OMG!!!! I lost all my fish (heater)!!!!!!!!!!

[triggernut]

All,
I have very sad news!!!

I came home last night and didn't see one fish swimming around. I looked and looked and man most of em were dead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I said WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I checked the temperture and it was 100 DEGREES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You could feel the heat off the glass. Man I quickly turned on the ac and opened the top and put a fan acrosss it but man it was too late. My beautiful 75 gallon was a graveyard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I checked my heater and it was on what I always keep it at 76 degrees. I guess the thermostat went on it. I have no clue to why it went so high. I have a PRO HEAT 300 watt titanium heater and its almost a year old. The room was not even close to 70 degrees. So I know the heater must have went. I am sooooooooooooo upset....... Man those poor fish......................... Well I have to start all over again.......... Well only one Tang survived and 2 lawnmomer blennies. I don't know even if they will make it. Oh well a lesson learned.......... and an expensive one!!!!!!!
Does anyone know if they have a heater that turns off if it goes beyond your settings? I would love to know. I lost some nice fish............ 2 Sabae clowns, 2 Purple firefish, 1 scisssor tail gobie, 1 bullet gobie(sleeper banded), 1 Manderin, 3 Yellow Tangs, 1 watchman gobie, 2 damsels, and a hatian anemone. Oh man all that hard work and stuff all shot to

Well I have to start all ove again......................
Triggernut

Thanks............... Trigger

 

[mrdc]

Man, sorry to hear that. That's always been one of my fears. The only thing I can do is check my thermometer every day. I usually check in the morning and evening but I do miss some days. Not sure how to prevent your situation from happening.

 

[emperor11]

Originally Posted by Triggernut

Does anyone know if they have a heater that turns off if it goes beyond your settings?
That's what all heaters are designed to do..thats where the malfunction comes in. It fails to shut off after it reaches the temp that you have it set to, and it stays on, and boils the tank.

 

[jokerj]

try hooking the heater up so it comes on with timer for night time and cuts off durring the day. this will at least keep the temp from spiking while your gone for the day. I'm very sorry to hear of your loss! I would blow a gasket if that happened to me.

 

[sleasia]

Temperature swings are a big problem in the summer. I assume you have a glass tank. If so aiming fans at it will help to cool it , though this may also increase evaporation. If you have an acrylic tank, fans do not do much good, as its too well insulated. My tank lies nearly under two sky lights and the "green house" effect was a problem for me so eventually I bought a chiller ( a Pacific Coast chiller) which is the best thing I ever did because in the summer months if allows me to keep the tank in a tight range of temp (I usually go with 76). The pacific coast chillers have an outlet on them to plug in the heater (that you would usually place in the sump)...In this way if temperature drops too low, the chiller will turn on the heater plugged in to it and allow it to heat up the sump. Then when water temp begins to rise to your range's max, the chiller turns off the heater and begins chilling and lowering the temp to whatever you have plugged in as your target temp. In this way you cover both ends of the temperature problem...Sorry about your fish loss...I've been there done that in my B.C. days (before chiller).

 

[joojoo]

that sux, sry to hear it
my first FW tank i had platies and they had babies. after i put the babies in their own lil 5 gal the junior heater boiled them while i was at school, bad times

 

[granny]

So sorry to hear of your loss-That is horrible. The chiller is a great idea-However, I dont have one-never have and have been fortunate not ever to have had your problem.
I reccomend using two smaller heaters in tanks rather than one large one for just this reason. INstead of a 200, go with a 100 at each end of the tank. I always underheat, if thats a reasonable term, my tanks, Since they are all in a house that is kept warm and insulated, there isnt a too cold problem-and if one heater did happen to go, the other heater would continue to work-soooo TWO heaters are better than one on both scenarios.
Best of luck to you-do check your temps though every time you feed your fish or walk by the tank.

 

[rjattack19]

you should write to the company that made the heater and tell them what happend...who knows maybe they will send u a check to replace your lost fish

 

[theappe]

that happened to me too one time. I had my heater explode inside the tank and it shocked everything to hell

 

[triggernut]

Joker,
Yeah that sounds like a good idea......... Man it really sucks man......... I am soooooooooooo depressed............... I try so hard to keep up on that tank and one little thing can wipe you out. In the pocket also................
Triggs

 

[triggernut]

Granny,
Yeah a chiller sounds good. Thanks for the condolonces. I should have a burial for all the fish in the backyard. Put them all together. Man they died a horrible death man. They was all blown up and discolored. whewwwwwwwww................. I feel like writing to the company PRO HEat who made the heater. Take care
Triggs

 

[triggernut]

Hi,
Sounds like a good idea but I doubt it. I've had it almost a year. I have to check the box and see the warranty on it. I'm out a few hundred bucks now. Figure 35 a fish x 14. Ok take care.
Triggs

 

[zman1]

Sorry to hear that. It happened to me years ago when I was SWFO and lost all. I since use three lower rated heaters for the system size, there is a chance I could catch a single stuck one before it has the ability to make a big difference. Another option is put in a temp controller to power the heater to mitigate the risk. This way you would have two devices that could kick out on an over temp. The only issue with a controller is most crank the temp up on the heaters and let the controller only do the job of regulation.
Simular to Granny...
The other advantage is if one failed to turn on, you're not out in the cold, if you get my drift...

 

[triggernut]

Hi slesia,
Yep I have an all glass aquarium. Man was the outside hot whewwwwwww. Yeah that chiller sounds good. I will have to look into that. I bought a big ac for my living room to keep it cool when it gets above 79. Freakin heater though wasn't even a year old. Thanks for the condolonces. Fish can always be replaced but I willhave fond memories of them.
Triggs

 

[vanos]

Sorry to hear about that. This is what my heater did last year but I caught it in time before I had any fish or inverts perish. Most heaters use a bi-metallic strip to turn the heater on and off and eventually the metal strip wears out due to the opening and closing of the contacts. This occurs more often in the spring and fall when the outside temps vary significantly and therefore there is more contracting of the metal strips. If the metallic strip fails in the closed position then your tank overheats.
I now own a 150 watt jager heater for my 55 and my temp fluctuates most in the fall and spring but in the winter and summer it is a constant 80 degrees give or take a degree or two.

 

[promisetbg]

So sorry for your loss.You do have a thermostatic controller hooked up to this heater correct? Titanium heaters are just a heating tube,they have to have a thermostat.

 

[chipmaker]

Best to use muiltiple lower wattage heaters that equal up to the wattage needed for proper temps. If one heater fails it reduces or eliminates the possible risk of the tank getting over heated.

 

[triggernut]

Originally Posted by promisetbg
So sorry for your loss.You do have a thermostatic controller hooked up to this heater correct? Titanium heaters are just a heating tube,they have to have a thermostat.
Hi,
The heater has a dial thermostat and it was on 76 -78 and have been checking the temp at least 2x a day for almost a year and no problems. That thing is outta here!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 fish were hopefully saved. I found a watchman goby alive in my prefilter box. man he must have fell through the cracks...... I stuck him back in the tank so hopefully he will make it. I still have a tang left and 2 lawnmower blennies.
Triggs

 

[mr_bill]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[fishy7]

When I researched a heater, I called won brothers and they explained, if a malfunction occurs it will shut off and not on.[/
This is the main reason I went with a won brothers.
Can any one confirm this?