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EMERGENCY: HEATER MALFUNCTION (PLEASE HELP)

salty_taste

salty_taste

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EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY

I posted this on my build thread but I need IMMEDIATE advice.

Ever since the power outage, my heater has been acting up. I came home just right now to a burning smell in my room. Initially, I thought I burned out a bulb in my light but when I touched my tank, it was HOT. I check the temperature it was 84!!!! It's usually set at 76 so I immediately turned off my lights, unplugged my heater and took it out. The night after the power outage, I remember it rose to 80 degrees and I followed the same procedure.

I was tempted to place ice in my tank immediately in hopes to bring it down to at least 80 but my dad said not to shock the corals and let it go down naturally. This is very frustrating. Glad I caught it when I did but I hope all the corals adjust okay...

Anyone have any experience with this? Cobalt Neotherm 75w. Very Scary..
Do people typically clean heaters on the regular basis? I wonder if it is because I haven't cleaned it in like 9 months but still.

SCRAMBLING TO FIND ANOTHER HEATER! IM AFRAID IF I PUT THIS BACK IN MY TANK THAT IT MIGHT HEAT UP OVERNIGHT AND I WAKE UP TO A FOUL SMELL

Anyone have suggestions on what type of heater would best fit a nano tank?
 
Hella_Salty650 said:
EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY

I posted this on my build thread but I need IMMEDIATE advice.

Ever since the power outage, my heater has been acting up. I came home just right now to a burning smell in my room. Initially, I thought I burned out a bulb in my light but when I touched my tank, it was HOT. I check the temperature it was 84!!!! It's usually set at 76 so I immediately turned off my lights, unplugged my heater and took it out. The night after the power outage, I remember it rose to 80 degrees and I followed the same procedure.

I was tempted to place ice in my tank immediately in hopes to bring it down to at least 80 but my dad said not to shock the corals and let it go down naturally. This is very frustrating. Glad I caught it when I did but I hope all the corals adjust okay...

Anyone have any experience with this? Cobalt Neotherm 75w. Very Scary..
Do people typically clean heaters on the regular basis? I wonder if it is because I haven't cleaned it in like 9 months but still.

SCRAMBLING TO FIND ANOTHER HEATER! IM AFRAID IF I PUT THIS BACK IN MY TANK THAT IT MIGHT HEAT UP OVERNIGHT AND I WAKE UP TO A FOUL SMELL

Anyone have suggestions on what type of heater would best fit a nano tank?
Click to expand...

Ranco temperature controller and pretty much any heater. I actually use a cheap Amazon brand “HiTop” heaters. They actually haven’t failed yet, but I’m not really concerned about them failing on since I have a Ranco controller and an Apex. And they’re so cheap, I have a bunch of backups.

Though surprisingly, I haven’t had one fail in 2+ years.

If you need a Ranco controller and one of my hitop heaters, I have a spare set I can let your borrow until you can get a new heater (and hopefully a temperature controller). Located in Castro valley.
 
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Hella_Salty650 said:
EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY

I posted this on my build thread but I need IMMEDIATE advice.

Ever since the power outage, my heater has been acting up. I came home just right now to a burning smell in my room. Initially, I thought I burned out a bulb in my light but when I touched my tank, it was HOT. I check the temperature it was 84!!!! It's usually set at 76 so I immediately turned off my lights, unplugged my heater and took it out. The night after the power outage, I remember it rose to 80 degrees and I followed the same procedure.

I was tempted to place ice in my tank immediately in hopes to bring it down to at least 80 but my dad said not to shock the corals and let it go down naturally. This is very frustrating. Glad I caught it when I did but I hope all the corals adjust okay...

Anyone have any experience with this? Cobalt Neotherm 75w. Very Scary..
Do people typically clean heaters on the regular basis? I wonder if it is because I haven't cleaned it in like 9 months but still.

SCRAMBLING TO FIND ANOTHER HEATER! IM AFRAID IF I PUT THIS BACK IN MY TANK THAT IT MIGHT HEAT UP OVERNIGHT AND I WAKE UP TO A FOUL SMELL

Anyone have suggestions on what type of heater would best fit a nano tank?
Click to expand...
Srt4eric said:
I would just go to petco or something and buy a small ehiem for now
Click to expand...
I agree with Eric, the easiest solution for tonight is to just buy one at your local pet store, they are cheap.

