In order to keep your Fluval M Series Submersible Heater running efficiently, you need to make sure that its glass isn’t covered with organic wastes and mineral deposits as both of these will build up over time. You can take a look at this guide from Aquarium Blueprints to see how you can properly clean this product.
This article will be covering the following products from the M Series:
- Fluval M50 Submersible Heater
- Fluval M100 Submersible Heater
- Fluval M150 Submersible Heater
- Fluval M200 Submersible Heater
- Fluval M300 Submersible Heater
1. To start off, you need to unplug the M Series Submersible Heater from the power outlet and then wait for at least 30 minutes.
This product is not designed to work outside of water at all. Therefore, you may risk breaking the heater if you don’t unplug it and then let it cool down before you remove it from your fish tank.
2. After unplugging the M Series and waiting for at least half an hour, you should be able to take it out of your tank without any issues.
3. Next, you can try carefully rinsing and wiping off any organic wastes and/or mineral deposits you see on the glass.
We recommend that you use water from your fish tank that you are planning to throw away. This is because your heater will have live beneficial bacteria living in it. These bacteria help regulate the ammonia, nitrite and nitrates levels in the tank waters, keeping these toxic compounds at safe levels for your fish and other aquatic pets.
If you want to use tap water, then we recommend putting the tap water in a water bucket or container. Afterwards, you need to add a dechlorinator to remove the chlorine and chloramine; otherwise, these two chemicals will harm your beneficial bacteria.
4. If you find some of the organic wastes and/or mineral deposits to be difficulty to remove, then you can try soaking the Fluval M Series Submersible Heater in vinegar. By doing so, the buildup should eventually break apart due to the acidity of this liquid compound.
If you decide to use vinegar to clean the heater, then make sure that you thoroughly rinse all parts that were expose to the solution with tap water. This is because you don’t want any vinegar to get in your tank water.
5. Once you are done wiping your M50, M100, M150, M200 or M300 clean, you can place it back into your aquarium.
If you used vinegar and then tap water in order to clean the heater, then we recommend that you add some dechlorinator to your fish tank in order to remove any presence of chlorine and chloramine.
6. After you put your heater back into the fish tank, plug it back into the power outlet. The product should turn on automatically and then start to heat up if it detects that the water is cooler than the temperature you set.
With the glass free of organic wastes and/or mineral deposits, the heater should now be more efficient at keeping your fish tank water warm.