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I woke up this morning to find the heater in the turtle tank had exploded for no apparent reason. The impact shattered the back panel of the tank and sent water, charcoal from the filter, and broken glass everywhere. Luckily, the turtles got away without any injuries (crawled out the hole in the wall and went off exploring). I put them in a box with a warm lamp overhead and their log hideaway for cover. Now I have to clean up the huge mess in my living room and hope the water doesn't start dripping down into the apartment below. Does anyone have any idea why this might have happened? The heater has split along its entire length, and there are wires and filaments sticking out. I've had it since July or so, and it's worked just fine and dandy till now.

Was any part of the heater sticking out of the water or was it left on while taken out of the water? They should only be plugged in when fully submerged in water.

I did briefly take it out the night before to adjust the thermostat, but I'm pretty sure I put it all the way back in the water. I just looked up the model and it seems I'm not the only one who's had this problem. One guy put up pictures which look identical to the scene in my living room right now. Maybe I should go with a different brand.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attac ... 1267390783
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attac ... 1267391079

Ah the infamous exploding Stealth Pro. There was an issue with these heaters that surfaced about a year ago in a specific lot of heaters sold for a few months. Maineland has corrected the issue in later lots of stealth pro heaters (I know that's not much comfort looking at your poor tank). I'll try to find the link from Marineland. If you search around the reef forums, you'll see this WAS an issue.

For ANYONE with a Marineland stealth pro heater.... PLEASE READ!

You NEED to call Marineland at 800-322-1266

The heaters have two known issues in certain lot #s per Marineland.
1. Certain lots of heaters are prone to exploding.
2. Certain lots of heaters are prone to sticking in the "ON" position and cooking your tank.

On the backside of the top of your heater... below the cord is a white number. This is the lot number. DO NOT follow the marineland instructions of taking the heater apart to look for this lot number. It's printed on the outside rear of the heater...clearly visible.

You call marineland and ask if your heater is in a lot that has either of those problems. They will replace your heater with no questions asked if it is part of a defective lot.

I wasn't even aware there were Stealth Pro heaters... I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before!

I've very glad there were no injuries, and thanks for the info VeipaCray.

The guy who posted the pictures above said it sounded like a shotgun going off. And somehow I slept through the whole thing. The carpet is finally drying out, thanks to a big fan and lots of sopping with towels, so I can focus on getting the habitat set back up. The turtles are putting up with the cardboard box, but they're not too happy about it.

I would STRONGLY advise against buying any Marineland heaters. I'm personally boycotting ALL marineland products. I HAD three of these potential stealth-bomb heaters. I called over a month ago and they were able to check lot numbers. I called again today about the third heater that I never had checked.... was thinking of using it for aging new salt water in a bucket. Today Marineland is denying they have any issues with their heaters and are saying there is no way they can provide any information about lot numbers. I asked to speak to a supervisor and got the same rhetoric.

Thank you for the excellent customer service Marineland (insert sarcasm here). We consumers spend thousands of dollars on our hobby and welcome our pets into our families. You acknowledge a manufacturing defect in your product for a while but now deny us any helpful information. We're not asking for much, just the piece of mind that the equipment we trust to keep our pets alive doesn't end up causing any harm to them or us. I think that's a reasonable expectation. One way to help you change your customer service practice is for us consumers to collaborate on product reliability and experiences. Once enough consumers become aware of your issues, you will either change your ways or lose financially.

VeipaCray,
-Former Marineland Customer

I use the Rena Smart Heater, which has a very good track record. It doesn't get ridiculously hot like the glass heaters do. It also has a line on it to show how deep it needs to be in the water. It only heats the water depending on the temperature. So, if you set the heater to 75 degrees, and the water is 75 degrees already, it won't start heating the water. Technically I think this thing was made with tropical fish in mind, but, for a reptile I think such a reliable heater is worth it. And yes, it's a bit expensive. Mine cost 35 dollars.

Didn't want to take up bandwidth on a question that was already asked elsewhere....I really have spent time searching through all parts of this forum and couldn't find an answer.
So I'm going to ask about tank water heaters. What kind to look for? What brands are reputable? What is the relative cost?
My girl has everything in place now...new large clean tank, good filter, basking spot, UVB light, UVA light, jello shots...
everything but a heater. The temp in this room is usually about 72 degrees, and she seems fine (eating, pooping, basking, shedding), but I want her to be comfortable and healthy in every way! (She had such a less-than-ideal life before I re-homed her.)
My apologies if I'm being redundant and this issue has already touched on somewhere else.

-Miss Tee

Eheim jager is probably the best reasonably priced heater you can get. Very accurate, you can calibrate it, auto shut off, very very well constructed, fully submersible, shatter proof, and long regarded as the best. Cost ... Around $30.

All my turtles have Ebo Jagers in their tanks, and so far I've never had a problem. I had tried the Stealths (3 of them) and wound up with problems with 2 of them.

Miss tee> the ebo jager that Marisa mentions and the eheim jager are the same heater. Eheim bought out ebo jager and renamed the product eheim jager a few years ago. I too have ebo/eheim jager heaters on all of my freshwater tanks.