Helio PTC Question

[reeferkojack]

Hello Reefers!

I'm going to buy the Helio heater for my BC32 rebuild. Is it worth spending the extra money for the dual element 200W versus the single? I will be keeping the Biocube Hood, so the tank does hold & maintain the temperature fairly well versus a open tank. Thanks!

 

[blaxsun]

Yes, if space constraints aren't an issue having the redundancy of 2 heaters is always a good idea.

 

[Ks4726]

I have the 1000 watt dual element on my 265. I had a rough start with it. I paid almost 300 bucks for the thing. For that much I expected it to work flawlessly. For starters when I first got it it worked fine for a week. It turns out there is a glass tube inside the controller that kept blowing. After going back and forth with IM it turns out one of the elements was bad causing it the fuse to blow. IM doesn't give you back up fuses and it's some weird size fuse that my local auto parts store, home depot, and lowes doesn't carry. IM won't send you any and give you a link for Amazon to buy the fuses, but the fuses took a week to be delivered. So after spending almost 300 bucks on this thing I had to run out to petsmart and buy 2 more back up heaters which was another 80 bucks to keep my tank from crashing. So a week later when the fuses come, it's a bad element. IM requests I cut the cord and post a video of the cut cord and then they send me a new one. Another 2 or 3 days for the new element. I then stop blowing fuses and it works.

A week later I realize one element is not staying on. If I unplug it they both work to heat the tank, then the second element won't turn back on. After 12 more emails I realized my problem was this. My elements are placed one on top of each other. They are long and im limited on room. So the top one wasn't staying on. I repositioned that top one to a bottom area in the sump and since then it's worked flawlessly. I'm assuming since the one element was higher up in the warmer area of the sump it wouldn't turn on. In one of the emails IM did suggest to move the elements around in my sump which I didn't listen, but in the past usually you place a heater somewhere and it's end of story. They also suggested i spend another 265 bucks on a second heater because my system is technically larger than their recommendation. The heater is set for 78. And since the problems it stays at 78. For 300 bucks I should of gotten back up glass fuses and reimbursed for my two back up heaters in my opinion. I spent that much on a heater I shouldn't need to spend more money to keep my system alive. The reason I went with IM is because finnex is junk and I went through 3 of their heaters in less than 2 years. It seems finnix lasts 6 months to get past the warranty and they take a ****. Sorry this is so long, but it's my experience with the mighty PTC heater.

 

[PlasticOcean]

I just had one of these explode. Came home to the smell of electrical fire and found it’s inner ceramic electrical, hanging outside the back sump, having (presumably) shot out of the tank when saltwater got into the titanium tube. The remaining, titanium sheath was still in the tank

75% water changed and so far nothing looks amiss. But only time will tell. Running carbon and hoping it somehow didn’t release contaminants into the tank. I do run a ground probe so maybe that saved the fish.

And…leaving for a business trip for 10 days beginning tomorrow…so…awesome timing.

Anyways, not running these anymore until Innovative Marine makes some very clear steps to change the seal design. As I’m guessing the issue was water leaking in through the cap.

This heater was installed yesterday so age is not a factor.

Anyway, reefing is awesome, isn’t it?

 

[VintageReefer]

I have had excellent luck with basic finnex titanium heating tube element on an external controller. Ones on 8 years and the other is on 10

Take the electronics out of the heater. Just get a heating element and external controller. They make a bundle of you can fit this

300 Watt Titanium Heater w/Digital Controller (40-80 Gallon) - Finnex

Shop The Best Saltwater Aquarium Equipment & Supplies at Saltwater Aquarium. We Carry Everything you will Need for your Fish Tank.

www.saltwateraquarium.com

 

[PlasticOcean]

Thanks for the tip! So far none of my livestock or coral are showing any signs of distress, even though I saw metallic dust and debris in the water i siphoned out of the sump area where the heater exploded.

Do you think I stand a chance of having no issues, having shut the pumps down and performed emergency water changes?

I’m surprised everything is doing this well despite what could have been a very different outcome. Thank goodness I was running a grounding probe!

 

[VintageReefer]

I had a heater blow up on me also, just remove as much as you can and running poly fill should catch any leftover particles

 

[homer1475]

I have had excellent luck with basic finnex titanium heating tube element on an external controller. Ones on 8 years and the other is on 10

Take the electronics out of the heater. Just get a heating element and external controller. They make a bundle of you can fit this

300 Watt Titanium Heater w/Digital Controller (40-80 Gallon) - Finnex

Shop The Best Saltwater Aquarium Equipment & Supplies at Saltwater Aquarium. We Carry Everything you will Need for your Fish Tank.

www.saltwateraquarium.com

Pretty much my experience with finnex also. Been using them exclusively for close to 20 years now(been through 2 of them in that time, and the original still works, just decided to replace it after 10 years).

 

[VintageReefer]

Just an added note - my finnex was not what exploded. At some point in time I added a second heater, aqueon I believe. As a backup. Then forgot about it completely for several years until my house smelled like electrical fire. Traced it back to the tank cabinet, found two cords going in the sump. Pulled one out an had a aqueon heater on it with signs of explosion plus the smell. I was very confused and had no idea this was even in my tank at first. The finnex heater was fine and still in use to this day.