I just got to work to do a couple of changes for a customer and feed my Cichlids

As I was grabbing a small sample of water to melt the bloodworm iceblock into I noticed the water was warm, sure enough checking my temp and its up around 31deg... my electric yellows and demisoni looks very "washed out" colour wise.

I checked the setting on the heater and its only showing 26 as per where I normally have this tank.

So 31 is wayyy too high, I hope my fish are alright, should i remove the heater?

I did a reset of it by unplugging it and turning the thermostat right down before setting it back to 26.... anything else i should do or check? or should I take it out and replace it?

I dont want to cook them!

this happened to me once, a very long time ago and it actually boiled my fish and put me off fish-keeping for over 10 years till i got back into it again a few years ago.

The problem was the heater must have been cracked or something because I could feel an ever so slight tingle in the water. (electricity) and so the thermostat had failed and the heater kept on heating. It was very upsetting.

:fshi:

hmmmm the hard part is this tank is at work so I cant monitor it after I go home.

well ill cross fingers and see how things go overnight i guess

Just my opinion but if I had a heater not working properly, I'd be buying a new one. Not the risk of it coming on and cooking the fish!

Caper

Just yank it out and get a new one tomorrow. In a nice warm temperature controlled(I assume) workplace they'll be fine for a day or two, it won't get that cold.

Ive got a spare at home, ill take it to work with me tomorrow

The fish should recover as the temp drops slowly again too.

I would't trust the faulty one over night. I would just take it out until a replacement was available.

oh no! this happened in my first tank, i was cheap and bought a cheap heater, i shudnt have bought it but i was streached for money at the time, i came home to a awful smell one night, my water had got to almost 40deg and my fish were all half cooked..

Replace the heater with another

:f77: thankfully it's all fine this morning.

I'd already left before i posted the message so couldn't take the heater out overnight. Looks like the reset has done ok though as its bang on 26 thismorning as it normally is.

Ive got my spare in with me so ill replace it regardless, will take this one home and throw it in a spare tank for a week to see if its ok or not.

cheers all, my fish are happy again

Sorry I know its a bad photo but the Demasoni is such a quick little dude

:f77: thankfully it's all fine this morning.

I'd already left before i posted the message so couldn't take the heater out overnight. Looks like the reset has done ok though as its bang on 26 thismorning as it normally is.

Ive got my spare in with me so ill replace it regardless, will take this one home and throw it in a spare tank for a week to see if its ok or not.

cheers all, my fish are happy again

Sorry I know its a bad photo but the Demasoni is such a quick little dude

Just a matter of time until it sticks on again. Every time it switches on there's a miniature arc welder trying to weld the contacts together and that has proven it's sticking already.

Just a matter of time until it sticks on again. Every time it switches on there's a miniature arc welder trying to weld the contacts together and that has proven it's sticking already.

Yup its out of the tank now

Glad fish are all good nice photo.

Cheers, ill get the actual camera out one day and take some nicer pics of them. crappy iPhone doesn't do them any justice at all, not enough control on shutter speeds for speedy little fish

Good to hear that the fish are good :f77:

this happened to me once, a very long time ago and it actually boiled my fish and put me off fish-keeping for over 10 years till i got back into it again a few years ago.

The problem was the heater must have been cracked or something because I could feel an ever so slight tingle in the water. (electricity) and so the thermostat had failed and the heater kept on heating. It was very upsetting.

:fshi:

Wow BikBok that is upsetting! Did the tank smell foul &c:ry

Wow BikBok that is upsetting! Did the tank smell foul &c:ry

it wasn't pleasant but not grossly foul ... just very fishy.

But the cleanup was disgusting. I hate dead fish at the best of the times, let alone a whole tank !

Oh wow, I shall be keeping an eye on the temperature of my tanks then!

This experience has made me think twice about exactly how I heat my tanks, im considering an external temp controller as another safety measure.

So this would be an extra probe at the other end of the tank that will monitor tank temp, once within the range will turn on the heater but if the heaters thermostat decides its still too warm it wont turn on... also if the heaters thermostat sticks on the temp controller will just shut off power to the heater.

I know there are already items out there that do this so I might be making a few purchases for my tanks, i'd hate to loose some of my pets to a faulty $50 heater!