Post Heater Failure RECOVERY TIPS 4 FISH

LauraGreenImp · 02/27/2018, 01:20 PM

So, yesterday, my neighbor (co-owner lfs, my sensei) and I installed a brand new 500w Titanium heater in my system.

It failed. My tank temp went from 78F to 65F overnight.

Hubs, neighbor, & I pulled new H out abt 6am my time, I’ve got some loaners stuck in my sump, and temp is now (1pm my time) 72.7F. Loaners are set to max out at 76F.

At this point, my Hippo T & Foxface have *finally* come out of hiding, and all the other creatures are mobile. Corals and Polyps look good.

BUT. My Diamond Goby has yet to appear. (he’s my secret favorite)

Any tips, advice? Should I feed something special?

I feel like I’m shouting into the wind here, since this is probably just a ‘hurry up and wait’ situation, but I’d be grateful for any suggestions!

mcgyvr · 02/27/2018, 02:06 PM

Going low like that is FAR better than it overheating and cooking everything so you are fine....
Just give it time.. No real need to hurry.. Just let the tank heat up and good to go..
Relax.. its all fine..

LauraGreenImp · 02/27/2018, 02:15 PM

Thanks for input.

Ya know, people say this is a “relaxing” hobby...

nereefpat · 02/27/2018, 02:44 PM

The fish will probably be fine. I've seen fish shipped get colder than that.

On another note, why do you let your house get that cold?

LauraGreenImp · 02/27/2018, 04:35 PM

Yay! The Diamond Goby is back on the job, doing the *very* important task of moving every grain of sand from one end of the tank to the other. My temp is is 75.6F.

And to answer your question...

Hubs & I are both crazy and ‘cold-natured’. We leave our heat on 55F all winter, keep all the windows open (even at night), and use a fireplace (mainly for ambiance). Thus, the $$$ we’ve put into tank heaters! lol

Pet Detective · 02/27/2018, 07:20 PM

Your ambient temperature in the house is lower than 65 degrees?????

Or did someone leave a window open prematurely?

Sk8r · 02/28/2018, 09:32 AM

We keep our house at 66. I don't like overheat.

Just for info, 62.8 degrees is the temperature at which things start to die. I learned that in an 8-day power-out in a winter storm.

Pet Detective · 02/28/2018, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

We keep our house at 66. I don't like overheat.

Just for info, 62.8 degrees is the temperature at which things start to die. I learned that in an 8-day power-out in a winter storm.

BRRRRR......lesson learned from hurricanes....I'll never be without a generator again, best $1,100 I've ever spent...Honda EU2000i Inverter Generator, super quiet, super efficient, runs 2 tanks, refrig & 1 TV LOL

LauraGreenImp · 03/01/2018, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

We keep our house at 66. I don't like overheat.

Just for info, 62.8 degrees is the temperature at which things start to die. I learned that in an 8-day power-out in a winter storm.

I’ve never checked the ambient temperature of our house before. It’s 65.4F. I like things cold, but I’m a retired MRItech, and I’m used to spending long hours in cold, dark rooms! Hubs is computer engineer, so...

So - 62.8F is the death temp for tank? Or for ambient room temp? Our house has gotten colder inside than that (I only know this bc my nephews complained & I made them measure) and the tank heaters did their job. The new 500w heater was purchased to do a better job.

In summer, we also keep windows open, and blast AC. The ambient temp surrounding our tank probably fluctuates a lot. We monitor the tank temp pretty closely. 4yrs ago a heater went *up* & it was deadly. In the near future we’re getting (probably - I’m open to other suggestions) an Apex jr to monitor things better.

FamilyTank · 03/04/2018, 06:03 AM

When I get around to my new setup. I'm going to have 2 heaters. This way you can double your chances of at least one of them overheating or not working.... lol.
I bought an external device that monitors tank temp and kills the power to the heater if it goes above normal temp. Maybe made by Inkbird? Read about it on here.

tkeracer619 · 03/12/2018, 11:48 PM

I prefer ranco for a dedicated heater controller.

LauraGreenImp · 03/13/2018, 09:12 AM

I have kinda settled on apex jr (always open to other’s opinions, but would appreciate their reasons) bc following reasons:

My neighbor, who has many yrs X in SW, uses apex and is a huge help + only 3 houses down.

I’d like to eventually scale up to the ‘big girl’ apex, figure it will be a shorter learning curve if I stick to one brand.

We’re going to drop cables from our router for both TVs, and will drop c to connect to a jr at same time (May 1st), not sure if we can do this w inkbird or ranco (keeping in mind we’re going to upgrade apex in 1 - 2 yrs).

I’m willing to entertain arguments (the polite kind) to the contrary!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Tastee · 03/16/2018, 03:08 AM

I am 6 months into the hobby (after 30yrs freshwater) and the first thing I put in place was 2 heaters. They are simply the most likely piece of equipment to fail IMHO.

