heater explosion:o(

[bullturtle]

Hi i am new to this site and new to saltwater tanks. I was given an established saltwater tank about 3 months ago and have had no problems until this past weekend when my heater exploded and I was out of town. I discovered it Monday morning and have lost most of my inhabitants.

I am down to two fish(a goby and a wrasse) and a couple of blue legged hermies. I have changed filters, done a partial water change, added a buffer, and charcoal. I was curious as to how long I should wait before I start adding snails and such again? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :help:

 

[michaeltx]

what caused the failure of the heater do you know?
I would get a grounding probe and add it to the tank it will help if anything like that happens.
If the heater wasnt one of the really old ones that had chemicals in it I dont see a reason there should be a problem with the water. just make sure all your readings are good try harder fish to make absolutely sure there isnt anything else there.
Mike

 

[bullturtle]

o.k. i know this sounds stupid but what is a grounding probe? i had it hooked up to a power surger but it did not cut off when it exploded. I honestly do not know how old the heater was since it was given to me but I don't think it was ancient either. The water was extremely cloudy and very cold so I really don't know if the temp or if there were chemicals that killed my fish. I had snails, a choco chip starfish, a hawkfish, and a Tang that parished.

 

[michaeltx]

a grounding probe takes stray voltage out of the tank. its a metal SS rod that goes into the tank and then gets plugged into an outlet when there is a electric surge and electricity gets into the tank it will pull it out and discharge it into the grounded system of your home instead of the tank.
I would get a heater on it ASAP though or you will loose the rest of what you have. the cloudyness is probably coming from things still dieing in the tank worms pods bacteria all that stuff that in the sand and rocks.
Mike

 

[bullturtle]

I did that same day, I took the one out of my turtle tank since they can stand a little colder water. planning on picking a new one up this weekend. water temp in saltwater tank is now at 78 degrees.
Thanks for the input i will definitely be investing in a grounding probe too.

 

[scooby1350]

The other thing you could do is run your heater off an GFI Outlet that way if some does happen again it will cut the power instantly.
I run my Lights, Heater and pump on one just in case something goes wrong and start to leak stray voltage.

 

[big]

You can get 3 outlet GFI's at the big hardware stores.. EVERYTHING that goes near that sailwater tank that is electricly run should be one one!! Sorry about the lost fish.

 

[f14peter]

Originally Posted by big
You can get 3 outlet GFI's at the big hardware stores.. EVERYTHING that goes near that sailwater tank that is electricly should be one one!! Sorry about the lost fish.
Agree, everything I have goes through GFIs. SHOCK BUSTER makes a variety of GFIs: A single GFI unit that just goes in your plug socket and accepts a single cord . . . A unit with the GFI housing mid-cord and accepts three cords . . . and a quad-box with the GFI housing on the plug unit, also has a handy on/off switch on the box.
Have the mid-cord unit and two of the quad-boxes . . .

Only problem is that the GFI housings are pretty large. To get two side-by-side on a quad wall unit, had to gently and carefully sand the meeting edges of the housing.

 

[scooby1350]

I know if you buy one and replace your current outlet in the wall you can do that for about $6. That is what I did, it take up no room and make your tank safe from stray voltage and also keep me safe in case I get electrocuted it will also turn off the power. You can get them at any hardware store and the are fairly easy to install.

 

[scotts]

First off Welcome to the board!

Second sorry to hear about your tank. What size tank do you have?
Now if you want to hear about heater explosions..... I did a major cleaning on my tank. I had my daughter (who was 5 at the time and scared of her own shadow) help me fill the tank. Plugged in the heater and about 30 seconds later smelled something. Saw that the heater was not in the tank, but on the carpet of course melting the carpet.

So me thinking swifltly actually thought that the best way to cool down the red hot heater was to plunge it in the tank.

:help: WHen the heater literally expolded in my hand, and right in front of my daughter she screamed and started to cry.

Now I am holding a live elecrtrical circuit in one hand and a screaming 5 year old in the other.

That is a heater explosion.

 

[bullturtle]

Holy Cow Scotts! :scared: Glad your still with us!!! I just found out after the explosion that I have a 29 gal. I knew it was between a 20 and a 55 because I have fw tanks that are those sizes.
I greatly appreciate everyones advice. I will be checking out the hardware stores this weekend.

 

[1journeyman]

They make titanium heaters... better than the old glass ones at avoiding explosions.

 

[bullturtle]

thanks journeyman, i will check those out too.

 

[theappe]

same thing happened to me, sorry about your loss But now thats why i have a heater that turns off automatically when something like that happens