I've come across a problem with my 25 gal's heater - granted this isn't exactly something that would be expensive to simply replace, but I can't stand a piece of hardware not doing what it's meant to do - I must bend it to my will if at all possible.
The heater is a Hydor Theo 150watt submersible. They're made in Italy, and the box is covered with notes about how accurate and durable this heater is supposed to be. Has anyone else had problems with this product line?
Anyway, here's the story.
The dial on the top shows a range of roughly 67 degrees to 91 degrees F. Unfortunately, when I set it at it's minimum setting it maintains a temperature of about 78 degrees. Turning it up a bit (to take it away from the absolute minimum setting) to the 69 degree mark, it produced a temperature of about 80 degrees. This tells me raising the setting a couple degrees results in a temperature change of a couple degrees.
My first thought is the dial wasn't mounted properly on the thermostat control. Since the dial has a small pin that prevents it from turning past it's marked settings, I decided to pull the plastic housing off the top to bypass it. I'm putting it through it's paces now (albeit carefully), to see I can attain a more comfortable temperature of 74-75 degrees.
Note: I have the heater mounted at the center of the back wall, in the vertical position. It is properly submerged, with a good amount of water moving past it. I do not believe this a positional problem.
Side Note: When I removed the plastic housing I discovered the area under the dial had become well packed with gunk - probably just algae. I don't think it was interfering with the heater in any way, but I wonder if an isolated spot like that can become a hiding place for contaminants?
SAFETY NOTE: Don't do this. Seriously. If you do something wrong and allow water to get inside the heater, really bad things can happen. So let me be perfectly clear - DO NOT DISASSEMBLE OR OTHERWISE MODIFY YOUR TANK'S ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. If your stuff isn't working, consider it broken and get it replaced.
The heater is a Hydor Theo 150watt submersible. They're made in Italy, and the box is covered with notes about how accurate and durable this heater is supposed to be. Has anyone else had problems with this product line?
Anyway, here's the story.
The dial on the top shows a range of roughly 67 degrees to 91 degrees F. Unfortunately, when I set it at it's minimum setting it maintains a temperature of about 78 degrees. Turning it up a bit (to take it away from the absolute minimum setting) to the 69 degree mark, it produced a temperature of about 80 degrees. This tells me raising the setting a couple degrees results in a temperature change of a couple degrees.
My first thought is the dial wasn't mounted properly on the thermostat control. Since the dial has a small pin that prevents it from turning past it's marked settings, I decided to pull the plastic housing off the top to bypass it. I'm putting it through it's paces now (albeit carefully), to see I can attain a more comfortable temperature of 74-75 degrees.
Note: I have the heater mounted at the center of the back wall, in the vertical position. It is properly submerged, with a good amount of water moving past it. I do not believe this a positional problem.
Side Note: When I removed the plastic housing I discovered the area under the dial had become well packed with gunk - probably just algae. I don't think it was interfering with the heater in any way, but I wonder if an isolated spot like that can become a hiding place for contaminants?
SAFETY NOTE: Don't do this. Seriously. If you do something wrong and allow water to get inside the heater, really bad things can happen. So let me be perfectly clear - DO NOT DISASSEMBLE OR OTHERWISE MODIFY YOUR TANK'S ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. If your stuff isn't working, consider it broken and get it replaced.
