Can I cover my heater?

[Quin]

The heater in my fish tank puts off a relatively intense light when the room is dark and I'm a sensitive sleeper. If I were to cover it with enough pantyhose so that I could still see the light but not have it shining, will it overheat?

 

[Derekshatch]

I put mine underneath the gravel.

 

[Guppy10]

Point the heater in another direction so you don't see the light.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I wouldn’t do that. Just put a towel over your tank at night.

 

[Derekshatch]

Why, I do that and have never had a problem

 

[Colin_T]

You can cover the thermostat with something but do not cover the heating coil because they get hot and will melt anything on the glass.

A small piece of black plastic wrapped around the thermostat can cover the light. Use super glue to stick the plastic together. Make sure it is not on the heating coil.

The heating coil if the white ceramic part with the curly wire wrapped around it.

 

[Quin]

Thank you for your suggestions!

The red light is the thing that needs to be covered, I think the heating coil may be that part at the bottom but the heater is a little long for it just to be that. Can I cover the light? I could use a towel if not but it's not ideal for my set up

 

[seangee]

Just turn it so the light faces the back of the tank

 

[Colin_T]

Aquarium heaters normally have the thermostat at the top by the cord/ cable and the heating coil is at the bottom end of the heater (further away from the cord).

Have the heater running in the tank and touch it with your fingers. See which part heats up. The bottom half should and that will be the heating coil. The area with the light should be cool and you can wrap that with a thin piece of black plastic. You only need the plastic to be slightly wider than the light, then just wrap the heater around the light.

 

[Quin]

Aquarium heaters normally have the thermostat at the top by the cord/ cable and the heating coil is at the bottom end of the heater (further away from the cord).

Have the heater running in the tank and touch it with your fingers. See which part heats up. The bottom half should and that will be the heating coil. The area with the light should be cool and you can wrap that with a thin piece of black plastic. You only need the plastic to be slightly wider than the light, then just wrap the heater around the light.

My heater is preset so it doesn't have a thermostat, and unfortunately the part that was the warmest was the part that has the light. Can I still cover it without risking overheating?

Whatever I cover it with I want it only to dim the light so I can still monitor the heater.

 

[Metalhead88]

Do not cover any heating elements.

It has been mentioned twice, just turn the heater towards the back of the tank. It may make the lid fitment weird with the power cord, but I'm sure you can make due.

I've seen that heater before and yes the light is bright.

 

[Colin_T]

If the area that gets warm/ hot is near the light, then I would not cover it with anything. The only thing I can think of doing is using a dot of black aquarium silicon on the glass where the light is. A small dot of silicon would reduce the light and would not cover much of the heater, so would be less likely to get really hot.

Other options would be to put some plants or driftwood in front of the heater to help block the light.
Have a dark picture on the back of the tank so it doesn't reflect the light.
Insulate the back and sides of the tank with polystyrene foam so the heater doesn't come on as much. Have a coverglass on the tank too for the same reason.

Make up a curtain or picture on a frame and move that in front of the tank at night so the light stays behind the picture/ curtain. During the day you move the frame away and expose the tank.

 

[Quin]

Do not cover any heating elements.

It has been mentioned twice, just turn the heater towards the back of the tank. It may make the lid fitment weird with the power cord, but I'm sure you can make due.

I've seen that heater before and yes the light is bright.

Yeah I agree I shouldn't cover the heating elements, but I do wish to be able to see the light in the day in case something goes wrong with the heater (which is vital because my house is cold). I believe I'll take Colins suggestion and position it behind a few things so that it's still visible but not quite so bright

 

[Tez_20]

Yeah I agree I shouldn't cover the heating elements, but I do wish to be able to see the light in the day in case something goes wrong with the heater (which is vital because my house is cold). I believe I'll take Colins suggestion and position it behind a few things so that it's still visible but not quite so bright

Quinn i would suggest what colin said because even slightly covered by something in the tank, you'll still know if it's working then.