Is my tank going to be okay? Heater unplugged

[Jake_the_reefer]

So my heater came unplugged and my temp dropped from 77 to 73 overnight is this big of a temp change super dangerous or should I be okay? My heater is back in and heating things up

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

Forgot to mension I have lps and a bta

 

[Scurvy]

It should be fine. Temp drop isnt as big a deal as a big jump.

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

It should be fine. Temp drop isnt as big a deal as a big jump.

How fast should I raise it? My heater is pretty good so it's already up a degree and a half

 

[McFly]

77 to 73 is not enough of a swing to do much if any damage. I would just plug in the heater and let it rise normally.

 

[Scurvy]

Yep, Just let the heater do its thing. Should be up to temp within a couple hours.

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

Okay! Thank you all! In what would you say is a bad temp drop to happen overnight?

 

[Scurvy]

Ideally you dont want to see swing more than 2 degrees in any direction but our livestock handles low temps much better than high. Once you get above 84/85 degrees you’re entering the danger zone. I’ve had corals and fish ship and arrive in 63 degree water and rebound just fine.

 

[Mr Fishface]

So on my tank I had a heater poop out on me overnight. Tank dropped to 67 degrees. I ran to petsmart the next morning to buy a heater but it still took a few days to bring it back to regular temp. ALL my corals and fish made it like champs but to me that was a pretty drastic change and I really thought I was going to lose everything.

Now I keep a backup heater on hand.

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

So on my tank I had a heater poop out on me overnight. Tank dropped to 67 degrees. I ran to petsmart the next morning to buy a heater but it still took a few days to bring it back to regular temp. ALL my corals and fish made it like champs but to me that was a pretty drastic change and I really thought I was going to lose everything.

Now I keep a backup heater on hand.

A few days? Mines already almost 2° up

 

[Scurvy]

A backup heater is great advice, I would also add a heater controller to the must have category. I removed my controller one day to upgrade it, Got distracted and never put the new one on... went to do it the next morning and found my Biocube reading 101 degrees. The heater was bad but the controller was doing its job. Also be sure to use a heater with the proper wattage for your tank volume

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

A backup heater is great advice, I would also add a heater controller to the must have category. I removed my controller one day to upgrade it, Got distracted and never put the new one on... went to do it the next morning and found my Biocube reading 101 degrees. The heater was bad but the controller was doing its job. Also be sure to use a heater with the proper wattage for your tank volume

That's a question I always had haha if a bigger heater is better. This tells me no. But isnt the best method for heating to use a heater without it's own ability to regulate tempreture and use an external temp control device to turn the heater on and off

 

[W1ngz]

Now might be a good time to look at your electrical and see how a heater 'accidentally' gets unplugged.
Also might be worth considering 2 heaters each about 3/4 of the power of one large one, on a temp controller so they can maintain temp if one fails for whatever reason.

 

[Scurvy]

That's a question I always had haha if a bigger heater is better. This tells me no. But isnt the best method for heating to use a heater without it's own ability to regulate tempreture and use an external temp control device to turn the heater on and off

Ideally you want both for added protection. if the heaters internal thermometer fails you have the controller as the backup.

 

[Marklugo23]

nope..not an issue..in the wild...temps naturally dop at night anyway..corals have evolved to adapt to that, hence how they close up and tuck inside their skeleton

 

[bluprntguy]

A few days? Mines already almost 2° up

Sounds like your heater isn’t sized correctly. Heaters typically fail by the temp controller getting stuck in the “on” position.

How big is your tank and what wattage is your heater?

 

[sfin52]

I had a heater fail and temp dropped to high 60s. Everything survived just fine. Agree just plug it back in and let it rise.

Having a back up is a great idea. Of all the equipment that will fail the heater is going to be it. Hope that it fails off and not on

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

Sounds like your heater isn’t sized correctly. Heaters typically fail by the temp controller getting stuck in the “on” position.

How big is your tank and what wattage is your heater?

I have the fluval m100 100 watt heater. The 50 watt heater wouldn't work for me because I couldnt heat my house enough in the winter (moving to a place with better insulation this week) 20g tank

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

Never had an overheating issue even before I had an ac so I wasn't worried about the watts

 

[Scurvy]

3watts per gallon is the general rule of thumb.