# Marineland Stealth Pro heaters - they suck!



## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Has anyone else had problems with the Marineland Stealth Pro Heaters?

I have 2 of them, one in my 30 gallon and one in my 5 gallon betta tank. Both are correctly rated for the tank size, both were purchased from different stores and NEITHER one is heating the tank to the set temperature, or even anywhere near it. This isn't a case of the heaters being too small, either...they are just not heating effectively, even though the indicator light is red, showing that the heater is on. My poor betta is freezing, and my fancy goldfish aren't at a temp I'd like either. I'm just glad I don't have super delicate fish like discus.

I called the company this morning, and the CSR told me that "oh well, this is random, you'll get the odd one that doesn't work". They offered to send me a new heater, but I'm sorry, if you just told me that you can't rely on your heaters working, why would I wait a week or more for you to send me another that might not work? 

Not to mention that I did some more reading this morning and found THIS thread: BEWARE!! Marineland Stealth Pro Heater 

I'm getting new, non-Marineland heaters for my tanks as of today, and their pieces of crap are going back to the stores as of this week. I will never buy their heaters again.   

I am so mad that I can barely see straight right now. Has anyone else had any issues like this?


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## teija (Sep 30, 2010)

Yes, I saw a thread on another forum about the new version of the Stealth's *exploding*!!  How is it that companies ALWAYS manage to ruin a good thing?  I LOVE my old Stealth heaters...

If they've offered to send you a replacement I would take it anyway. Plus, with almost any heater the temp on the dial doesn't always match the temp of the heater - that's why I would always check the thermometer and adjust accordingly.


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## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

My older stealth,the one without the red light exploded in my sump of my saltwater tank then was on fire underwater... if I didn't wake up at 330 am that night for some cookies and milk the house would've burnt down!! No joke my freinds have seen this heater its in pretty bad condition.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

I considered getting the replacements, but I just don't want to deal with them any more. Two bum heaters from 2 different stores and two different wattages? Fuggedaboutit, they're going back.

And this isn't a small temperature difference: I have the heater for the betta tank set at 82F, and the tank is sitting at 68F. For the goldfish tank it's set at 75F, and it's actually at 67F. These heaters have been up and running for a few weeks in the case of the goldfish, and over 24 hours in the betta's case.

If it was a small 1-2 degree temp difference, I wouldn't be as concerned, but this heater advertises its accuracy to +/- 1 degree and it's not even getting within 10? Not cool.


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## kevin22 (May 12, 2010)

I had 2 of them, both worked perfectly for a almost year. just sold both to update to 300 watts heaters.
For a heater, the worst is stuck on, the fish get cooked.
The explosion is extreme. hope it won't happen again.
Since the Stealth Pros are almost the most popular heaters on the market.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

They may have worked perfectly for you, but these two sure aren't working for me. I appreciate them not cooking the fish, but freezing them isn't great either. Can anyone recommend a non-Marineland heater?


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

There was a thread here posted by another member, maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago with their Stealth Pro - I think it burst though.

If you can't get your refund back from the dealer, try the Vistherm heaters made by Marineland - I've used the older Stealth's, one heats too high, 2 works fine but they were being run through a heater controller. I have 3 Visitherm heaters in use and they've been fairly reliable. Eheim Jagers too, but really with any of the mainstream heaters, eventually they will fail. Never had any brand that did not fail.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Yes, I'm actually thinking about going home at lunch and turning it off in case the damn thing does suddenly decide to burst...paranoia is setting in!

I'm thinking of going to the Jagers, I'm done with Marineland. Heaters failing after a long period of use is one thing, but not working at all is a whole other ball game.


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## kevin22 (May 12, 2010)

Ebo Jager is very good in terms of reliablity


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## gmachine19 (Apr 21, 2010)

Based on the net, I found out that the lot number...

01H31

are the defective ones. I checked mine just after reading this thread and found out that mine was 01D31.WHEW! Hopefully nothing goes wrong though. But don't quote me on this one though.


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## pisces (Apr 22, 2010)

that why i only used good brand only! Jag*XX* is good ! i used long time over 3 years, still good ! i am happy with that!


