Temperature went DOWN...

This mornin my tank was reaching the 84s and so I unplugged my heater in an attempt to lower the temperature...
I kinda forgot and now my temperature is down to 70......I know... I'm stupid...
My fish seem ok, swimming around.

I inmiditely plugged in my heater to get the temp back up. Although its going to take some time.
So I took some water out from my tank and added some from my 150.. I managed to raise the temp to 72. But I thought I should stop there to not raise the temp drastically and just let the heater so it slowly.

Now the problem with this is that my heater won't turn off by it self?
I mean, I have it below 71 and it still heats up the water to 82.... Do I have too big of a heater? Or is this malfunctioning?

And the biggest question.. Are my fish/coral/anemone going to be ok?
What's the lowest temp you can go before a fish dies?

 

get another heater, It should be adjustable. they should turn off after a certain temp is reached.

Are you sure your is working at 84 degrees(when its set at a lower temp) and the tank isn't that hot from lighting?

 

Yeah, its the heater because The" light" from it that tells if it's working is always turned on.
Ive touched it and its warm too.
And as soon a I unplug it my tank lowers it's temperature.
The lights might contribute a little but certainly not the culprit.
Must be the heater then... I need to get one ASAP... I don't want this temp swings...

Will my fish be ok? Or should I add more warm water?

 

Hopefully your heater is still under warranty because the thermostat is bad.

Your fish and corals will be ok as long as you allow your temperature to raise slowly. I would maybe watch how long it takes your heater to raise your temp one degree and set an alarm so you can wake up and unplug it. Then you could maybe put it on a timer (maybe 15 minutes/hr) and see if that will maintain your temp until you can get a replacement.

 

Yeah good idea!... That would help.. I can probably get one next week or so.
Meanwhile I can do the alarm thing

 

I think inwall had the perfect suggestion, set a timer on it until you can replace it.

This also raises another question, what equipment should we always have in spare? Often we discuss "extra" items incase a need should arise - I think a spare heater, even a small cheap one should make that list. Seems as I drink my morning coffee this sounds like a good thread to start .... I'll go post it my friend, good luck with monitoring your tank until your new heater gets to you.

 

I would consider getting some sort of external temp controller for the heaters. it offers a more reliable thermostat circuitry. personally , I dont trust the thermostats in the heater itself. too much room for error as they are so close to the heating element.

an example is the new Finnex 500 wt heater I just got. it has the dial thermostat that is close to the plug but the sensor is on the heater itself. when my temp controller is calling for heat, I have noticed the finnex cycle on and off while the controller stays on.

 

i had 2 heaters do this to me. dial it in and it goes above and beyond the desired temp. just buy a new heater. marineland makes a wicked heater, no glass and very accurate. the knob even turns green when desired temp is reached then red when working

 

mine did the same thing!!! Mine was at 71 this morning but when the light came on it heat the tank again!

 

You can pick up a titanium heater with external controller pretty cheep. I have the Finnex with digital controller it works great.