I did not know were to put this topic... But here it is:

I took this one heater out of the water the other day (about a week ago) and i whent to go set up the 20g tub but befor i put the heater in i noticed i had dark much on my hand. I came from the heater. seems the little dots on the glass have come of. Is it ok to go ahead and use it? its not that old...

My heaters do that too. I keep using them and haven't had any problems. I don't think the paint should hurt anything. It looks awful, but as long as it keeps the water warm, I don't care.

April

If you're worried, test it in a bucket with some fresh water for at least a day.
Better safe than sorry.

ok thanks guys ^_^ Ill put it in a bucket.

I have a heater that does that too. It still works just fine. In fact, it's in my betta fry tank and all is well :)

I use a scrubby sponge, and scrap all the black off the heaters when they start to flake. They work fine for me, other wise, but the flakes are annoying.

They are fine to use. What I believe it does is act to radiate the heat out more, kinda like the dots on the bottom of pots and pans now adays. What everyone else said, just take an algae sponge and clean it off.

How are the frys coming? Into juvie stages now leaf? :lolo:

Finaly got them moved to the 20g grow out tank. 34 in there right now. And 1 or 2 stuborn fry still in the 5g...

They are still small. I hope they will start to grow more now.