Disaster - Heater meltdown :(

[Spankenstyne]

Hi guys, been a while since i posted but we just had one of those sad tank days... It's been going so very well for a few months now, with the plants all growing like mad, the water quality steady and very good at all times, and most importantly very healthy and happy looking fish that were growing quite well and totally without problems.

All was fine this morning before work, and i hadn't noticed anything odd right away after work. While eating dinner i noticed the tank wasn't active like normal and upon closer inspection i felt sick to my stomach. I spotted a dead barb. Then another, and as i got more worried, we spotted another, and also that the pleco was dead on the bottom!
I instantly thought something must have went off with the water but as i checked the thermometer it was off the charts.
The water was actually HOT to the touch.

The digital read over 98 degrees and i noticed that the heater light was still on, it was still heating up! I quickly unplugged it, and as i was lowering the water level to get some surface agitation we watched with broken hearts another barb struggle and then die. The remaining barbs were gasping for breath at the surface, as with the heat the O2 levels would be very low, not to mention just deadly hot

**So far** thankfully as of now as far as i know all 5 of my Dario are still alive. Unbelievable but maybe the only bright light so far in all this. I have now only 3 Tiger Barbs left from a school of 9, a dead bristlenose pleco, and the RTS is somehow still going strong.

The heater somehow got stuck on and heating up the tank nonstop. It's a normally very reliable Eheim Jaeger, everyone i know and all the stores i visit seem to have them without exception and all swear by them..

Sadly we were unlucky enough to get what appears to have been a defective one. I have no clue what could have caused this, nothing was turned up on it, nothing was touched and everything was keeping steady and healthy and strong for several months. I don't know what i can do to prevent this in the future but it really sucks for lack of a better term.

As far as fixing the situation, i didn't want to put what was left into shock. So i removed the heater quickly, it actually steamed when i pulled it out, lowered the water level to get surface agitation from the spraybar. I then did about a 50% water change to get some of that hot water out and some cooler water slowly in, to lower the temp very gradually some. I'm hoping i can save what's left, it's a few hours later and it's sitting at around 89 now and slowly dropping.

What is left alive seems to be fine for the most part. Is there any other course of action i should take? Also is the tank fine for a day or so without a heater as it cools down? I'm just worried sick about what's left and want to make sure we're doing the right things. I assume dropping the temp too quickly could lead to all kinds of problems and possible shock etc

We rushed to the LFS before it closed for a replacement heater, and upon hearing our story they have offered to reimburse us for the new heater even thought it was well past the 3 months warranty period in store. They were pretty shocked as well as they have never had a problem with the many of those heaters they use. A nice gesture i thought.

Anyways sorry about the huge post but we're pretty concerned.

[Wendie]

So sorry about your loss. I know just how you feel... I lost my entire community tank to the same thing while on vacation a few years back. It wasn't a pleasant thing to come home to.

[fusQer]

wow, im so sorry to hear about that experience. what a helpless feeling

[pedzola]

Is there any heating system that can avoid this type of problem?

I've seen so many threads on this forum and others about people unintentionally boiling their fish that I just have to imagine there has to be a better way.......

If a heater breaks you'd think they'd design it so it shuts off instead of overheating.


Maybe is theree some kind of alarm system that could send you a text message or email if the temperature of your water goes over/under a certain amount?

Obviously the majority of us are at work for a good chunk of the day (10 hours for me) so if this were to happen in the AM, by the time I get home my fish would be DONE.

If I got notified however I could rush home and see what the problem is.

Any ideas?

[anarekist]

damn, that suck man, sorry to hear about it.

[mikev]

Very sorry to hear this.

Maybe is theree some kind of alarm system that could send you a text message or email if the temperature of your water goes over/under a certain amount?

Well, you need to connect a termometer to your computer. This can certainly be done -- there was a project around here where a set of computers spread over schools reported temp. readings via net. (No, unfortunately no details on exactly what they used.).

Another solution may be a webcam.

For some of us, having a termometer with a simple sound alarm may be good enough. Does anything like this exist?

[Emma Turner]

Is there any heating system that can avoid this type of problem?

Hagen's range of 'Tronic' heaters are manufactured to a high standard and are very reliable. They have a safety shut-off to prevent overheating, and the resultant damage.

Emma

[pedzola]

Found this... http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/P ... 004+113767

"Temperature Controller."

I've heard of these before (not any specific brand).

What they have is a temp probe along with power outlet(s). Either heater, or heater and chiller. (or I guess you could put other stuff on it too if you really want).

So the heater is always on full-blast, but it only gets power when the temp probe in the controller says that the temp is too low. So it's a lot more accurate than in-tank heaters built-in on/off mechanisms.

Alternately, when the temp is too high you could have the chiller kick in.

Simple idea... kinda pricy. No computer connectivity that I know of, but it seems pretty fail-proof unless the actual temperature probe gets out of whack.

[Curtis]

You can also check out


http://www.jehmco.com/PRODUCTS_/HARDWAR ... oller.html

I use them myself.

[poeticpyro]

i use stealth and they're great... i have only had one problem, and it shut itself off since it wasn't working, i didn't notice and the temp dropped causing stress and ich, but.. they're usually very reliable i did have a defective one and with a life-time warranty i got a free heater and an appology from the company!

[Spankenstyne]

Thanks for the kind words of support.

We lost another barb this am, but the temp is getting close to normal now. So we have 2 Tiger Barbs, all 5 loaches, and a RTS that survived.

One method of prevention & redundancy that i think might be useful is some sort of extra thermostat that cuts off power once the temperature hits a certain point. Somewhere along the heater or where it plugs in. It's something i'm gonna look into for sure it really sucks to lose a bunch of fish for no good reason or failure of your own.

[Spankenstyne]

btw some very helpful links, thanks so much!

[fusQer]

i use stealth and they're great... i have only had one problem, and it shut itself off since it wasn't working, i didn't notice and the temp dropped causing stress and ich, but.. they're usually very reliable i did have a defective one and with a life-time warranty i got a free heater and an appology from the company!

i have a stealth also and what i don tlike is that theres no lights or visual indicators to let you know that its on. how do you deal with this?

[poeticpyro]

you can hear it click on and off, it's not hard. i love how there isn't a light... the loaches have PURE blackness at night and it has a good automatic turn off feature if it breaks or if it is out of water and still plugged in, nice for the large water changes..

i have another one that the light comes on, it's fine as well... it's not submersible though like the stealth is.

[DRLashambe]

Sorry to hear about all of this. I had a very similar problem. I have to admit, I didn't buy the most expensive heater, so I take the majority of the blame. Now I check the thermometer twice daily: when I get up and when I get home from work.

Good luck. Keep in mind, the high temperatures may have killed off all of the good bacteria in your tank. Watch for your ammonia cycle. I had a problem with one clown loach afterwards, he's gone blind. I'm happy to report that, otherwise, he has come back to complete health, and is doing great.

Good Luck.