As far as borrowing one, please remind us where you are in the Bay Area. I have spare heaters you could borrow if you are near me (Walnut Creek).

I agree with your dad’s advice about letting the temperature come down slowly on it’s own. 84F is too high, but not likely to be mortality-level too high in my opinion.
 
For Starters: Thank you to everyone who reached out providing advice and offering temporary spare equipment. This is what makes BAR different and I am very appreciative to have come across this forum at the last CFM.

Current Call to action: My dad had a spare finnex temp control laying around and I took the heater I was using from my mangrove tank so it will have to work for the night.
RandyC said:
Ranco temperature controller and pretty much any heater. I actually use a cheap Amazon brand “HiTop” heaters. They actually haven’t failed yet, but I’m not really concerned about them failing on since I have a Ranco controller and an Apex. And they’re so cheap, I have a bunch of backups.

Though surprisingly, I haven’t had one fail in 2+ years.

If you need a Ranco controller and one of my hitop heaters, I have a spare set I can let your borrow until you can get a new heater (and hopefully a temperature controller). Located in Castro valley.
Click to expand...
I appreciate you looking out for me Randy! Truly means a lot!
Srt4eric said:
I would just go to petco or something and buy a small ehiem for now
Click to expand...
That was the plan, luckily family has spare heaters until my new one comes in.
Kensington Reefer said:
This is why I ONLY use heaters in conjunction with a ranco or aqualogic controllers
Click to expand...
Lesson learned. Didn't really know too much about equipment and this is the year I really up that knowledge. Reefing Noob here. 1st reef tank and learning quite a bit.
JVU said:
I agree with Eric, the easiest solution for tonight is to just buy one at your local pet store, they are cheap.

As far as borrowing one, please remind us where you are in the Bay Area. I have spare heaters you could borrow if you are near me (Walnut Creek).

I agree with your dad’s advice about letting the temperature come down slowly on it’s own. 84F is too high, but not likely to be mortality-level too high in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Daly City! Thank you for offering a spare heater temporarily! Currently tank is approaching 79.5 so plan is to use the temp control and set it at that for the night and resume lowering it tomorrow.
Srt4eric said:
My tank hit 84 several times over the last summer. Nothing died.
Click to expand...
Thats a blessing to hear, helps relieve stresss a little more.
 
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To anyone who ever comes across this thread, prime example why being a member and supporting local forum will always pay dividends. You can read and research all you want but being able to speak to other reefers that share their experience is what makes this whole thing come full circle.

Thank you.
 
RandyC said:
It’s pretty cool these nights. That 14 gallon nano will cool down pretty fast. I wouldn’t be surprised if it already cooled down by now.
Click to expand...
Posted in rice cooker Daly City so fortunately I just had to crack a window and we got it around 80 now. Will keep everyone updated through my build thread if I start to notice any upset corals.
 
I use aqueon pro from petco and haven't had any issues with them yet and I have a lot of them. (Running about a year) some are on ink bird controllers and some are just plugged straight into the outlet. They have these on sale pretty often too.
 
Heater failures are the #1 cause of tank crashes.

A heater controller is a necessity. If it's out of your budget, buy two heaters that are under powered. If one fails on, it won't heat your tank up too quickly.

If it's in your budget, scour forums for a used Apex Classic. Even if you don't have any modules for it, you have a tank monitor that will notify you if your tank starts over heating
 
grizfyrfyter said:
Heater failures are the #1 cause of tank crashes.

A heater controller is a necessity. If it's out of your budget, buy two heaters that are under powered. If one fails on, it won't heat your tank up too quickly.

If it's in your budget, scour forums for a used Apex Classic. Even if you don't have any modules for it, you have a tank monitor that will notify you if your tank starts over heating
Click to expand...
Honestly, it was more of a knowledge gap of me not knowing about temp controls in general. But I appreciate the guidance! Picked up a controller and a couple back up heaters in worst case scenario that it happens again.

New Reefer Lesson Learned
 
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