I need cheering up, reef/fish pics please <3

[livie508]

So my heater broke a week in to the cycle of my first ever marine tank and im basically back to square one.
in all honesty its really disheartening and depressing but im going to stick at it of course.
in the mean time please post pics of your reefs, corals and fish to give me something to look forward to for my tank!

big love,
Liv

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Things will get easier! I'm almost 10yrs in and my tank takes care of itself!

 

[livie508]

Things will get easier! I'm almost 10yrs in and my tank takes care of itself!

thank you These are amazing! what is that blue and golden fish in the third picture

 

[JasonK84]

Here’s some to keep your spirits up. Remember to order 2 heaters and also a controller like an Inkbird. Redundancy will save you. Glad this happened before you were stocked up.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Been running since February, have had lots of issues getting this thing going and it's still not perfect.

I also +1 multiple heaters and a controller. I've burned out 2 heaters and a third is stuck "on". My single most common point of failure.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

thank you These are amazing! what is that blue and golden fish in the third picture

Mandarin dragonette. Thanks! And ya like @JasonK84 said, 2 small heaters and a controller is the way to go!

 

[Ef4life]

Some fishes for you

 

[livie508]

Thank you for the comments! im ordering a new 50W titanium heater to have as well as my current one so i will have a back up from now

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Thank you for the comments! im ordering a new 50W titanium heater to have as well as my current one so i will have a back up from now

What size is your tank? What size was the heater that cooked everything?

 

[livie508]

What size is your tank? What size was the heater that cooked everything?

its a pico, so only 5.5 gal, it was a glass heater that took on water and just stopped so the tank dropped about 6 Celsius in a few hours which is what ruined the cycle

 

[xxkenny90xx]

its a pico, so only 5.5 gal, it was a glass heater that took on water and just stopped so the tank dropped about 6 Celsius in a few hours which is what ruined the cycle

50w is way too big for 5.5g.... I have a 10w on my 4g and it's too strong imo

 

[Tamberav]

its a pico, so only 5.5 gal, it was a glass heater that took on water and just stopped so the tank dropped about 6 Celsius in a few hours which is what ruined the cycle

I doubt the temp drop did much of anything to the cycle. Maybe the bacteria didn't divide as fast during those hours but they will bounce right back.

FYI, In a tank that small, you need a heater controller like a pinpoint or such for redundancy. it would be easy for a 50w heater to kill everything. Heaters sometimes go faulty and get stuck ON instead of off. Off isn't a big deal but ON in a pico is a death sentence.

 

[livie508]

50w is way too big for 5.5g.... I have a 10w on my 4g and it's too strong imo

ill take a look at what i can find, im pretty sure the one i looked at was adjustable but i may be wrong

 

[livie508]

I doubt the temp drop did much of anything to the cycle. Maybe the bacteria didn't divide as fast during those hours but they will bounce right back.

It happened a couple of days ago and since then my nitrite and ammonia have just gone up which (considering i had already had the ammonia spike and nitrite was on its way down as it should) hopefully it will bounce back but im not sure

 

[livie508]

Some fishes for you

I love these photos!! the quality is amazing!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

ill take a look at what i can find, im pretty sure the one i looked at was adjustable but i may be wrong

Adjustable heaters are nice but the problem is that they fail and if they're too big they will cook the tank when they fail. Anyways good luck with whatever you decide to do

 

[Hugh Mann]

ill take a look at what i can find, im pretty sure the one i looked at was adjustable but i may be wrong

What we're referring to as a temperature controller is a separate device the heater is plugged into. The controller detects if the water is getting too warm and cuts power to the heater. There's lots out in the market, I use an Inkbird.

 

[Tamberav]

Any heater in a pico should be on a second temp controller. You just had a heater fail OFF, what happens if it fails ON and you are not home? Everything dies.

 

[sixline]

A few of my saltwater tanks:

That was a total lie. These are not my tanks, but those of a local fish store. My tank would not have cheered you up.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

A few of my saltwater tanks:

That was a total lie. These are not my tanks, but those of a local fish store. My tank would not have cheered you up.

Love the tiny text!