General Aquarium Talk - Page 195

Stanza · 25th April 2011, 7:39 PM

Damn, my heater just went POP

I have a Fluval tronic 300w heater, she just went pop and died

250L tank

Lucky I have a small 150w heater spare.....now to see if any aquarium shops are open tomorrow.

Hope the small one can keep up..... changing water and now it's a little cold 24c should be 27c.

Will watch it for a few hours and see if temp rises

Agg · 25th April 2011, 7:44 PM

Hrm, if I was borderline on heater capacity I wouldn't be doing a water change.. or was that why it died? You didn't leave it plugged in while the tank was partly empty did you?

Stanza · 25th April 2011, 7:51 PM

Yes I did leave it plugged in.....

I was told with this heater there is no need to turn it off (has a sensor supposedly)

I have always left it on....never a problem until today. DOH

Tank was half empty then POP

Guess I won't believe that story when I get a replacement eh.

2 years warranty luckily....so hopefully can last till Wednesday until a replacement is found at the shop I got it from.

Agg · 25th April 2011, 8:01 PM

Hrm, most of them have a minimum fill line on them. The elements will overheat without the water carrying the heat away. Plus it's a good idea to have stuff unplugged when you're working on the tank, in case of a short or other electrical problem.

broccoli · 25th April 2011, 8:09 PM

I keep a spare heater in the cupboard (I've got a couple, actually) and I've also got a spare powerhead for my small tanks and another filter as well. I had one filter stop pumping, so I keep spare stuff now.

(Why does this thread have "nudity" as one of the tags?

)

charg3r · 25th April 2011, 8:18 PM

I have my heater towards the bottom of the tank, this way you can leave it on and it will still be submerged while your changing water.

Kosti · 25th April 2011, 8:43 PM

I just moved everything to a power board with switches, so now when I do water changes I switch off the heater at the power-board.

I just stole 7 frys out of female Cichlad who I thought ate them. Ive only had the tank for 2 weeks now, but feel i took them out premature and I'm still settling my new tank and learning at the same time.

Can light affect the fry and also being on their side cause problems?

My Thread

Cheers
Kosti

0M39A_1337 · 26th April 2011, 9:00 AM

Regarding breeding bgk's its not impossible, just very rare in the home aquarium. Have a look in the knifefish section on monster fish keepers and there are a few threads on breeding them

Daft_Munt · 26th April 2011, 3:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agg

Hrm, most of them have a minimum fill line on them. The elements will overheat without the water carrying the heat away. Plus it's a good idea to have stuff unplugged when you're working on the tank, in case of a short or other electrical problem.

I am surprised so many people don't turn there heaters off when working on their tanks. One horror story I remember from years ago was someone get a shock while working on a 6 foot tank, wife tried to help and got thrown a few metres and in the end the guy pulled his through the front pane and ended up with 30 odd stickers.

Smegger · 26th April 2011, 3:41 PM

External inline heater FTW. I hate heaters in tanks, so ugly and distracting. Expensive but well worthwhile. Still, heaters in tanks shouldn't be dangerous any more, everyone has a safety switch these days, don't they?

maddhatter · 26th April 2011, 3:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smegger

External inline heater FTW. I hate heaters in tanks, so ugly and distracting. Expensive but well worthwhile. Still, heaters in tanks shouldn't be dangerous any more, everyone has a safety switch these days, don't they?

I'm sure you'd hate to discover your RCD is faulty by sticking your arm in an energized tank.

Smegger · 27th April 2011, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddhatter

I'm sure you'd hate to discover your RCD is faulty by sticking your arm in an energized tank.

......okay.......

Guts · 27th April 2011, 11:47 AM

After many years of faithfully disconnecting the heater every time I do a water change I slipped up a few weeks ago, left it running and drained half the water, as I was pouring it back in I heard this sizzling sound and the cracking of glass, the heater shattered and sheared the glass casing neatly off,.
Fortunately I quickly turned it off before the element got exposed to the water *phew* freaking kicking myself I did it tho, I blame the fact I moved the tank, my routine was changed lol
Oh and picking up glass shards while fish go spastic cos they think you are feeding them isn't fun!

broccoli · 27th April 2011, 12:08 PM

I have plastic covers on my heaters. I wasn't sure about them, thinking they might adversely affect the function of the heater, but figured they couldn't sell them if there was an issue (yeh, right

). The heaters still seem to work properly and I suppose they'd help contain broken glass if I'm ever unlucky enough to have a heater shatter on me. Any opinions on them?

