Heater Explodes in Sump.

dooleyb · #1 11/08/2007, 06:53 AM

Have anyone had a heater to break or explode in their tank. I woke on Monday morning to find the skimmer going wild. At this point the lights were still off in the aquarium so I emptied the skimmer cup, adjusted the skimmer and went to work. Arriving home after work, I find the tank very milky. I assumed that the clam has spawned as it does sometime and this would clear up in an hour or so. The skimmer was still going wild. I also noticed that some of the coral seem to be affected...withdrawn and color bleaching. This had never happened before from the clam spawning. Fish appear ok but the clam is stressing. I immediately did a 20% water change and began running filters with charcoal. The next morning the water is fairly clean...maybe just a little fog. Coral still retracted, xenia pretty melted back. Continue to run filters with charcoal. The temperature here on Tuesday night dropped below freezing and on Wednesday morning I noticed the tank temperature was below what it normally is. I run a ReefKeeper. On inspection, I noticed that the heaters were not running. Pulled them out and found one was in several pieces. Now it all comes together. Other than running the extra filters and charcoal, I don't know what to do. Should I do more water changes. All the water parms. i.e. nitrates, nitrites and ammonium are good. Anybody experience this and any pointers for me.

Thanks for you feedback.

bonerfortuna · #2 11/08/2007, 07:44 AM

Keep doing what your doing, what brand of heater was it?

mg426 · #3 11/08/2007, 07:52 AM

I had aheater explode in my refugium a while back. Lots of popping/hissing, strange sounds and a funky smell. I did several water changes and ran fresh carbon. Everything was OK but it was a bit unnerving. Best of luck to you. Do you have a poly filter on hand ???

dooleyb · #4 11/08/2007, 08:23 AM

bonerfortuna. It was a Visi-Therm. I called the company and complained a little. They said they were not meant to be used in a sump......go figure.

mg426. I using a hang on fresh water filter with dual filter bags with carbon. Glad I hung on to it when I moved to salt water.

I plan to do another water change soon but since the water parms were ok, I figure things will start getting back to normal or as close as possible. I think the coral slimmed with the initial shock thus fouling the water. The skimmer has calmed down a whole lot but not back to normal yet.

dooleyb · #5 11/08/2007, 09:21 AM

Anyone have an suggestions how long I should run the extra filtering and carbon. Don't the carbon remove elements needed by the coral...i.e iodine, etc?

mg426 · #6 11/08/2007, 09:29 AM

I would run the extra filters for aweek or so. Your corals will let you know when they are happy again. I geuss its better the err on the side of caution.

cd77 · #7 11/08/2007, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dooleyb
bonerfortuna. It was a Visi-Therm. I called the company and complained a little. They said they were not meant to be used in a sump......go figure.

Ouch. I'm using a visi-therm stealth in my sump. Did they say why it can't be used in a sump? As long as it remains submerged I don't see what the difference is...

dooleyb · #8 11/08/2007, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Ouch. I'm using a visi-therm stealth in my sump. Did they say why it can't be used in a sump? As long as it remains submerged I don't see what the difference is...

It was the glass one that exploded. I think the stealth is more safe. That is what I replaced them with. They are saying not to use it in the sump because of the increased possibility of the heater being exposed.
The stealth will shut down automatically if exposed.

cd77 · #9 11/08/2007, 10:39 AM

Gotcha, thank you.

RobNJ · #10 11/08/2007, 11:49 AM

titanium heaters!! avoid the glass

discocarp · #11 11/08/2007, 12:46 PM

I had a heater break once and mostly wipe a tank. I only use titaniums with a good controller now.

johnny1 · #12 11/08/2007, 04:13 PM

You still have to be careful with the titaniums. I have had the rubber cap on the end with the wire coming in get pushed back by some rock that fell. It did not hurt the fish but killed most of my snails before I started looking for the problem. Must have been either leaking some voltage or leaking something out of the heater itself.

xtm · #13 11/08/2007, 04:42 PM

Do LOTS of W/C and run carbon.

Vacuum the sump and make sure all the broken glass have been siphoned OUT.

It might be a good idea to invest on a GFCI (if you don't already own one..)