Heater Exploded!

[ButterflyBetta]

Please help. My tropical tank’s heater has just exploded (maybe 30 minutes ago). I’ve just ordered a new one but it will be 2-5 days. What can I do until then? I’ve removed all of the remains as best I can but I have no where else for my fish to go and no way to get another heater until my new one arrives.

I currently have 6 cardinals, 6 rummynoses, 4 mollies and 2 shrimp in my tank.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Wrap the tank in a blanket to preserve temperature. Leave the heating on overnight so room temp doesnt drop too much.

You cant get to a pets at home, or the range and get one off the shelf?

 

[ButterflyBetta]

My pets at home doesn’t sell heaters on the shelf (can order them in but that’ll take 2-5 days again) and I don’t have the range near me. I’ve managed to keep them at about 27°C but I’m just worried it’ll go down overnight

 

[Aiken Drum]

Any garden centres nearby? Most decent sized garden centre will have a maidenhead aquatics on site.

 

[ButterflyBetta]

Only a herb centre, I’m not sure what kind of things they sell as I only go there to walk my dog. Do you think my fish can survive for 2-5 days until my heater comes?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Youve got a fluval roma?

Leave the lid on, that will hold in a lot of heat. Your light will provide a couple of degrees. Maintain your room temperature. You might be able to keep water at 22 or 23c. That gives you a shout. As long as it doesnt drop too much, maintaining a steady temperature is better than trying to keep it high through water changes, which will just cause temperature fluctuations.

I was able to maintain low 20s in my roma without a heater.

If getting parts etc is such a big issue, i would get some in stock for emergencies. Spare heater, spare impeller for filter, maybe even a spare filter would be worth keeping.

Personally, if you can get in a car and get out to a proper aquatics store that's best. Or like i said, The Range has basic aquatic stuff like heaters and filters. Maybe even wilko?

 

[melosu58]

Your lights and heater will provide a little bit of heat. But make sure you do like a consent and wrap the tank up for now. You should between keeping the room temperature pretty kinda high and the other things I mentioned you should be OK

 

[rlederer]

Please help. My tropical tank’s heater has just exploded (maybe 30 minutes ago). I’ve just ordered a new one but it will be 2-5 days. What can I do until then? I’ve removed all of the remains as best I can but I have no where else for my fish to go and no way to get another heater until my new one arrives.

I currently have 6 cardinals, 6 rummynoses, 4 mollies and 2 shrimp in my tank.

Try a heating pad- put under or around tank.

 

[ADsnail]

Do you have thermometer in there to know exactly what's going on? It's a good idea to have one, separate from the thermometer within a heater.

Heating pad as mentioned above, if you have it. Put it between the tank and the blanket.

Also, doing water changes with the new water at the high end of normal temp range. This will help a little along with other fixes. I had to do this when power was out for 48 hrs, and it kept temps from going really low.

Keeping the room as warm as you can tolerate (both physically and cost-wise) is surprisingly effective.

 

[ButterflyBetta]

Update: the tank has maintained a temperature of 27/28°C today. The house temp has been bumped all the way up to 25°C and the fish are all doing well with a blanket around the tank. My heater is arriving tomorrow morning so all is looking good. Thank you for the suggestions!

 

[Sparky Jones]

Most tropicals can tolerate for a couple days temps as low as 20 Celsius and as high as 32 celcius. the sweet spot is 24-27 celcius, if colder they will slow down maybe stop eating and not move much, if hotter they will speed up, eat more work harder to get oxygen... to an extent until it gets too extreme for them in either direction or for too long.

stable temp would be required if breeding or raising fry, but if just regular adults, you can most likely get away for a few days at your room temperatures (unless you let things get cold around the house).

 

[alizeiii]

A certain temperature should be kept in an aquarium. As it was mentioned before the tank temperature should be 24-27 celsius for tropicals fish. I'd recommend with a heater to look for a thermometer. I'd recommend this review https://pickedbyfish.com/best-aquarium-thermometer/. The accuracy of your aquarium thermometer is maybe the most crucial factor to consider when purchasing one. Even little errors might result in a life-or-death situation for your fish.