My reef is now a HOWLR......moral of the story is buy Good heaters

[aLittletank]

Oh the Horror :(


on Friday i was dinking with this and donking with that on the tank. I even added a little sand. That scared me a little but after a few hours everything was settling down.

Well I don’t know if I bumped the heater or if unplugging it and plugging it back in fried the thermostat but....

When I came to work today the temp was 93 F

Everything is just gone melted away i guess no sign of the Xenia, or mushrooms.

The yellow brown polyps are still there but appear to be fried as well.

All of this because I saved $15 on a heater.
I looked at both and thought "aww how much difference can there be?"

What a bargain! :rooleyes:

The snails are dead as well

the only sign of life is a couple of hermit crabs I had not taken back to the LFS yet.


I do not have any questions for all of you at this time I just thought I would "share" with the group. This tank was set about 5 months ago I was so proud of all the growth and coraline algee that was growing around the tank.


the proud owner of a HOWLR (hermit only with live rock)
Allen

[dragon0121]

Hi Allen,
Sorry to hear about the tank, I would be devistated if after all of the work I've done in the last 6 months I came home to a dead tank :( . WATER CHANGE, repeat, repeat and get everything stable again! I think i've heard of others that have had this happen and it's a livestock loss but you can salvage substrate, liverock, and of course the hermits :( . A BAD situation but it gives you a new starting point.

best of luck!

[jimhobbs]

Man, that bites! :(

You might want to check out the controller option that I use on my tanks...It takes the control out of the hands of the 2cent piece of bi-metal and uses a thermister sensor to read out the temp and call for heat stages...Check out the page www.reefcentral.com/diy/ranco_electronic_temperature_con.htm (http://www.reefcentral.com/diy/ranco_electronic_temperature_con.htm)

I really hate to hear about posts like this...There is a way to help keep it from happening again :)

Hang in there! ....jim

[Evets]

That sucks. FWIW, Ebo-Jager makes a quality heater that is hard to accidently adjust.
-Steve

[Joez]

Hi Jim,

I saw the pointer to the supplier for the controller, but didn't see the How To part. Can you tell us, or point us to the right place?

Thanks,
Joe

[jimhobbs]

Try this one: www.reefcentral.com/ubb/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/19991109-1-000326.html (http://www.reefcentral.com/ubb/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/19991109-1-000326.html)

Best regards...jim :)

[Ninong]

Hi Allen,

I, too, am very sorry to hear about your bad news. Hope things pick up soon.

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Irrational Exuberance!

[DSB]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Joez:
I saw the pointer to the supplier for the controller, but didn't see the How To part. Can you tell us, or point us to the right place?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Joez,

The instructions that come with the controller show you how to wire the thing up. You can set the controller to either a heating or cooling cylce. You can set the 714 to do both. I have three of these controlers now. One on each tank and one on my hot tub. They work great. I dipped the temp probes in plasti-coat to water proof them.

[Larry M]

Sorry to hear it, Allen. It seems tragedy abounds lately.

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Larry M

Visit Reef Stores.com (http://63.75.34.139/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi?) The liaison between hobbyists and on-line retailers.

See my tanks at Northern Reef (http://www.reefcentral.com/northernreef/index.htm)

[DJREEF]

Sorry dude. That way sucks. You've been touched on by the dread that fills all our souls. My worst nightmare, is comming home & finding my labor of love soup, for one reason, or another.


DJ

[JohnL]

Sorry to hear about this Allen. Like you said, "All of this because I saved $15 on a heater." Hopefully others will learn from this and use Ebo Jager heaters with a controller like Jim mentions.




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Peace - John

[aLittletank]

thank you for all the replys and info

yes hindsight is 20/20 I have always been one to learn that the stove is hot the first time i touch it. I will buy the good heater and the controler before I try to rebuild what was lost.


Thank You All
Allen

[reefskinner]

I agree that a controler is best, but another less expensive option is to run multiple heaters of a lower wattage. This will increase your respone time since the chances of all heaters sticking on at once are very slim, and it would take much longer for a small heater to raise tank water to a deadly temp. I am sorry to hear of your loss....I'm sure this all seems loke too little too late.

Reef Skinner

[hesaias]

Sorry to hear that man :( Youll pull thru though. Hang in there.

