A Big Mistake..Need Help

emusinky

emusinky

Member
For the last few weeks, I have been turning pumps off when I feed and turn them back on 10 minutes later. Last night I forgot to turn them back on. I got up early today and noticed it was quiet and found what I have done.
The tank heater was off and the temp has dropped to 70. Should I let the heater bring it right back up or should I do it slowly over a couple days?
I am mixing a bucket of water but I can only make one at a time for water change. I don't know about my inhabitants as the room is still dark and the lights don't come on for 3 more hours. What should I do?
 
casper1875

casper1875

Member
I'd turn on some lights and see how things look. Your heater won't instantly heat your tank, it will take some time so plug it in.
 
jemshores

jemshores

Member
I agree with Casper...let the lights and heater bring the temp back up slowly; hopefully all is OK. If you are planning a w/c though, make sure that water is also the same temp. Do you have a 2nd one (heater)? Maybe put the w/c off for a day, let things stabilize. 70 is quite chilly-here in FL that is considered "winter"! Good luck
 
emusinky

emusinky

Member
I turned the heater on with the pumps when I found my mistake. It has already warmed it up to 71.5 in about an hour and a half. So it's going up about 1 degree an hour. Is that too fast?
I turned on the room lights and all looks normal for morning. I can't tell for sure about my BTA's as they are in the back with the clowns. The clams look normal and I can see a peppermint shrimp. I sure feel bad about this.

I really hadn't planned a w/c for today but thought I may need to after having everything off for 10 hours.
Thanks for all help and sympathy.
 
jemshores

jemshores

Member
IMO 1 degree an hour will be OK. After the temp reaches 78 +/- maybe do a water test and if needed a w/c. If all is OK just do you w/c on your scheduled day. Very happy that all is well which means you must have a healthy tank
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
Think of it as re-acclimating the fish. Most likely you float the bag when you get a new fish to make the temp in the bag the same as the tank water. Then you'll continue doing your drip/whatever else you do to acclimate new fish. 1 degree an hour is safe, don't beat yourself up too bad.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
i honestly think everything will be okay. depending on what you have in your tank, some things may be a little touch-n-go for a few days, but give it some time to stabilize and you may be in the clear. things like this make me think of what happens when a storm comes through a natural reef. there are some nasty things that happen in the ocean that would be extreme in contained environments. 70 degrees is pushing it, but depending on what you keep, it may not be catastrophic.
 
emusinky

emusinky

Member
Everything looked normal last night. One of the two anemones had started moving the day before. I figured it was because of the new MH light. I was a bit worried that it might get close to a power head so I took a look this morning. It split !!! Now I have 3 or maybe even 4. The other one is near the back and has lowered it self where I can't see it fully. It split once before, 3 days after I bought it from CL last May. I know I stressed it now. I am hoping all will be good. Will be doing w/c today.
The tank is 65 gallons and has been up for almost 2 years. Lots of LR and LS. It was an aggressive FOWLR tank for the first 18 months. I set it up for anemones and got a pair of GSM clowns from SWF. The clowns paired as soon as I put them in the tank and started hosting the anemones within an hour. I was so happy.

The rest of the list is:
one longfin goby, 2 squamosa clams, 3 peppermint shrimp, 1 skunk cleaner shrimp and hermits and snails.
So far, all are surviving. Thanks for the encouragement.
 
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