Equipment Review and Discussion :: My Water Heater....

[maymay]

I just bought a water heater....one of those submersible ones. The water line indicator seems to be close to the top of where I would clamp it on to my tank. I guess if i were to fill the water to the water line indicator, it would be about 2 inches from the top of the aquarium. What I'm wondering is, if the water level is so close to the top of the tank, how is it possible to put one of those Turtle Docks (with the suction cups) just above the water level without the turtles basically......escaping? Since everything is so high? I don't have a cover right now. But then I think if get one of those flat "screen" tops, the turtles would be hitting their heads on the cover??? hahah I'm kind of confused. Maybe I'm picturing it wrong.

Is it a must to have the water all the way up to the water line indicator?

[cam722]

What brand of water heater did you get?

[maymay]

it's the cheapest one i could find for now. Although I guess I still could return it. The brand is Elite. I don't think it's known too well heheh

I was looking through some pictures, and i noticed some submersible heaters are almost all the way to the bottom with no clamp. Looks like it's just in there with half of the cord.....for some reason i didn't see any of those ones. The ones I saw had clamps.

[cam722]

I don't know of any submersibles that don't use suction cups. not familiar with that brand, although my one has a waterline mark and I have it down near the bottom of the tank. Did it come with instructions on how you can place it?

[maymay]

This is what it looks like:



The arrow is where the water line indicator is......but it's so close to wear i have to clamp it onto my tank.

Instructions just say to fasten heater to aquarium rim. did urs have a clamp thing like that?

I love digital cameras! So easy to take a picture and put it in the computer anytime!

[steve]

Most people are using fully submersible filters, which means they can be safely used while completely placed underwater. The kind you are using may be the kind that is supposed to stay vertical, in which case it is NOT OK to be fully submerged. Follow the instructions carefully, since cheap heaters are not well made and many glass heaters can crack if not properly used.


My LFS tends to over charge on heaters and filters and you are probably better off getting a price match at a larger pet store for a reputable heater.

[maymay]

really? so i guess the cheapest ones aren't so great then I didn't know they could break!

[steve]

OK, now that I see a pic, yes that needs to be fastened to side of the tank. You will need a high water lever to meet their requirements. These type of heaters are intended for fish aquariums which are usually filled to the top.

[maymay]

so the ones most people use, don't have a clamp like mine does? Which means I can find one that can go all the way down to the bottom?

[steve]

Yes, it should say that it's fully submersible. All my heaters came with a set of suction cups but always check the directions to make sure how it is supposed to be setup.

[tini]

you want FULLY SUBMERSIBLE
anything that is truely submersible you could put in there sideways or upsidedown so to speak.

[staman]

Yeah what tini says is correct. Fully submersible means that you can have the power cord in the tank. Ebo Jager makes really good fully sub heaters. The heater I have is like yours maymay but it dosent have the top piece attachment-- it just attaches to the side of the tank with suction cups so you can have it at any height. The power cord cant get in the tank tho or it could be big trouble. I forget to turn off one of my heaters before taking it out of the tank and it exploded. Anyway take that back and by a Tronic (availbale almost everywhere).