleep. Woke up and the temp is 82, so I increased it even more before I head off to work to 88 degrees. Come back home and its still at 82. So now I'm starting to get frustrated so I return the E300 for another one thinking its broken. Do the same thing and temp reads only 82. So I start cranking the thing to 92, but nothing... It won't go above 82. All 3 of my temp readings from my glass temp, strip temp, and LCD temp all reading 82. I'm at the point of taking this heater and throwing it out the window hoping a truck runs over it!!! sama:

if you have a cannister filter, perhaps replace it with Hydo external heater? I've come across a few problems with the rena (some posted on this forum). I'd try for an exchange.

 

[hillmar77]

Well I'm looking at the titanium heaters , ebo jager heaters, hydro heaters, and also the rena. I'm going to try each one until one works for me and maybe keep the fluval E300 as a backup in the tank just in case the new one fails. Going to have to act fast as I notice one of my Discus is turning darker with this lower temp.