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## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

Elle said:


> I considered getting the replacements, but I just don't want to deal with them any more. Two bum heaters from 2 different stores and two different wattages? Fuggedaboutit, they're going back.
> 
> And this isn't a small temperature difference: I have the heater for the betta tank set at 82F, and the tank is sitting at 68F. For the goldfish tank it's set at 75F, and it's actually at 67F. These heaters have been up and running for a few weeks in the case of the goldfish, and over 24 hours in the betta's case.
> 
> If it was a small 1-2 degree temp difference, I wouldn't be as concerned, but this heater advertises its accuracy to +/- 1 degree and it's not even getting within 10? Not cool.


I have a good question, in your betta tank do you have any flow? Because any heater wont work properly without the water moving, if you have a powerhead circulating the water around it would help keep the temperature more stable.

If you are using a sponge filter on the betta tank place the heater above it where the bubbles come out to get more even heat dispertion on a larger tank use a powerhead!


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

The betta's in a 5 gallon Fluval Chi, which has a filter and flow. So yes, there is water flow through there, which should disperse the heat. And the heater isn't even heating the water around itself, like it would be if it were working properly.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

agree with Tang daddy, also if the tank isn't covered it isn't going to maintain a steady temp. I noticed in the pic of your 55 gallon that you have the heater at the opposite end of you tank from the filter, don't know if thats how your other tanks are set up, but in my experience that definitely will not get your tank to the proper temp. It should be as close as possible to the filter to provide best circulation of the heat, if you have it at the opposite end of the tank then it is only heating that end. I haven't used a stealth heater But I do use the Marineland visatherm heaters and have no problems with the heating since I moved them closer to the filters


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Blame djamm for that, it's his tank. ;-) But I'll pass it on.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

lol opps I guess that was, friggin meds for my flu got me looking at the wrong things..sorry  oh well just in case , now ya know lol


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## hgi (Jun 13, 2010)

you spend $1000's on your tank, $1000's on your filtration $1000's on your fish..... then you cheap out on a $30 heater... what did you expect? get a fluval e series, enough said.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

I'm not sure where you got the idea that I spent $1000's on the tank? Not all of us spend that on this hobby. Based on the replies, other people have had mixed experiences with the $30 heater - works great for some, not for others.

And if I'm spending $1000s on fish, they'd damn well better be gold plated.


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## teija (Sep 30, 2010)

Elle said:


> And if I'm spending $1000s on fish, they'd damn well better be gold plated.


LMAO!! Gives new meaning to the term "Gold-fish." 

And I agree - fishkeeping is NOT a $1,000 hobby if you don't want it to be. I certainly wouldn't have any if it was!


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

lol, gold plated...

I've personally never had any issues with my Marineland heaters, I've got two running for a year now without a single issue (knocking on wood).


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

just wanted to add that we put in a second heater in the Fluval Chi for the betta, as he was looking pretty miserable. And then I wrapped the side of the tank with a heating pad set on low for a few hours. I know, I know...but the betta looked a lot happier this AM. Tank is up around 78-80 now, but I'm wondering if the Chi not having a lid is causing some of this. Maybe I need to look at a 10gallon heater in there instead.

Goldfish heater is still crap, but at least their tank is at the right temperature, even though the heater is set higher than the actual temp.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

In my 10 gallon rimless the heater is almost always on trying to compensate for the missing lid. Apparently there is a quite a bit of heat escaping along with more evaporation.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Yeah, our house is cold, too, which doesn't help. I'm thinking that either we add a 10 gallon heater, get a custom lid cut, or put him in another tank and use this one for something not as delicate (4 guppies, maybe).

I'd like to find a way to heat it, because I love the way the Chi looks with the betta, and it's about the right size for him.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Elle said:


> And if I'm spending $1000s on fish, they'd damn well better be gold plated.


LMAO ....Amen!!


effox said:


> In my 10 gallon rimless the heater is almost always on trying to compensate for the missing lid. Apparently there is a quite a bit of heat escaping along with more evaporation.


same here on all my tanks without tops, my place is quite chilly and I notice alot of evaporation here lately and the heaters are on alot as well


Elle said:


> I'm thinking that either we add a 10 gallon heater, get a custom lid cut, or put him in another tank and use this one for something not as delicate (4 guppies, maybe).
> I'd like to find a way to heat it, because I love the way the Chi looks with the betta, and it's about the right size for him.


