# Problems with tetra 2-15 G heater?



## mjbn (Jun 22, 2010)

Well i bought this off recommendation off this site and it works great to get the water temp to 78, but it automatically turns off(actual feature of the heater, not the problem). The problem is that after a couple hours, the water temp drops to 75-76 degrees and i get a little worried, hoping that the heater will turn back on and heat it up, but noppe. Anyone else have this problem? is there a faulty manufacturing on mine with it reading the temp for when to turn on and off?


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

Preset heaters tend to be of fairly poor quality--due to the fluctuations it is causing this heater is a danger to your betta. I would remove it and return it to the store--it may be defective. I would get a 25 watt adjustable heater with a good thermostat.


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## mjbn (Jun 22, 2010)

Yeah, luckily my betta isn't in the tank rightnow. He's in a 1.5 rightnow while the 5.5G is cycling. Any heater recommended instore for less than $23? Idk if i can wait for standard ground shipig(a week) to get a heater cuz the temp in san jose is really flutuating from day and night. Water temp dropped 6 degrees over night and when i woke up, temp was 74.


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## mjbn (Jun 22, 2010)

I'm looking into the Marineland visi-therm 25 watt but i can't seem to find it. I looked at the online sites for petco, petsmart, walmart, but nothing. But online i keep reading reviews on those sites about the 25 watt even though the lowest online is 50 watt. Maybe they have it instore but not online?


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

I wouldn't expect to see it in the store if it wasn't online--even my local fish specialty store is not a reliable source for these small heaters--the truth is that they make more of a profit off of the little cheap ones, so they prefer to sell those even though they are of a lower quality. I would call the store and ask if they have the heater you want in stock before wasting your time going out and looking for them.

If you can't find any, I still think you should order online. It's better to get the right item than to get a crappy one because you're in a hurry--adding a heater like the one you got probably would have done more harm than good.


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## mjbn (Jun 22, 2010)

I know, me too. It's weird though cuz the reviews on petco have people talking about buying the 25 watt when buying the 25 watt online isn't even an option to be chosen cuz theres no 25 watt online at all!-_- 

And yeah, I'm thinking about that now. I did some searching and i'd spend about $37 on a hydor 25 watt heater and an API testing master kit after returning my old heater. That seems pretty decent cuz the API kit is about $30 instores. Thinking about it though.


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## sjones (Apr 28, 2010)

I got my 25 watt marineland stealth online at amazon.com- I just pmed you the info, BTW they sell them at my LFS for $35, so I ordered it online for $26...


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## SaylorKennedy (Aug 11, 2009)

I'd just get a reliable 50w heather then. Visitherm is good as well as the stealths. My stealth works great and I've had them in 2.5 gallons. That way if you ever upgrade too you won't have to worry about if the heater is strong enough.


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## Lion Mom (Jun 14, 2010)

Or you can look on Ebay for them - that's where I got mine.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

They have stealths in my petsmarts. I'm not sure if they have visitherms.

I use topfin heaters. They're adjustable but don't have a temperature setting, just a low-high setting. They're also almost as cheap as the preset heaters but work really well IME. A 25 watt would probably be about $17.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

http://www.google.com/products?clie...esult_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CEoQrQQwAg

A whole list of places to get 25W visi therm stealth.


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

I have the Tetra heater in my tank and it worked great...until I needed to turn off my filter due to worries with my fish and the current. Then it started to go down to about 72-74F. The problem was that I didn't have any water flow in the tank. Also, the heater was on the opposite side from the thermometer. So the water was heating up around the heater, which would then cause it to shut off, but the water on the other side of the tank wasn't getting heated because there was no water circulation. I moved the heater to the middle of the tank on the back and it seemed to be heating all of the water correctly after that. I also have a new filter, which gives the water some circulation.

My tank is a 2.65g Marina tank, btw.


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## akjadestar (Mar 19, 2010)

I just don't think it's a very good heater. I had it in my 3 gallon, it was pretty warm at first, but then it only heated up the water to like, 74 degrees, except for when it was cooking hot outside


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## mjbn (Jun 22, 2010)

yeah, i did a test on it. I filled a big bowl wit hwater and ice then let the temp drop to like 56 defreese. Then i put the heater in, raised it to 76 and turned off. I then put a little more ice to see at what temp it turns back on. Does around 72-73 degrees. That's not very consistant to me. Big difference between 78 degrees and 72 degrees.... My heater is right next to the intake of the filter as well, but it doesn't continuously heat the water throughout the day. it just turns on once, heats, then turns off until a HUGE drop in temp happens.. I can't work with that:/


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

Yeah my heater currently has this problem I'm gonna do a test in my 5 gallon though because my house's temp is constant so hopefully if I keep my filter on and the water circulating my heater will be good enough. If not I'm gonna get a 25 watt Visi Stealth heater from http://www.petblvd.com. It's REALLY cheap there and I just got my SafeStart from them in the mail, which got here ok and in a timely manner. =]


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## mjbn (Jun 22, 2010)

Theres a hydor adjustable theo heater for 16.99. Also the visi-therm and stealth heaters are both 17.99. Pretty good price. only thing is that 8.99 is the shipping. But up side is that it stays 8.99 so if you order there, order everything you need, because the shipping is gonna be the same no matter how much you get.
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/fish-supplies/aquarium-heater/ps/c/3578/3743


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

mjbn said:


> Theres a hydor adjustable theo heater for 16.99. Also the visi-therm and stealth heaters are both 17.99. Pretty good price. only thing is that 8.99 is the shipping. But up side is that it stays 8.99 so if you order there, order everything you need, because the shipping is gonna be the same no matter how much you get.
> http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/fish-supplies/aquarium-heater/ps/c/3578/3743


DUDE I LOVE YOU FOREVER!!!!
This store is awesome thanks for the link! *=]*


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## mjbn (Jun 22, 2010)

Haha np! make sure you really get everything thouhg, so you wont have to order there again!


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

Need new heaters too bc I have the Thetra :-( 
It's ok during the day since we have 100 degree water but at night the water temps drops down when the A/C is on. 
Will this work for 2.5 gals?


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

Terribly sorry for the double post.

Ok. So, I see you CAN use these for the 2.5gal!
I found them pretty nicely prized at entirelypets.com 
Each heater $17.69+ shipping (for 2) $4.95 -10% off (weekend special)=$36.79... 
That's $18.40 per heater! not bad, huh?
No I only wish i could still return my other heaters.


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## mjbn (Jun 22, 2010)

Not bad, but you might as well order on that link i posted up there^^. These heaters are $12.99 i think, and shipping is 8.99 no matter what. so basically is 34.99 total. Basically 16.50 per heater right? haha sorry if my estimations are wrong, just doing rough math.


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

Hmm... I checked the link again and didn't see either the sealth or the visi-therm for $12.99. The one at that price is the Thera submersible which is the ones I'm wanting to replace.


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## mjbn (Jun 22, 2010)

Oh, my mistake. ithought you wanted the tetra. haha but yeah just stick with the site you're using then.


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