Is my heater broken

[aztoza]

Hey all I’m trying to determine if my heater is busted any opinions would be great.

I have 100W Eheim in a 26g. Should be more than enough power. It usually keeps the tank at 80.2 degrees (a bit high I know but that’s where it became consistent and I was afraid to adjust it again). This morning I found the tank a full degree lower and slowly continuing to sink. Heater light is on, return pump is on and everything seems normal. I turned it off for 10 min and let temp drop to 78.7, turned it back on and temp is (slower than normal) rising, it’s at 79.1 now.

The caveat is that my house is not climate controlled and it is winter. Last night the temp went from 61 degrees inside to 57. Tank is not by an exterior wall or door. Is the heater struggling to keep up with the temp in the house, or is it busting and I should replace it asap?

I can’t keep adjusting this every time the weather changes a little, tbh balancing the temp has been a nightmare and if I don’t figure this out I obviously won’t be able to continue. Would a controller even help if the heater did remain on the entire time?

 

[Sdbuehler1]

A 100 watt heater is the bare minimum for a tank that size plus you are trying to maintain a temp over 20 degrees from room temperature. My opinion is that your heater isn’t able to keep up. I would suggest adding another 100 watt heater or upgrade to a 150-200 watt. I would also highly recommend getting a heater controller like InkBird. Most of the time I have experienced a heater failure it is not that the heater stops heating but that the heater thermostat breaks and the heater stays on and over heats the tank cooking your tank inhabitants.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Just get yourself an inkbird for $40 from amazon, it will control the heater for you and maintain the temp within the range that you program. Its a well spent $40 that will save you a lot of hassle.

 

[aztoza]

Inkbird isn’t an option, not dual voltage and can’t source it. This is my option—one where the heater wires into it directly and it’s like $20…not too sure about it but maybe worth a shot.

 

[aztoza]

A 100 watt heater is the bare minimum for a tank that size plus you are trying to maintain a temp over 20 degrees from room temperature. My opinion is that your heater isn’t able to keep up. I would suggest adding another 100 watt heater or upgrade to a 150-200 watt. I would also highly recommend getting a heater controller like InkBird. Most of the time I have experienced a heater failure it is not that the heater stops heating but that the heater thermostat breaks and the heater stays on and over heats the tank cooking your tank inhabitants.

Oh really, ok I thought it was overpowered for the tank. I can for sure look into running a second heater if I can cobble it together with a controller. Thanks!