Ok I am at a total loss. I have a 35 gallon trashcan that has SW in it and one small Maxijet for circulation. I put a used Theo Hydor 200 watt submersible heather in it. Went back 3 days later and the temp had not changed. Bad heater right? I bought 2 Ebo Jager 200 watt heaters and put one of them in there. 2 days later, nothing changed, cranked it up to 90 degrees, nothing, put all three of the heaters in 600 watts, nothing.
Pull any of them out, they are cool to the touch. Wait like 10 seconds and touch them, they are warm and heat up. I am totally lost. I need to get this water heated up. It is at 70 which is room temp. I need to do a changeout, and i really need to get this done.
i had same problem. i think you may not have enough circulation, especially from top to bottom. i solved problem by putting three 200wt heaters into a big glass jar at he bottom of my 44gal can, i placed the powerhead inside the same jar and extended the return all the way to the top of the can. i also use a lid to prevent heat from escaping at top of can. i also wrapped the can with blanket when i realised the plastic can was a lousy heat insulator.
I assume the power head is at the bottom of the container. Point it upward. That will disrupt any thermal layering that may be happening. Heaters are convective, meaning that as they heat the water it moves to the top. This may or may not help, but its worth a try. Avoids having to get a bigger pump
I think that worked. Before your replies I put a heater low and a heater high. I also took the lid off (actually I forgot to put it back on in my ticked off state). I went back down a few hours later and the water was up 11 degrees. So I will now go back to just one EBO unit and move the powerhead to the bottom and point it up and see what happens. I have a week to play since I actually got my first water change done. Thanks for your help... AGAIN!
Brilliant. All that heat transfer and thermodynamics I did at university is actually useful. Who would've thunk it?!?
I would also move the heater to the bottom, just to be sure.
ok, this is where u call me medievil after witnessing a buck-toothed character swinging a shovel saying" momma, theirs a gater in the house"
so, the question is !!!!!!!. your waters in a trashcan, its only used for water changes, you have a circulation pump in there right.
whats to stop you dropping a kettle heating element in there untill your desired temp, and then (bingo>>>come-on babe lets disco) ur in buisness in a few mins instead of a few days
verianne, if the kettle heating element is what i'm thinking, i've already tried it and found out it is really good at melting plastic garbage cans. actually i also discovered that the hot tip of aquarium heater will also eventually burn through the can....also been guilty of forgetting to unplug heater when draining can. that is how i came up with the glass jar method. i hope wildone is careful, i am also a proud keeper of fumingus spousus....except that i have the much more territorial subvariety know as fumingus spouses loudus repeaticus.
wooho kill the motor dude! Lets see what squirt does flying solo!
just a bit of a typo on the name buddy. Adding an E on the end to make "anne ,it changes the sound of my name completely. the A is kinda silent in Veriann. sound it like Veri -n, or beter yet think of veriann temperatures.
anyways about the heaters....yes if u rest the heater up on the bottom or sides of the bin, anything thats hot will melt...lol but a piece of wood or something across the bin with the cord of the heating element suspended middle ground should counter this. besides that, how long did u leave the elements in there for. were u trying to boil it...lol as with anything, if u have circulation cold and hot spots are decreased 10fold. there are those tear drop looking heating elements that are attached to a handle, a sight better than the everyday kettle element.
your only bringing it up to the tanks temp, so its not going to take long. do your mix the night before, let it mix, next day throw your element in, go have a coke and a smile, and when u come back its cooked to perfection.
& now some chemistry major is going to come along & tell me heating seawater quickly changes the molectular stucture in such a way that it resemebles a elephant! lol
nice wife joke at the end to walrus. made me laugh
i forgot to mention, u guys have national geographic stores and the likes over there & camping stores obiously!
in my travels ive seen a hang on temp thingy for bush baths made from 44gal barrels. im guessing they have a small fire around the barral to heat it......anyways off topic >>>> its got real simple dial on top that u set the temp , it makes a chime sound when its reached it.
i mention it because it was like $6 or maybe $16. i cant remember now, it had a 6 anyways. cheap and nasty.. very simple devise, but useable
I was worried about the element melting the can as well. I am actually out of town right now (first time away from my tank), so i unplugged the heater. When I return, I plan on coming up with a perminent solution to preparing and storing my SW. I like the idea of the structure across the top with the heater suspended. I will give it some thought and see what I can come up with.
You could make a hole in the trash can lid and thread the heater through there. You could arrange it so it dangles a few inches off the bottom so that you don't run the risk of melting the plastic. An additional benefit for me would be that I MIGHT remember to unplug the heater when I took the lid off!
carmiejo, i know looking at the power point is a cheaper method here. and rightly so..lol
but their are those crimping lights u attach to the cables. when powers flowing through them the light is on and shinning in your face. saves the accidental tube pop from the unknown source when u put the lid back and shorts the entire circuit.
or a switch light switch<<<<<<<<<what a word!>>>>>that u can add to the power cord, snip, strip, plug, and turn, and your done.
My heaters are not working... 
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