I would try a custom lid first, thats what I did with my smaller Betta tank and it helped quite a bit, I also added a nano heater to it for when it was colder out to make sure the temp stayed consistent


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

the fluval e series are awesome, they display the tank temperature on a digital readout that turns blue if its too cool, red if its too warm, and flashes red/blue if its way too cool/too warm. they have guards so your fish dont get burnt, and they have a 5 year warranty. 
you can set it to be in celsius or ferenheit, and set the setpoint to .5 of a degree F
to me the extra couple bucks is WELL worth the peace of mind and since electronics in water is never a good idea, the 5 year warranty will probably come in handy at some point


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hey, Elle, I think that lidless tanks do require more heat. My house is very cold in the winter and all my tanks have heaters. Last year, my lidless tanks were able to stay warm, though. I just made sure that their heaters were powerful enough.

Is your Chi 5 gallons or the bigger one? What size heater do you have? I'd recommend 25 Watts for the 5 gallon. I've got a 17 watt in my 6 gallon Eclipse (with a lid) and it's not enough. 

By the way, I've heard that some people put Saran on top of their lidless aquariums if they're having problems with cold or condensation. Maybe you could cover yours at night?


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Well, we added a 50 watt heater, which kept the tank at 80F when the house was warm. It did drop down to about 72F overnight, and I found the betta sleeping by the heater, so I turned it up this morning. I think we'll look into the lid option, if I don't end up with a betta-cicle first!


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

That's really good info to know, Elle. I might pick up an extra heater or two for this winter, in case we have a winter like we did a couple of years ago.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

its happened to me also, its been almost 3 weeks and i still havent heard back from them. i am so not impressed!!!!


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

well after posting this i checked my email and they responded to me.


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## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I found that using 2 heater on my larger tanks gives me security.
Knowing if one fails the other will keep the chill off the tank.
I think most of the heaters made these days are set to shut down in a failure rather than stay on and cook the fish.

I was not watching thins the other day doing a water change and had the water 1 inch higher that the heater that was supposed to be hooked on the rim of the tank.

I unplugged it and took it apart and let it dry for a day then tested it in the air using a hair drier and thermometer to see when it came on and off.

I then put the heater back in the glass tube and sealed it with silicone.
It seems to have survived and is working well and securely fastened to the tank rim.


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Its unfortunate what your going through, and hopefully it gets worked out one way or the other.But i do have a question for you, why does your goldfish setup need a heater ? a couple posts back you mentioned the temperature was around 75F? thats a bit high for goldfish and they dont really need high temps to begin with.Mid 60's to early 70s is just fine.Some keep them in even lower temps without any issues(myself being one).


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

Luke78 said:


> Its unfortunate what your going through, and hopefully it gets worked out one way or the other.But i do have a question for you, why does your goldfish setup need a heater ? a couple posts back you mentioned the temperature was around 75F? thats a bit high for goldfish and they dont really need high temps to begin with.Mid 60's to early 70s is just fine.Some keep them in even lower temps without any issues(myself being one).


I use a heater for my fancy goldfish. You're right that they don't need a heater, but it keeps the temperature stable and apparently it aids their digestive process.

Goldfish Basics | Goldfish


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

I wouldn't use heaters for regular goldfish or koi...in fact, I probably wouldn't keep them inside at all - they just need too much space. The fancies are more delicate, and mine seem do a lot better with the tank temp between 18-20C. Also, our house gets down to around 60F in the winter in the room that they're in, and their tank is next to a single pane window with no direct sun that faces north...brrrrr! They'd have much colder temps and a lot of variation without the heater, which isn't good for most fish.

YMMV on temps, of course, but this is what seems to work best for my fish.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

i just got an email from marineland they are sending me a replacement heater


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## lizardlady58 (Apr 3, 2011)

*heater also exploded, fumes posinous?*

I feel bad for the poor people that had their tanks destroyed. In this respect I am very lucky. My heater exploded earlier tonight in a seventy gallon grow out system inhabited by two hundred baby percula clowns. I have picked out all the pieces of plastic and done a half water change (I only had a small amount of sea water premade). The smell is just awful and it has stunk up the whole house. It is also still eminating from the baby tanks. I am more concerned however about the health of my family and the baby clowns. Does anyone know the effects of the noxious fumes? I have called the company and emailed them but it is late at night and no one is available.


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## MOLOTO (Jun 8, 2010)

*Which LFS honors this recall???*

Okay,

Thanks to this thread and 10 minutes of googling. I've found that all STEALTH PRO and STEALTH HEATER PRODUCTS are to be recalled.

Can anyone LMK which LFS is honoring this recall??? I need to voluntarily return my 200W STEALTH HEATER.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

any Petsmart Patrick
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/equipment-talk-section-14/get-your-stealth-pro-heaters-out-12475/
sent you a pm also


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