MotoJohnno · 27th April 2011, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by broccoli

I have plastic covers on my heaters. I wasn't sure about them, thinking they might adversely affect the function of the heater, but figured they couldn't sell them if there was an issue (yeh, right

). The heaters still seem to work properly and I suppose they'd help contain broken glass if I'm ever unlucky enough to have a heater shatter on me. Any opinions on them?

Yes, they don't help with keeping the water at a stable temp. Mine seems to heat up the water inside the cover and then turn off. I found it fluctuated way too much +/- 5C

25th April 2011, 7:44 PM	#2912
Agg Lord of the Pings Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: A Reported Post near you Posts: 25,478	Hrm, if I was borderline on heater capacity I wouldn't be doing a water change.. or was that why it died? You didn't leave it plugged in while the tank was partly empty did you? __________________ www.overclockers.com.au - also now on twitter and facebook.

25th April 2011, 8:01 PM	#2914
Agg Lord of the Pings Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: A Reported Post near you Posts: 25,478	Hrm, most of them have a minimum fill line on them. The elements will overheat without the water carrying the heat away. Plus it's a good idea to have stuff unplugged when you're working on the tank, in case of a short or other electrical problem. __________________ www.overclockers.com.au - also now on twitter and facebook.

25th April 2011, 8:09 PM	#2915
broccoli Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Perth Posts: 6,303	I keep a spare heater in the cupboard (I've got a couple, actually) and I've also got a spare powerhead for my small tanks and another filter as well. I had one filter stop pumping, so I keep spare stuff now. (Why does this thread have "nudity" as one of the tags?)

25th April 2011, 8:18 PM	#2916
charg3r Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: WA Posts: 226	I have my heater towards the bottom of the tank, this way you can leave it on and it will still be submerged while your changing water. __________________ Science is interesting, and if you don't agree you can fk off - Richard Dawkins

25th April 2011, 8:43 PM	#2917
Kosti Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Sydney Posts: 646	I just moved everything to a power board with switches, so now when I do water changes I switch off the heater at the power-board. I just stole 7 frys out of female Cichlad who I thought ate them. Ive only had the tank for 2 weeks now, but feel i took them out premature and I'm still settling my new tank and learning at the same time. Can light affect the fry and also being on their side cause problems? My Thread Cheers Kosti __________________ Post added by using recycled electrons Build Log - Yellow Jacket WTB - Pokemon Cards WTB - WATERCOOL HEATKILLER GPU-X³ 79X0 Ni-Bl & Backing Plate

26th April 2011, 9:00 AM	#2918
0M39A_1337 Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Hobart, TAS Posts: 1,911	Regarding breeding bgk's its not impossible, just very rare in the home aquarium. Have a look in the knifefish section on monster fish keepers and there are a few threads on breeding them __________________ 30+ Successful Trades PROUD HOMEBREWER "Give a man a beer, he'll waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, he'll waste a lifetime."

26th April 2011, 3:41 PM	#2920
Smegger Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Adelaide, with joy. Posts: 2,659	External inline heater FTW. I hate heaters in tanks, so ugly and distracting. Expensive but well worthwhile. Still, heaters in tanks shouldn't be dangerous any more, everyone has a safety switch these days, don't they? __________________ One very sexy car!

27th April 2011, 11:47 AM	#2923
Guts Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 603	After many years of faithfully disconnecting the heater every time I do a water change I slipped up a few weeks ago, left it running and drained half the water, as I was pouring it back in I heard this sizzling sound and the cracking of glass, the heater shattered and sheared the glass casing neatly off,. Fortunately I quickly turned it off before the element got exposed to the water phew freaking kicking myself I did it tho, I blame the fact I moved the tank, my routine was changed lol Oh and picking up glass shards while fish go spastic cos they think you are feeding them isn't fun! __________________ Like I told my last wife, I says, "Honey, I never drive faster than I can see. Besides that, it's all in the reflexes."

27th April 2011, 12:08 PM	#2924
broccoli Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Perth Posts: 6,303	I have plastic covers on my heaters. I wasn't sure about them, thinking they might adversely affect the function of the heater, but figured they couldn't sell them if there was an issue (yeh, right). The heaters still seem to work properly and I suppose they'd help contain broken glass if I'm ever unlucky enough to have a heater shatter on me. Any opinions on them?