Everything Gone Wrong! All At Once. :d

[beux]

Hi,

I got up this morning to find that my flatmate had turned the tank off at th eplug (instead of turning the light off he'd turned everything off filter inc.). When my filter get's turned off it stops working...so i immediately started doing a water change and checking the filter...

I totally forgot about my heater...which I left on...and then out of water. It now has lots of cracks all over it...is this still safe to use? Or will it electricute the fish? Or shatter? Please help...not sure what to do...I have a heater in another tank with 5 danio's....I could move that into this tank...but it would take a while to get the temp right...and I'd have to move the Danio's too? How would I get them accustomed?

I haven't put the water back in yet (30%ish change) because of the heater....

Any *helpful* replies great appreciated (urgently! k thanks.)

 

[Griz]

First, I wouldn't use the heater, It's not safe.

Go ahead and top up the tank and get your filter working ASAP.

How much has the temperature dropped in your tank?

How long before you would be able to get a replacement heater?

Danios are pretty hardy and could withstand a bit of a temperature drop if you need to move the heater. That's what I would do if your other tank has dropped in temp more than a few degrees.

 

[beux]

Thanks. I got the filter sorted...and I moved the heater from the Danio tank and left them without one...I thought the same as you - that they would probably withstand the temperature drop. I'm gonna have to wait till after the weekend to get another heater. I had a spare but the thermostat doesn't work anymore and it gets way too hot.


What a panic. *sigh*

 

[Griz]

Happy to hear that all is well. Keep an eye on the temperatures. You can always move the heater from one tank to another if one tank drops too much.

All the best!

 

[Phoenixfish]

could you move it near a readiator and wrap it? thats quite a while

 

[steph04]

Hi,

Does your central heating stay on through the night? If not I suggest you adjust it so it does for the next few days, until you've had chance to get a new heater. Setting the house thermostat between 72 and 74 should help.

In an emergency (i.e. tender fish, no heating for house or tank and extreme cold weather) you can always fill clean empty plastic drinks bottles with warm water, screw the tops on and pop them in the tank - this will help to maintain the temperature at least for a short while. Wrapping the tanks up with polystyrene and blankets is also useful, but again only really necessary in emergencies.

As for blowing up heaters by accidently leaving them on when they're out of water....
I have to confess I've done the same thing (several times) which is why I always have a couple of spares around.

Hope everything goes well.

Steph.

 

[beux]

Yeah. Well the main tank seems fine now..temp is stable. The other tank has dropped a little, but yeah my central heating is on 24/7 at the moment so the ambient room temperate is prettty warm anyway (I like it toasty). They should be fine.

When I get my new heater...I shall definately be picking spares.