Removing Heater During Summer Months

[curiousgeorge]

As per title really, does anyone remove the heater from tank during the hot weather.

We have a 55gal (fluval 1200 duo deep), the room it is in "draws" some heat from the conservatory when it gets hot. Is it a bad idea to take the heater out???


Grateful for any input as the tank has been stripped down today to be cleaned inside and out

 

[The-Wolf]

heaters have thermostat so there is no point in removing it during the summer
as it won't come on if the water temp is above it set temp.

 

[geo7x]

yeah there isnt really any point in taking a heater out.

can i ask why you want to?

 

[Gazoo]

I unplugged my heater a couple years ago thinking there was no use for it during a hot part of summer. That night I had all of my windows open when I went to bed and a cold front with strong winds came through. When I got up the next day it was chilly in my living room and the tank temperature had dropped big time.

I now keep my heaters plugged in year round for those just in case moments.

 

[paul_219]

Well i take out my heater during summer. I mewan i keep it in the tank but i unplug it. The petstore tells me to do this coz no need for the heater in summer, its really hot here.

 

[Gatorbait]

When it gets hotter out I unplug my heater as soon as I can. I've heard too many stories over the years of thermostats getting stuck on and killing fish. I don't trust heaters at all.

Just 2 weeks ago mine got stuck on, it was only 3 months old. The water temp was 90 degrees. Thankfully I check my temp at least once a day and did that day as soon as I got home from work.

 

[timmystood]

Yup, I turn all mine off come summer!

 

[Zeoth]

I don't turn my heater off. Most heater's have a thermometer in them so they can tell the temprature in the tank and ajust to that temp. if it's too warm they turn themselves off, and if too cold they turn themselves on. So if you think that the weather is warming your tank, don't unplug your heater. it'll shut itself off automaticaly. What about one day in the summer the temp drops abit. What r u going 2 do then? Plug in the heater again. It's far much less hassel if u leave it in the tank.

NOTE: I'am not saying that all heaters do that. Most of the do.

 

[curiousgeorge]

yeah there isnt really any point in taking a heater out.

can i ask why you want to?

Cos im learning

As mentioned the room next door gets very hot in the summer, temp hit 128 last summer breaking our "air cooler" in the process, also as others have mentioned in this thread i dont trust the heater in the tank as ive seen the temp climbing way over what it should be.


So that is "why i want to" OK???

 

[OohFeeshy]

When it gets hotter out I unplug my heater as soon as I can. I've heard too many stories over the years of thermostats getting stuck on and killing fish. I don't trust heaters at all.

In which case you might as well have it unplugged all year round, it's probably less likely to stick in the on position in the warmer months when it will be almost constantly off, as opposed to the winter months where the cold weather and central heating means more flunctuations (and more of a chance of problems).

 

[geo7x]

yeah there isnt really any point in taking a heater out.

can i ask why you want to?

Cos im learning

As mentioned the room next door gets very hot in the summer, temp hit 128 last summer breaking our "air cooler" in the process, also as others have mentioned in this thread i dont trust the heater in the tank as ive seen the temp climbing way over what it should be.


So that is "why i want to" OK???

well in that case dont ask for help because i was only trying to help you. I know you said about the temperature but since heaters have a thermosthat on them it wouldnt come on anyway if the temperature is warm enough, and if it isnt warm enough then it would come on to make it warm enough which it wouldnt do if you take it out. If its hotter than what it should be then maybe the obvious thing would be to turn the thermosthat down. as feeshy said if the room is warm enough it shouldnt come on anyway, and that means it wont get stuck in the on position because it has to be on the on position for it to get stuck on the on position, and if it does come on to the on position then its getting to cold anyway so the heater should be on! this is the whole point of a thermosthat on a heater.

So no, that is not a very valid reason as there is no point in taking it out even if the room temperature is ok, its not worth the bother apart from the small amount of exercise you may get from lifting it out of the tank

 

[timmystood]

I turn mine off and don't mind too much if I get to odd cooler day or night when the temperature drops a bit. It reflects what the fish are used to in nature.

 

[Gatorbait]

When it gets hotter out I unplug my heater as soon as I can. I've heard too many stories over the years of thermostats getting stuck on and killing fish. I don't trust heaters at all.

In which case you might as well have it unplugged all year round, it's probably less likely to stick in the on position in the warmer months when it will be almost constantly off, as opposed to the winter months where the cold weather and central heating means more flunctuations (and more of a chance of problems).

How can I possibly have my heater unplugged in the Winter? I consider it a necessary evil to have the heater on when it's -20 here at home.

Just beause I don't trust them doesn't mean I don't think they are not needed. If you think that I'm wrong in not trusting them that's fine but I have a perfectly valid point and have heard of many people having their heaters get stuck on and killing their fish and like I said above that you took out of the quote, my 3 month old heater was stuck on and if I had not caught it it would have killed my rhom.

Just because a heater has a thermostat doesn't mean it can't be faulty or eventually turn faulty and the heating element gets stuck on.

 

[geo7x]

When it gets hotter out I unplug my heater as soon as I can. I've heard too many stories over the years of thermostats getting stuck on and killing fish. I don't trust heaters at all.

In which case you might as well have it unplugged all year round, it's probably less likely to stick in the on position in the warmer months when it will be almost constantly off, as opposed to the winter months where the cold weather and central heating means more flunctuations (and more of a chance of problems).

How can I possibly have my heater unplugged in the Winter? I consider it a necessary evil to have the heater on when it's -20 here at home.

Just beause I don't trust them doesn't mean I don't think they are not needed. If you think that I'm wrong in not trusting them that's fine but I have a perfectly valid point and have heard of many people having their heaters get stuck on and killing their fish and like I said above that you took out of the quote, my 3 month old heater was stuck on and if I had not caught it it would have killed my rhom.

Just because a heater has a thermostat doesn't mean it can't be faulty or eventually turn faulty and the heating element gets stuck on.

what feeshy is saying is that if its warm enough then the heater wont come on anyway and therefore wont get stuck in the on position. It's basic principles of the thermosthat.

 

[Gatorbait]

When it gets hotter out I unplug my heater as soon as I can. I've heard too many stories over the years of thermostats getting stuck on and killing fish. I don't trust heaters at all.

In which case you might as well have it unplugged all year round, it's probably less likely to stick in the on position in the warmer months when it will be almost constantly off, as opposed to the winter months where the cold weather and central heating means more flunctuations (and more of a chance of problems).

How can I possibly have my heater unplugged in the Winter? I consider it a necessary evil to have the heater on when it's -20 here at home.

Just beause I don't trust them doesn't mean I don't think they are not needed. If you think that I'm wrong in not trusting them that's fine but I have a perfectly valid point and have heard of many people having their heaters get stuck on and killing their fish and like I said above that you took out of the quote, my 3 month old heater was stuck on and if I had not caught it it would have killed my rhom.

Just because a heater has a thermostat doesn't mean it can't be faulty or eventually turn faulty and the heating element gets stuck on.

what feeshy is saying is that if its warm enough then the heater wont come on anyway and therefore wont get stuck in the on position. It's basic principles of the thermosthat.

Are you even reading my posts? What I'm saying is that it can and does malfunction.

I have my thermostat set for 82 and the water is 90 when I get home and the heater is still on and heating it up more. What's to prevent that of happening in the summer to me or the thousands of others that it happens to?

If it won't come on at all is your argument, then what's wrong with me having it off anyways in the summer?

You can rely 100% on your thermostats of heaters and think it will never happen to you but I'm not going to no matter how many times you tell me that a heater has a thermostat