LauraGreenImp · 03/16/2018, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tastee

I am 6 months into the hobby (after 30yrs freshwater) and the first thing I put in place was 2 heaters. They are simply the most likely piece of equipment to fail IMHO.

After much discussion, hubs & I have also decided to go w 2 heaters. Just the most reasonable thing to do. [we STILL have loaner heaters bc: life]

02/27/2018, 01:20 PM	#1
LauraGreenImp Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Nashville Posts: 131	Post Heater Failure RECOVERY TIPS 4 FISH So, yesterday, my neighbor (co-owner lfs, my sensei) and I installed a brand new 500w Titanium heater in my system. It failed. My tank temp went from 78F to 65F overnight. Hubs, neighbor, & I pulled new H out abt 6am my time, I’ve got some loaners stuck in my sump, and temp is now (1pm my time) 72.7F. Loaners are set to max out at 76F. At this point, my Hippo T & Foxface have finally come out of hiding, and all the other creatures are mobile. Corals and Polyps look good. BUT. My Diamond Goby has yet to appear. (he’s my secret favorite) Any tips, advice? Should I feed something special? I feel like I’m shouting into the wind here, since this is probably just a ‘hurry up and wait’ situation, but I’d be grateful for any suggestions! __________________ No glass box turns into a beautiful reef tank quickly. Current Tank Info: 150gT Mixed Reef - help me trap/remove/destroy my hateful Molly Miller Blennys!

02/27/2018, 02:06 PM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Going low like that is FAR better than it overheating and cooking everything so you are fine.... Just give it time.. No real need to hurry.. Just let the tank heat up and good to go.. Relax.. its all fine.. __________________ Who me?

02/27/2018, 02:15 PM	#3
LauraGreenImp Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Nashville Posts: 131	Thanks for input. Ya know, people say this is a “relaxing” hobby... __________________ No glass box turns into a beautiful reef tank quickly. Current Tank Info: 150gT Mixed Reef - help me trap/remove/destroy my hateful Molly Miller Blennys!

02/27/2018, 02:44 PM	#4
nereefpat Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Central Nebraska Posts: 3,190	The fish will probably be fine. I've seen fish shipped get colder than that. On another note, why do you let your house get that cold? __________________ Pat Current Tank Info: 125 in-wall , 40b sump. 6 bulb T5. ASM G2 skimmer. LPS and leathers

02/27/2018, 04:35 PM	#5
LauraGreenImp Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Nashville Posts: 131	Yay! The Diamond Goby is back on the job, doing the very important task of moving every grain of sand from one end of the tank to the other. My temp is is 75.6F. And to answer your question... Hubs & I are both crazy and ‘cold-natured’. We leave our heat on 55F all winter, keep all the windows open (even at night), and use a fireplace (mainly for ambiance). Thus, the $$$ we’ve put into tank heaters! lol __________________ No glass box turns into a beautiful reef tank quickly. Current Tank Info: 150gT Mixed Reef - help me trap/remove/destroy my hateful Molly Miller Blennys!

02/27/2018, 07:20 PM	#6
Pet Detective Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 328	Your ambient temperature in the house is lower than 65 degrees????? Or did someone leave a window open prematurely?

02/28/2018, 09:32 AM	#7
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	We keep our house at 66. I don't like overheat. Just for info, 62.8 degrees is the temperature at which things start to die. I learned that in an 8-day power-out in a winter storm. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/04/2018, 06:03 AM	#10
FamilyTank Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Downriver,Mi Posts: 226	When I get around to my new setup. I'm going to have 2 heaters. This way you can double your chances of at least one of them overheating or not working.... lol. I bought an external device that monitors tank temp and kills the power to the heater if it goes above normal temp. Maybe made by Inkbird? Read about it on here.

03/12/2018, 11:48 PM	#11
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	I prefer ranco for a dedicated heater controller. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

03/13/2018, 09:12 AM	#12
LauraGreenImp Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Nashville Posts: 131	I have kinda settled on apex jr (always open to other’s opinions, but would appreciate their reasons) bc following reasons: My neighbor, who has many yrs X in SW, uses apex and is a huge help + only 3 houses down. I’d like to eventually scale up to the ‘big girl’ apex, figure it will be a shorter learning curve if I stick to one brand. We’re going to drop cables from our router for both TVs, and will drop c to connect to a jr at same time (May 1st), not sure if we can do this w inkbird or ranco (keeping in mind we’re going to upgrade apex in 1 - 2 yrs). I’m willing to entertain arguments (the polite kind) to the contrary! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro __________________ No glass box turns into a beautiful reef tank quickly. Current Tank Info: 150gT Mixed Reef - help me trap/remove/destroy my hateful Molly Miller Blennys!

03/16/2018, 03:08 AM	#13
Tastee Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 277	I am 6 months into the hobby (after 30yrs freshwater) and the first thing I put in place was 2 heaters. They are simply the most likely piece of equipment to fail IMHO.