Heater killed half my fish :(

[VioletGoby]

I got a new heater. A hydor 300watt. I set the temp to 75 F.

The temperature rose up when I was at work and by the time I got home half my fish were dead! The water felt like a hot shower. It was probably around 90 degrees!

It was so traumatizing seeing my beautiful fish like that. These were mature cichlids, my frontosa was 8 years old and 8 inches.

I'm so mad and sad. What would you do?!? I don't know whether I should call the company and complain, cause it doesn't feel right to just return the heater and not get compensated.

I want justice for my poor fish What would you do??

 

[mattcham]

This is a very common occurrence with heaters. Just look at verified owner reviews on Amazon.com. The heaters with lowest failure rate based on reviews are Eheim Jaeger and Aqueon Pro models. No company will compensate owners for loss of livestock and all heater warranties explicitly state this. I'm very sorry for your loss and I am in constant fear that this will happen to me someday. There are services that will ring your cell phone if water temperature goes over certain threshold but those greedy services all require a monthly subscription fee and they charge for each aquarium (not one fee per household).

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[VioletGoby]

@mattcham thanks I wonder if there is a way to prevent this from happening all together. Hooking a heater and cooler up at the same time? It's seriously the worst thing to see.....over heated fish......

 

[mattcham]

It happened to me about 20 years ago. I was fishless cycling an empty tank and the heater was in contact with the aquarium sealant silicone. The silicone melted and the tank started to leak. I lost the tank but didn't lose any fish. The heater was a generic made in China unit which ran flawlessly for more than 4 years before that incident. I am nervous about heaters. I have 3 eheim jaeger's and 3 aqueon pros. Can't get myself to fund the greedy phone alarm companies. Marineland eheim aqueon should invent such a device.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[VioletGoby]

Wish I knew how to create an app and a sensor. I guess I could just point a security camera at my tank and thermometer....and watch it on my phone.... hmmmmmmm

 

[Coryluv]

I'm so sorry for your losses. That sucks. It can happen to anyone, but in the great scheme of things the odds are against it happening again

I'm happy with the 2 Aqueon Pros I have (so far).

However no heater is 100%. Yeah setting up a cam that can see the heater and the thermometer could give you some peace of mind at this point.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i:aps,k:foscam&keywords=foscam&ie=UTF8&qid=1399339492

Just as an example. I know you can view these from a phone because my son has them and watches his cat. There are other brands that do the same.

 

[ezy33]

I just restarted my 9 gallon nano I lost to a cheep heater. As soon as my cash flow allows I'll buy one of these.

 

[VioletGoby]

That looks nice! Not too pricey either!

 

[PB_Smith]

I just restarted my 9 gallon nano I lost to a cheep heater. As soon as my cash flow allows I'll buy one of these. View attachment 236256

So people should spend extra cash for an item which is essentially a thermostat and does what the heaters should already be doing???

sounds like the heater manufacturers need to go back to the drawing board.
Had the same happen to me a long time ago, lost a lot of nice large fish. Out of 8 only a snowflake eel, a lionfish and an orbic bat survived.
and it was an ebo-jager heater now that I think of it, temps hit 94.


I'm wondering if I'm even going to need a heater for my 30 gallon. I live in So. Cal and the temp stays about 78-82 for the most part with only a 2 degree difference from the night and hottest part of the day.
When it gets colder I'm thinking using my pump as a submersible may be enough heat to keep it stable.

 

[ezy33]

A few years ago I had a stealth heater fail and shock me and my system. I called the manufacturer and they sent me a replacement which was recalled a few months later. IMO the newer heaters are getting better and more complicated. Where the cheap heaters are getting cheaper and less reliable. With hundreds of dollars invested in corals, fish and inverts I feel a temperature controller is a wise investment. Especially for a nano systems where things happen a lot faster.

 

[PB_Smith]

I fear cooling is going to be my biggest concern this summer...

 

[ezy33]

As my chiller sits in storage collecting dust!

 

[VioletGoby]

Oooo is there an all in one heating and cooling system? That would be sweet

 

[MeCasa]

I'm sorry for your loss it must be heart breaking. The only upside is that you reminded people like myself that a thermostatic shutoff is not expensive when everything is considered.

Twenty years ago I cooked two 13" Albino Oscars back then albino's were still a big deal and I was extremely proud of them.

Still pisses me off thinking about it.

Sorry again