# Just lost 26 haps and peacocks to a stuck heater.



## greenbirds (Jul 30, 2007)

That's 26 haps and peacocks lying dead in 100 F water. I'm so mad I am shaking. Obviously any heater is prone to random defect/failure, but that's not going to console me right now. It was so disheartening. All of their jaws are forever clenched open gasping for air.

I just edited the post to remove the photo as it's pretty grisly and don't wanna ruin anyone else's day.

This heater was not exposed to air out of the water. I adjusted the temp down about 1 degree last night from 81 to 80 or so. Fish were fine this morning (although in reality the temp was probably reaching into the upper 80's), but 10 hours later... hot tub.

Sorry about the post.. needed to vent. And discuss, I guess, if you've had a similar problem with your Stealth. There are 2 others in my house and now I'm worried they may need replacing.


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## rpc07 (Feb 6, 2009)

im worried also i have a 250 watt stealth heater in my 55g so far so good but i will deff keep an eye on it now

sorry for your losses


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I truly hate to hear of such losses and you have my condolences...

I have 5 Stealth heaters running right now and have used them exclusively for 5+ years... I find them to be a quality heater... yet with quality heaters we still hear of these things happening... and you are right, that doesn't make it any easier to deal with...


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## moneygetter1 (Jan 8, 2006)

So sorry for your loss. Situations such as this, while not totally preventable, can be somewhat better managed by redundancy. If you need 300w, try (2) 150w. The 2 smaller heater units can heat the space more evenly but most important, failure of 1 heater (either off or on) will take substantially longer to reach critical. This buys you time for corrections. I realize this is after the fact but it's something to consider for the future. BTW, suffered a similar loss (smaller but just as agonizing) before adopting this approach. Yes it costs a bit more & yes heaters can still fail but the difference in that 'cushion' of time aquired can literally be the difference between life & death. "T"


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## MSUDawgs56 (Feb 1, 2005)

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I have a basement that I keep my 20 tanks running in and where I live I rarely have to use the heaters.(stealth)

The equipment and dehumidifier I run, along with the hot water heater keep my room at 78 degrees unless it gets really cold in the winter. So I guess im fortunate right now. My dad had a similar problem like your and lost some huge silver dollars that were about 6 years old.

I feel for you....


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

There is the urge to get one heater to do the job, and keep costs low, but it is best to be underpowered, to avoid this sort of occurance. Sorry for your loss, greenbirds.


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## PaulineMi (Apr 3, 2008)

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Definitely hurts on so many levels.


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## locomotive282 (Jun 2, 2009)

What brand failed, was it the stealth heater?


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## kingmidas (Jan 30, 2009)

im so sorry about your loss.  i myself lost 7 big blood parrots,4 red devils,1jellybean.$300 worth of fish. all because of my powerhead, went off during the night.next day, 8am all my fish were dying, only 5 lived, my little brother cry over his pink jellybean. its heart broken.all because of stupid equipment failure sometimes. i hope you are feeling bettter.


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## barrem (Jul 11, 2009)

If you're talking about the stealth by visi-therm, I think I bought one about 6 months ago. So far I haven't had any problems. I'm also curious if anyone has had any problems with them?


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## greenbirds (Jul 30, 2007)

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. It certainly helps to know some other people know how much it hurts.

Yes, it was a Visitherm Stealth 250w, and yes, in retrospect it was a bad idea to have that much heater in 30 gallons of water. I normally don't need heaters in the summer -- live in Florida. I had it in there to heat things up to 86 after I saw ich on 2 fish. After a successful treatment, I had lowered the temp down to 81 for a few days, and I guess turning it one more notch broke the thermostat, letting it run haywire.

Also, very good advice on redundancy.

I will now be unplugging all heaters the summer, something I haven't done in the past.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

A 100 watt heater should be enough for a 30. If it fails, it is unlikely to get to 100F.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Also, very good advice on redundancy.


Mulitple heaters will work best on a single controller. A good controller can get expensive, but so is losing fish. The heater is the cheapest, but also most unreliable piece of equipment in a tank. It's also one that's capable of taking out a whole tank of fish quickly. My two rules are 1) don't oversize the heater, and 2) replace it at the first sign of trouble.

I've had heaters from a few different vendors fail. I've also had heaters from those same vendors go on and on reliably. My conclusion is that there isn't one good or bad one to get, but lemons in every batch regardless of who makes it. Check out the reviews here on this forum and you'll see the same thing. Every heater has some good stories and bad.

Check out controllers here. It's the controller built into those heaters that typically fail. There's also a good explanation toward the bottom of the page on why multiple heaters may not work well together without one.

We'll pay $$ for a filter and not bat an eye, but for some reason we balk at paying anything over $20-$30 for a heater. We're getting what we pay for. Just an observation. 

Also sorry about your losses.


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## r6racer75 (Jul 22, 2004)

I'm sorry about your loss.
But you mention 26 fish in a 30 gallon? I have to ask was this your hospital tank?
That just seems like some kind of disaster sooner or later.

I live in Central Fl and never have to use a heater during any part of the year. Just curious what your seasonal temps are without running the heater?


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## moneygetter1 (Jan 8, 2006)

> Mulitple heaters will work best on a single controller. A good controller can get expensive, but so is losing fish. The heater is the cheapest, but also most unreliable piece of equipment in a tank.


 :thumb: Good call _*'Tim'*_! I neglected to mention that. (my bad) And you're right; we'll spend a small fortune on some of the other essentials but 'cheap out' on temperature control. You don't have to break the bank for few hundred for _Tunze_, Pinpoint or Digital Aquatics. My lil' D58 by Won Bros. was just over $50 bucks & has performed beautifully the last few years. Thanx. "T"


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

wow that tank must of been boiling!!!!!! I'm very sorry :-?


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## greenbirds (Jul 30, 2007)

r6racer75 said:


> I'm sorry about your loss.
> But you mention 26 fish in a 30 gallon? I have to ask was this your hospital tank?
> That just seems like some kind of disaster sooner or later.
> 
> I live in Central Fl and never have to use a heater during any part of the year. Just curious what your seasonal temps are without running the heater?


They were juveniles, 1.5-2 inches. It was a quarantine tank since they had all come in a shipment. Like I said, was using the heater to rev the temp up for 10 days when I saw one of the fish had ich. It failed after I brought the temp back down. Here in Gainesville the temp is fine for 8 months out of the year, no heater. But December-March the house will get down to 65-70, and I don't run the heat. Maybe I will now instead...


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## motorfin (Mar 19, 2004)

Apparently its not uncommon. I lost 26 prize peacocks in November to the same thing. Brand seems not to matter. I had a pair of ebo's in a 125 and both malfunctioned at the same time. Took me 4 months before I had the heart to re-stock and all the rep had to say was "what model number". I've always used ebo's with no problems whatever but they just aren't the same since changing hands


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