Heater Question

[Steph_D]

I just picked up 2 20 gallon tanks (got a good deal on them too! ). One of them had a heater in it and it was working, in water, when I went to look at the tanks. It had a LOT of hard water deposits on it that I scraped off when I got home. But I noticed that it had moisture inside the glass of the heater. That isn't safe, right? I'm thinking that I should just scrap the heater and get a new one.

 

[Steph_D]

Oh, it also came with a biowheel filter. Should I replace the wheel or leave it in?

 

[TLM4x4]

Heaters are one thing that you should NOT skimp on. You dont need to get the most expensive but yeah, if I were you I would go out and get a new one to replace the one with water in it. Im not sure about the bio-wheel as I have never used one...

 

[Fishckabibble]

if you dont know what was in the tank the filter belonged to i would replace the wheel, its better to be safe than sorry, you know? besides they arent that expensive to replace. congrats on the great find/deal too.

 

[echoofformless]

Never replace a biowheel unless it's damaged. (Or you think something gross was in that tank before you got it) In fact once you're running the tank, you pretty much ignore the thing except to make sure it's spinning. The older and grungier it gets, the better.

I'll recommend the Rena heaters to you. In my experience they've been nothing but perfect. But there are other good ones as well, which I'm sure will be recommended in future posts.

 

[homebunnyj]

If you're worried about diseases being carried in on the wheel, you can soak it in a mild bleach solution, then put it in water with a little extra dechlor before installing it. It'll be just like starting with a new one-- no bacteria, good or bad. I did it with a used biowheel, worked perfectly fine.

 

[jefftaylor]

Here is a good link for cheap heaters

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/category.xml?pcid1=3231;category_id=1731

 

[Steph_D]

Well, I replaced the heater. I wasn't about to take the chance with my fish on that one. The biowheel won't spin at all so I guess I'm going to have to replace that too, right?

 

[Lotus]

The Bio-Wheel goes on a very simple axle assembly. Have a look to see if it's got something on there that needs to be cleaned off. Does it not spin at all, or just very slowly?