Heater Issue - Light Brown Buildup on Outside?!?

[seanus]

Hello,

I have a 30-gallon hex tank with a Penn-Plex Therma Flow PC heater that has worked fine with fish in the tank for about a year.

I am now starting it up again...during the final few months of having the tank running with fish, a light-brown deposit started to build up on the outside of the glass near the coils. It didn't seem to be a problem.

I let the water cool for a few weeks, turned it back up and it reached 80 degrees F.
I then turned the heater back on at full power, and after it being on for a few days, it has only reached 72 degrees and capped out.

Should I replace this heater? If so, how much should I spend & what's the best one to go with?

Thanks

 

[boxman]

It would help if you could give the wattage of the thermostat. I would personally go for a 150w thermostat as if yours is struggling it's not worth suddenly being without - for the sake of £15 you're probably going to be safer getting a replacement now if your current one isn't very reliable.

Brown residue - algae perhaps? Also another sign of an old thermostat - I had one that was similar to yours.

All I can say is if I'm going to put my hand in a tank of water there's no way I'm risking myself on a potentially iffy piece of electrical equipment.

 

[sub.42]

All I can say is if I'm going to put my hand in a tank of water there's no way I'm risking myself on a potentially iffy piece of electrical equipment.

Yep,

You're right. No way should you put your hand into a tank that has any item of unprotected electrical equipment turned on. The safest bet is to fit an RCD or earth-leakage device to the main plug. That way you wont get killed if you accidently smash the heater of something silly.

Just a safety note, but I think that £9 is money well spent.

Take care now.

sub.

 

[Matt_Didg]

that almost happened to me once

ill never do it again

get a new heater, i learnt my lesson with my old heater, didnt turn on or off ( if you hadn't read my topic)