Equipment Review and Discussion :: stealth heater

[scripta_elegans]

I bought a stealth submersable 250 watt heater, and it seems to be warm, but it isn't keeping the tank at the temp it should according to my thermometer. I have a 75 gallon tank with about 50 gallons in it, the water was @ 78 this morning, the heater is set @80, and the water is @ 75! The air temp is also 75, which has dropped 3 degrees from this AM... Do i have a faulty heater?

[steve]

Unfortuantely the stealth heater does not have an "on" light, but when the water is 75 degrees can you feel that the heater is on? Also, where is the heater located - is it near a water filter?

[scripta_elegans]

The heater is warm, but not hot. It is near the filter, should I move it? What is the minimum temp I should allow the air to reach in the best interest of the turtles?

[steve]

I think your air temps are OK as long as you have the basking lamp on. When I had my stealth heater near a filter, I would notice that it tended to be on more. Your heater may be one or two degrees off. What kind of thermometer are you using?

[scripta_elegans]

I have a ceramic bulb that I leave on all the time. Is it okay if the air temp drops to 70? It is rather cold here now, and I have the heat set to kick on @71, but I don't want the turts to freeze. I have a sticky thermometer that has sort of mood ring colors and a glass stick thermometer. Both agree on water temp. I have 4 kinds of air temp thermometer, and those drive me nuts. There is a difference in all of them, and the worst two have a 10-12 degree disparity. urgh.

[FishTechNH]

What is the orientation of the heater? Is it Horizontal, vertical or diagonal?
Sometimes depending on water flow if the sub-heater is vertical, the heat will rise up and shut down the thermostat prematurely.

[scripta_elegans]

The heater is diagonal

[FishTechNH]

Try the horizontal, just for the heck of it. Diagonal should work fine, but I'd try horizontal anyway just to see if it works.

[scripta_elegans]

okay! Thanks!

[cam722]

I've used stealth heaters for years and never had to change the settings once they were set regardless of how it was placed. I used them for my turtles and the fish. What FishTechNH says may be true and I hope that it helps because I think they are the best heaters

[FishTechNH]

Same here. I am also a big fan of the Stealth heater, I know that the advice is kinda lame, but it's worked for me in the past. Although, one thing that is notoriously common in all submersible heaters is the innacuracy of the setting. Out of literally hundreds that I've used or installed over the years I could probably count on one hand the number that actually set exact. They're usually alway's a few degrees of from the setting. You may have to set it for 84F to get it to maintain at 80F just as an example.

[scripta_elegans]

I figured that out. Funny you should say 84, because i turned it to 84 and the water seems to be maintaining 80 degrees perfectly...

[marisa]

I had the same problem with two Stealth heaters I used last winter--the water temp was consistently 3-4 degrees lower than the temp was set for.

[scripta_elegans]

yet another question, should I have a heater guard over the heater? The turtles don't really seem to be on it much, but I would hate to have one of them get burned. It doesn't fel all that hot in the water, but better safe than sorry!

[steve]

I'm more concerned that the heater could be a trap or break if banged against the side of a tank. With the Visitherm, I don't worry about that since it is a plastic case. I can't imagaine a burn situation unless a turtle was trapped by the heater.