Heater Sparked Up. Help?

[jenny6165]

well i was doing a water change, and i must have done something wrong, i cos i think i got water onsomething that shouldnt have got water on. i think it was the heater, it made a loud fizzing burning sound and went red.
anyway, i just turned electric off and pulled out heater and the bottom half of the cover has broken off.
how long will my tank be ok without a heater while i go get a new one, and can i turn the pump back on without heater

 

[Miss Wiggle]

if the heater has been on and is pretty hot then it gets taken out of the water it can blow up, this is what's happened for you, lesson for the future, turn your heater off at least 15 mins before doing a water change, then it won't happen again.

keep the temp of the room as high as you can and the tank lights on, this should help maintain the heat of the tank until you get a new heater, the sooner the better though as obviously this isn't going to be a stable reliable way of keeping the tank warm.

yes it should be fine to turn all your other equipment back on.

 

[jenny6165]

some of the glass cover broke off in the bit i put the heater in. i cant reach it to get it out as its a long thin shaft, will it be ok?

 

[andyt_uk]

its possible your new water was too cold, too cold water on a hot glass surface (your heater) could cause thermal shock causing the glass to crack...
however it happened you did the right thing, electrical elements in water is not good

as suggested above, keep tank lights on, room warm and get another heater ASAP.. shouldnt worry too much about the broken glass down the chute, if you get a shorter new heater it shoulnt even touch it, if it does though just be gentle - you could always reposition your heater if you cant get it where the original was, couple of suction holders will keep it nicely out of the way behin a plant or similar

 

[WILDER]

If there was an electric shock in the tank keep a look out for fish with bent spines.