Guest webshout March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 Ok, I'm starting to realize you can't take anything for granted in this hobby. I replaced the crushed coral with live sand in the 29g over the weekend. I also used a fully submersible heater that I got used off Ebay. When I got home Wed night, the tank seemed a bit warm. It was just over 90 freaking degrees. The heater was set at 78. Took corrective steps, but lost the domino damsel and a peppermint shrimp. The maroon clown was ok this morning. Assoretd hermits and snails seem ok as well. Into the trash that defective heater went!!I wasn't even gonna save it to use for heating SW mix. Sheesh!!
tygger March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 Sorry for your loss. Heater problems are a pain in the arse. I will eventually get a controller to avoid these problems. Another thing you could consider is using two heaters that are under-rated for your tank and hope that both don't fail at the same time. Maybe increase the odds by getting two different, but reliable brands?
jnguyen4007 March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 Dude, I feel your pain. I remembered what a cheap heater did to my discus QT tank couple of years ago. It literally cooked them while I was on vacation. Every time I hear horror story like yours, I have to thank the folks on WAMAS for encouraging me to invest in a controller. I joined the last group buy and bought an ACIII. It was not cheap but it was worth it. Without the ACIII, my tank's temp dropped as much as several degrees at night when the room's temp is colder. With the ACIII, my tank's temp is set at 79 and it remains there even at night. Even if my heater fail and refuse to shut off by itself, the controller will shut it off if the temp rise above 80.
magnetic1 March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 Sorry to hear William! But glad nothing worse happened! I had a similar situation this week. I put my ballast in the same sump area and it got super hot. Coupled with me leaving the sump light on during the day, temps hit 86! Took a fan and putting ziploc bags of ice into the tank to bring it down. Was up for 4 hours watching the temps slowly drop :( A controller seems to be a good future investment for me too. Im looking into this new one coming out soon: http://www.digitalaquatics.com/m_product_i...ber=30-0011-001 Any comments on it vs. ACIII?
jnguyen4007 March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 Sorry to hear William! But glad nothing worse happened! I had a similar situation this week. I put my ballast in the same sump area and it got super hot. Coupled with me leaving the sump light on during the day, temps hit 86! Took a fan and putting ziploc bags of ice into the tank to bring it down. Was up for 4 hours watching the temps slowly drop :( A controller seems to be a good future investment for me too. Im looking into this new one coming out soon: http://www.digitalaquatics.com/m_product_i...ber=30-0011-001 Any comments on it vs. ACIII? that looks like the latest model from reefkeeper. I think it was Doug who posted a link a few months back with a spreadsheet showing detailed description of all the various controllers out there. I'll see if I can find it and post the link here for you. A number of members on WAMAS have the ACIII or ACIII Pro so it's easy to seek help and advice on just about every aspect of it. I'm not sure of the level of support for Reefkeeper because I'm not familiar with them, but for the ACIII, I get my questions answered from Neptunesys within a day.
magnetic1 March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 (edited) Is this the spreadsheet you are referring to James?: http://www.aquariumcontrollers.com/aquariu...controllerchart Also their short blurb on the new RK Elite: http://www.aquariumcontrollers.com/news_page.php?article=8 Edited March 6, 2008 by magnetic1
jnguyen4007 March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 Is this the spreadsheet you are referring to James?: http://www.aquariumcontrollers.com/aquariu...controllerchart Also their short blurb on the new RK Elite: http://www.aquariumcontrollers.com/news_page.php?article=8 yeah, that's it. WOW, the new reefkeeper looks nice.
Guest webshout March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 I think that I'll have to start saving for a controller for the 75g. Or start my Christmas list early. As for the 29, two smaller heater my be the solution. William
bprinehart March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 Join the club dude. I just had a faulty heater wipe out my entire tank. Sorry to hear this.
YBeNormal March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 Took corrective steps, but lost the domino damsel and a peppermint shrimp. The maroon clown was ok this morning. Assoretd hermits and snails seem ok as well. On the bright side, you figured out how to rid a tank of a domino damsel, a.k.a. saltwater piranha! Want a free replacement?
treesprite March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 I don't trust used heaters. Seems like a lot of people are having heat problems lately.
Guest webshout March 6, 2008 March 6, 2008 On the bright side, you figured out how to rid a tank of a domino damsel, a.k.a. saltwater piranha! Want a free replacement? Bob - Gee, that's awfully generous of you, but I think I'll pass. The domino was a mean bugger and fearless. I'm sure that there's a place in the world for all dominos, just no longer in my tank! bprinehart - I read your thread and I'm very sorry about your loss. Good luck with getting everything set up again. William
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now