Heater killed EVERYTHING in my 10gal :((((

Prototype220

Prototype220

Reefing newb
Soooooo, I woke up this morning and my galaxea was a skeleton! I thought, oh ish, then I got closer and notice my cleaner shrimp curled! Wtf?! Did my tank crash? NO! The water was SCALDING! Everything in there was boiled alive! The heater was so hot the plastic on it started to bubble! Galaxea, reef lobster, cleaner shrimp, Halloween hermits, blue/scarlet legs, tubastrea black and yellow, emerald crab, and the jury is still out on my zoas...all dead :((. The only thing still alive are my strawberry basslet and onyx perc because they are in the qt tank.
I don't know what to do because I don't have money to restock, and now I have to start all over. I took my LR out and put it in my 92gal, and took water out of the big tank to replace water from boiled 10 gal. Now I have to cycle it and start anew...I want to cry right now
 
Ugh, I'm sorry to hear that.

We spend so much time worrying about water quality, flow, lighting, and skimming, that we often overlook the heater, which is probably the #1 quickest way to nuke our tanks.

I'm not sure what heater you had, but stay away from marineland stealth/visitherm heaters. For future reference you might want to invest in some sort of digital control, that would shut off the heater when the temp gets too high, or has an alarm when it gets too cold. Two heaters and redundancy is your best bet.

It's things like this that make or break you in the hobby; stick with it if you can, and don't give up!
 
Heaters are the piece of gear that are most prone to failure in this hobby. What likely happened is that it got stuck in the 'on' position. It's incredibly important to monitor your heaters and make sure they are in proper working order
 
That's awful :( Sorry to hear. Not a nice way to go. At least your basslet and your clown were saved from that. Like Z said, you take all the precautions in the world, but it only takes one bad piece of equipment to wreak havoc. Just take it one day at a time, take out the dead, change out the water, and let it sit for a while. You didn't stock it overnight, so don't expect to stock it overnight this time.
 
=( +1 Northstar. I am constantly monitoring my heater and making sure my temp is right in my tank. Ive gone through 3 heaters in 2 years. Sorry for your loss.
 
I'm so sorry to hear that...this has unfortunately happened to many hobbyist. We have to take all mishaps in this hobby as a "learning tool", and try to move forward. Keep your head up, it'll get better. :)
 
Sorry to hear that, that's awful.
It's DEF worth the expense to buy a ranco heater controller. I have two heaters on it, and it basically is two outlets w/a probe. If the temp goes too high (stuck on failure), it cuts the voltage. If it goes too low (heater fail), the other heater comes on. Helps me sleep at night.

For restocking, just go slow if money is tight. Reefcleaners.org has good prices on cleaner crews. You don't NEED all that cleaning crew, but it's cool to have - especially if your fish load is so low.
 
Unfortunately it was a marineland stealth, which apparently was recalled a few years back, and although I register everything, I changed my email a year or so ago so I didn't get the memo. The good news is that I contacted marineland, they're going to file a claim, and hopefully be reimbursed for my lost stock. However, a life lost is a life lost, and Jaques the cleaner shrimp will be missed. I've said a few words in their honor and I'm pouring out a little liquor for the homies lost to the game tonight
 
Has anyone, or anyone you know, filed a claim like that before? I'm so afraid they'll deny my claim for something stupid and the you guys will see me on the 11 o'clock news for blowing up marineland headquarters screaming out "THIS IS FOR YOU JAQ!" lol. I'm just glad I'm a glass half full kind of person because my hubby would have shot someone by now!
 
i've never had to file a claim. Yours seems pretty cut and dry -- the product had been recalled, you unfortunately didn't receive the notice (for good reason, too), so you kept using it, and it went kaput. Let's hope they don't say that the recall was too long ago. Keep us posted though.
 
When they had the recall I was told over the phone that the old heaters would need to be returned. They were supposed to send a return box along with the replacement heaters (I had 4 being replaced) and they never sent the return box, just a note saying that they may want them back? I just threw out the bad heaters. I never registered the old heaters and it was no questions asked so I think they will hold up their end of the bargain. They have had enough bad press and are willing to try and fix any issues they have I do believe. Just hang in there!!! Good luck on the rebuild!
 
I am soo sorry for your losses :( I'm glad your fish are okay, but such a bummer about everyone else :( Yeah, agreed, heaters are so prone to failure, and while its hard to justify , spending $100 on a good heater and controller certainly seems worth it after something like this happens. Hang in there, over time you'll be able to restock and make it even better. *hugs*
 

Similar threads

J
Hello everyone! New tank issue @#$!
Replies
9
Views
4K
SarahSmile
SarahSmile
Sherrell Rell
Ekkk...I have no idea what I'm getting into!
Replies
1
Views
2K
Becky
Becky
J
New to this, a little puzzled & frustrated,,,
Replies
4
Views
2K
monique
M
claireputput
I decided to move the pseudochromis to a FOWLR 55g tank-tank mates?
Replies
2
Views
1K
Aquarian
Aquarian
Starfyre1
Shrinking soft corals
Replies
6
Views
6K
blazend
blazend
Back
Top