# Painting a glass heater?



## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Anyone ever painted a glass heater? I'm going to try it using the Krylon Fusion paint, since it is waterproof and non-toxic. I'm just wondering if anyone else has tried it and if they had success/failure.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i don't think it will hold up to the heat..might well peel off...


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

Heat and water? Wouldnt do it.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I agree, heater changes temp and changes shape, glass is hard to stick to, water likes to creep under things. I suspect it would look good for a while, then start flaking off. If you are willing to periodically scrape and repaint, it could work.


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

Not to mention it might do some kind of unforeseen harm to your tank. Especially when it starts coming off. Not to mention in the end your heater would look worse. 

A suggestion, check out the Fluval M Series heaters, you might like what you see.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Na, I was trying to go non-shiney and inconspicuous. I think I'm just going to get one of those Marineland Shatter-proof heaters as they are plastic and solid black.


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## meBNme (Oct 9, 2011)

Could also cause the heater to overheat and shorten its life.


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

How about plants in front of heater and other equipment to hide it?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

well....i do have a few special heaters here...they are $100 bucks each...but they work perfectly and nobody will ever see them...Loha brand invisable heaters...available in any wattage you desire...lol


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2011)

bmlbytes said:


> Na, I was trying to go non-shiney and inconspicuous. I think I'm just going to get one of those Marineland Shatter-proof heaters as they are plastic and solid black.


with marineland changeing how their shatter heater is made, i wouldnt go near one.

Aquaon carry shatter proof heater also. check them out.


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

Thats on the Visitherms and "Regular"/old Stealth line, I have a **************** ton of their newer Stealth Pros (or whatever they are), and havent seen any problems with at least a 1-2 years of usage on most (I think) newer ones. I have some Aqueon ones that I just happened to come across and they are complete garbage. I knew this though before I got them, its easy to see just from pictures, but they were free so it was w/e; either way the only use I have found for them is paper weights. Actually maybe since winter is coming I could just crank the temp up on them and drop them in my pond, and actually put them to some use, since its not like they are really going to do much in there anyways.


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

AquariumTech said:


> Thats on the Visitherms and "Regular"/old Stealth line, I have a **************** ton of their newer Stealth Pros (or whatever they are), and havent seen any problems with at least a 1-2 years of usage on most (I think) newer ones. I have some Aqueon ones that I just happened to come across and they are complete garbage. I knew this though before I got them, its easy to see just from pictures, but they were free so it was w/e; either way the only use I have found for them is paper weights. Actually maybe since winter is coming I could just crank the temp up on them and drop them in my pond, and actually put them to some use, since its not like they are really going to do much in there anyways.


Nope its actually almost all the stealths made up till early this year, but the newer pro models are suppose to be much more dangerous. Those really into the hobby where probably given the warning before hand. There were some incidents in the local aquarium society with these heaters. The lucky ones had them just stop working. One person though had the heater burst and break a 75 gallon tank. According to them Marineland paid for the damages. That was before the recall happened. But as I am aware basically ALL the stealths were recalled, over a million of them. This here is the official report. For quiet awhile petsmart was accepting all heater returns for store credit or exchange, supposedly you didn't even need a receipt. If you google stealth heater explosion you can find quiet a few incidents. Its quiet impressive the damage these heaters can cause.

I have a pretty wide range of glass heaters. Normally I use submersibles, but I have one non-submersible elite brand heater. From what I have experienced the more expensive the heater the sooner its gonna break. I have $10 heaters that have been running for years and one small submersible that has been reliable the longest, even though there is visible condensation inside it lol. I had a big hydor in my 55 and that tried to cook my fish after 2 years. After that I got a rena smart heater which lasted 8 months, it was replaced under warranty and its replacement lasted about a year. I still have that second one since I kinda revived it after it sat in a bag of rice for a month. It works again but I haven't put it back to use, since I replaced it with a Sera heater which is what is currently running. My 55 gallon needs either a cool operating heater like the smartheaters or a plastic heater guard over the glass heaters or my eels burn themselves =/. It makes picking out heaters a PITA.


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## meBNme (Oct 9, 2011)

Why don't you make a 3D background and hide the heater, and any other hoses, tubes, wires etc. that you don't want to see?


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## Cydia (May 18, 2011)

how about using a sump?


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Tank is too small for a sump, and not in a location that would allow it.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

I recently had a problem with some sort of toxins on several heaters I bought. I lost a LOT of fish. Why on earth would you want to chance introducing toxins into your tank? The fish don't care what color the heater is.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Honestly toxins are not the concern here. I would have used a paint that was completely aquarium safe. I was actually worried about the heater failure or the ability of the paint to stick to a heated surface. 

And obviously fish don't care what color the heater is, but I care about the appearances of a tank in my living area. It's not a bedroom or fishroom tank.


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