They are all dead.

[reefwiser]

The king of DIY Talks about loss after an equipment failure


If you keep a tank long enough you will have a catastrophic equipment failure. An you Learn how to prevent it. Generally the heater is the one piece of equipment that will fail first.

 

[brandon429]

that's a really helpful post and vid. I have been warned repeatedly by pico friends namely poster .Newman to preemptively change out my heater and not run it through another decade I need to heed that

 

[reefwiser]

Brandon I had this same kind of thing happen to my first mated pair of clown fish 25 years ago. It is very upsetting and stay's with you forever. Heaters are perhaps the one item on your tank that can kill your tank in short order. An it is easy to fix. Buy new heaters every year , use a temperature controller like a Ranco(would not even run a heater on any of MY tanks with out one) just realize that you are always near a catastrophic failure with a heater in your aquarium.

 

[Triggreef]

Anyone have a link to the Ranco controller? Never heard of this.

Also this thread reminds me I need to buy a few of those backup battery powered air pumps as well.

 

[melypr1985]

Oh MAN! I can't believe his rays are gone! That's so sad, though he handled it with great composure. I've always been a fan on him and his passion for helping fellow hobbyists.

 

[rock_lobster]

Cobalt should be paying for your losses. They should have recalled those heaters thats just pure neglect.

 

[reefwiser]

Ranco controllers
https://www.google.com/search?q=ranco+controller+reef&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

 

[aquaman67]

I recently changed my heaters - preemptively.

 

[Eckolancer]

I use apex and controller plus my heater has a controller. I've been in the hobby over 15 years and have been lucky with only one heater failing. When it failed it didn't do any damage as I run 3 that way one can stay on all times and not damage the tank.

 

[raysun]

So sorry for your loss. This is painful - as we all are so intent on the complex and challenging task of nurturing the delicate life forms on our charge.

In the big picture, equipment is the cheapest investment we make. Proactive equipment maintenence is a very wise course. So is eliminating single points of failure where possible. If a heater failure can cause disaster by letting the water get too cold, run two in parallel. If a stuck thermostat can cause death by overheating - run a 2nd thermostat in series. All the modern controllers (Neptune, Reefkeeper, etc.) have independent temperature sensing and heater control logic. If used for nothing else, these provide cheap insurance against heartache.

The old reefer's adage: "Nothing happens fast, except disasters." comes to mind, and of course, defective heaters are not the only opportunity for us to induce disaster. Eternal vigilance, careful husbandry, and prayers for good fortune are the reefers currency.

 

[chefjpaul]

Horrible loss, but I appreciate the way he handled it.

 

[Jmcdaniel0]

Oh geez. I have been lucky so far. I have one heater malfunction, luckily I was at home when it did. Like most people, I have a hard time keeping my hands out of the tank. The water felt considerably warmer than normal. The heater was stuck on. I pulled it out, and dumped a bit if ice in the sump. And let it cool naturally. I didn't lose anything, but had I not been home. ..

 

[Zoaeasy]

I use Mr Saltwater's advice and always run two heaters in my aquariums that totals the wattage required and always run them on an Apex. I realize this wil not help in case of catastrophic mechanical failure and fire!

 

[Jdm_kyle]

Thank you for this. I really want to know what you did.

 

[s2nhle]

Great thread. Thank you for sharing.

 

[FrankAbagnale]

I had the same heater and the same thing happened. There is a thread on the other forum with a ton of people having issues with the Neotherm heaters. I reached out to Cobalt and they made me really mad. I will never buy anything from them again. It's insane that they keep selling these heaters.