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hesaias
My Reefscape (http://www.angelfire.com/on3/hesaias/index.html)


My Homepage (http://www.angelfire.com/on2/hesaias/index.html)

[jimhobbs]

Hey Allen! :)
Don't waste any money on an expensive heater...If you want to use the controller mentioned above, it will turn the cheapest heater into a thermister controlled unit...The internal controls of the heater won't matter anymore, as you will be turning all operation over to the controller...I buy the cheapest ones I can find...All your after is the heating element... :) If you'd like, I'll mail you one in exchange for the sand...If you don't like it for any reason, send it back and I'll re-emburse you with cash...I've got to pick up one tomorrow for "Shimekdome", since it's turning into a regular tank! :eek: and I can get you one too! :) ...Just let me know....Best regards...jim :)

[billsreef]

Sorry to hear about your tank.
I once had the thermostat in a small apartment building go beserk. Came home to tank well over 90, all inverts went into meltdown and the fish were gasping at the surface. I was able to save the fish with 100% water changes (had 3 tanks at the time) using natural seawater, had too warm it up with hot water in the bathtub as it was the middle of winter.
I'm sure you will rebuild better than before.

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Bill

If damsels grew as big as sharks, the sharks would run in fear!
My dive photos (http://hometown.aol.com/billsreef/)
ICQ 56222784

[JohnL]

IMHO, the Ebo Jagers are worth the extra pennies even from just a breakage standpoint. The glass is a LOT thicker.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jimhobbs:
Don't waste any money on an expensive heater...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

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Peace - John

[This message has been edited by JohnL (edited 06-05-2000).]

[Doug]

Hi Allen,

I am very sorry to hear about your tank. :(

I have not had much luck with heaters myself so I went and bought Medusa controllers for my 75g and 90g. They cost a lot but I like them because they have hi/low temp alerts and if the probe fails it shuts the unit off and sounds an alarm. I would think you could use the temp controller that Jim is suggesting and get a thermometer with an alarm for a lot less than the cost of the Medusa.

Hang in there!

Doug

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Doug's Reef and Fish Page (http://38.222.244.200/dougw)

[Vins Fins]

Here's another good and cheap idea that has worked for me. I used an old water bed thermostat to control my tank temp. just clip the line going to the element and splice in a female 115v receptical, and plug in you're heater, then take some silicone and completly cover the stat bulb, this will make it reef safe. I have found water bed themostats to be very accurate and reliable.
i think they cost around 35$.





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Vinny

http://home.twcny.rr.com/vguarno/

[FishWish]

I agree with John L., For a couple of bucks more the Ebo's offer a much sturdier unit.
Jim Hobbs is most correct about the controller doing its thing though.
I'll end with the simple statement that you'll be hard pressed to go wrong following the advice of either John L. or Jim H.
Even if Jim is "Southern Fried"
A better Good Ol Boy you'll not find :D
Yankee Doodle David...

[jimhobbs]

http://geocities.com/r337m0nk3y/cwm/pezfox.gif

[aLittletank]

Jim If you would like o trade the controller for the sand thats OK by me. Just let me know if I owe you any additional money. thanks everyone for the ideas for the new tank. Where can I find these mighty Jager heaters on line?

[Wilson]

Sorry about your Lost, I agree if you're not getting a temperture controler, it is best to use 2 seperate lower wattage heater for the combine wattage application.

[JohnL]

Pet Warehouse (http://www.petwhse.com) has them for ~ $15.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by aLittletank:
Where can I find these mighty Jager heaters on line?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



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Peace - John

[Ninong]

Allen,

I just ordered one last week from Pets.com. They charged $17.99 BUT I applied a $15 off $15 coupon so it only cost me $2.99 plus a few bucks shipping.

You have to go to this link first; http://www.bargains4pets.com/

I always check these coupon deals first...it's amazing what some of the these online merchants are doing in the way of promo's. Sometimes they even offer free shipping on orders over $35 for instance, in which case I hurry up and check to see if they carry salt. :D :D :D

P.S. -- I guess it's obvious...but...I had a terrible time getting that link in there. :D
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Irrational Exuberance!

[This message has been edited by Ninong (edited 06-06-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Ninong (edited 06-06-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Ninong (edited 06-06-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Ninong (edited 06-06-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Ninong (edited 06-06-2000).]

[hford]

Sorry about your loss!!!
Try Tronic heaters by hagen, had one for
3 yrs, still going good.
They are electronic.

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Terminal pet shop employee,
Heather L Ford