What brand of heater?

Question

Im having major trouble with my heater. The temperature wont stay stable. I acually have had 3 out of my 4 fish die because the temperature keeps drastically changing even if I dont change the temp. I really would like to keep this last fish living so I gonna buy a new heater asap.
Here is info about my tank:
My tank is a glass ten gallon with one guppy in it.
Not sure what brand heater but I think it is a 75 watt(thats what the box my tank was in recommended)

Well the heater worked fine the first week and all the fish were fine then it suddenly shut off and 2 fish died i couldnt get it stable again and now I only have one fish

Answer 1

Yeah, faulty heaters are killers :(
I prefer the brand Ebo-Jagger. They are submersible and good quality. However, you can not always find them in petstores.
Frankly, you get what you pay for when it comes to heaters. If you buy the cheapest one you can find at Walmart, it will go faulty. You should be spending 25-35$ on a small heater.
You need about 5 watts per gallon so 50 watts would be enough. I suggest you get two 25 watt heaters and place them at opposite ends of the tank. They will heat the water more thoroughly and if one of them goes faulty, it's only 25W so it won't cook your fish.

Answer 2

Make sure you purchase a thermostatic heater. Many heaters are automatic which means they turn on and off according to setting, not temperature. Most cheaper heaters are of this type. Also some thermostatic heaters have thin glass and the thermostat is too close to the heat coils, which gives inaccurate results. The seperate controllers on many Titanium heaters are best. There are many good brands available, The Resun is one of the best (partly do to their return policy, as some brands such as Ebo Jager which are excellent, require returns be sent to the manufacture vs the retailer).

I recommend 25 watts for every 10 degrees of ambient temperature you need to raise your aquarium temperature. EX: If your home is 68 degrees and you have a 40 gallon aquarium, to reach a temperature of 78 degrees you would need a 100 watt heater.

Answer 3

Guppies dont tend to die easily, so did you put all 4 fish in an aquarium at the same time that was new and uncycled?Maybe that was why. If you are100% sure that it was a heater malfunction, Walmart does sell a great submersible heater. It has a ceramic core. They only have one type of this kind. It is sold at pet stores too(sorry the name has slipped my mind) Place the heater close to where the filter output is. This will circulate the heat. 2 heaters in a 10 gal, will look unsightly, and i think is costly and unnecessary. Hopefully you have a power filter, as undergravel suck. If u have undergravel, throw it away, and get a power filter and a gravel cleaner. Placing the heater next to the source of circulation will disperse the heat.

Answer 4

I would recommend the Marineland Visi-Therm Stealth. The newer Jagers are NOT submersible (why, I have no idea) and Marineland folks are very good to work with if you have a problem. I have heard good things about the Azoo heater where the temperature control is outside the tank, but I have no personal experience with them. I have two Stealth heaters on two separate tanks, and they have functioned perfectly. I would get at least 5 watts per gallon; it's best to half that and buy two to keep temps more regular, but I'm not made of money. If you have a PetsMart nearby, print out their online price and they will honor it in-store.

Answer 5

wow here we go again lots and lots of advice so far no one mentioned that guppies are cold water fish and can survive in temperatures as low as 48 degrees my opinion is i think the heater is what is killing your fish by drastically changing water temperature in your tank yes you should go by a top quality heater with an adjutable tempeture setting that is important. also please always keep in mind how dangerous water and electricity can be so always visually check the heater and fish before placing your hands in the water back to your problem i think that your water was in the high 60 degree range and then adding your heater with no true temp setting increased the water temp so high so fast that your guppies could not withstand it ok for the bottom line your guppies can safely withstand a temp of 64 - 82 degrees that is a fact now get a good quality heater and place it in your tank now start its temp out at 64 and every day increase it maybe two degrees i would shoot for 70 degrees constant for these fish and always remember water temp can never fluctuate more than a degree or two per 24 hours anything more will immediately bring the parasite ick also it cam severely stress out or kill the fish hope this helped good luck

Answer 6

I have two heaters on each side of my 30 gal tank. This allows the the temperature to remain fairly even through out the aquarium. Also, if one of the heaters suddenly dies on me, I still have the other one as a backup.

Answer 7

By far the best heater I have dealt with is the Stealth. It came to me highly recommended by several experienced fish enthusiasts. It is unbreakble, adjustable to exact temp, and reliably holds that temp. It will also shut off if unsubmerged (like when changing tank water, for example, you don't have to worry about shutting it off).

Altho it can be found at most pet stores at about 35 bucks, it is least expensive at petco.com at under 20, and well worth the shipping charge.

Answer 8

Hello this is Jay Selznick,
GE makes a great ceramic heater.
Thanks,
Jay Selznick