heater broke in half....

i came home today to find that my 200w aquael heater was 2 bits in the tank,
it was broken in half, i not sure exactly what happen, it looked like it had been hit my a fish,
tho my biggest fish is about 6 inchs jack dempsey,

was wondering has this ever happened to anyone? and what happens in this case does the heater just cut out?
i would of thought that it would of electrocuted the fish and thrown the trip switch,
all fish are fine,
any experiences with this lads??

Water is less conductive the cleaner it is, usually this happens if the Heater was allowed to continue while the water level is too low, it becomes fragile with minute cracks but not broken. I think, but cannot be sure that that's why when Lightning hits the Sea it dissipates along the surface killing very little in it's Path.

Kev.

This is always a potential hazard.

I had one of the old style heaters (they were dangerous yokes)'explode' within the tank and take the back glass out with it.

Absolutely pure water is very poor conductor of electricity, but it doesn't take too much dissolved stuff to make it potentially lethal (even carbon dioxide dissolved with make it conduct).

It is the differences between voltages that can often mean a difference between life and death.

If you had had your hand in the tank and the other holding onto something that was earthed, then you'd have been toast.
But being insulated from earth may give an increased chance of survival...depending upon a number of factors (eg the supply voltage, current, phase)
Back in the days of angle iron fish tanks, some aquarists thought it was a good safety measure to link the tank frame to the earth.....not a good idea.

Electric guitarists who also use a microphone need to be very careful in case the earth leek in one piece of equipment is different to the other. Each piece may be safe to use on its own, but touch the guitar and then touch the mic could be fatal.

Lightening is a funny one....it has a massive electrical potential difference (voltage) but there is no flux (current), so it acts differently to current electricity.

very high voltages, yep...I know I going on a bit here.... are a different kettle of fish altogether. It isn't just electrocution that is a hazard.

You were lucky.
But, finding out the cause might still be useful.

ian

some interesting facts there about electric lads,
you dont expect a heater to break like that, since i only bought it six weeks ago and it went straight from the box into the tank,
its not like i keep dovi's or something!!!
will have 2 get a new one tomorrow, prob get an aqua one,

Pm sent Ian

Very OT, but anyway, with electric guitars, usually the problems arise from some spanner thinking it's a good idea to remove the earth connection on the guitar amp when there's a hum with a di (as opposed to using the earth lift switch on the di....).
This leads to between 2-600 volts having no reference, till guitar players lips hit the mic. This hurts. Badly. Sometimes fatally.
Otherwise, far more common with amateur set-ups, is phantom power being applied globally, but the XLR is wired wrong... 48V don't hurt too bad, but can frighten people with long hair. (Who are almost always big girls blouses if they play guitar)


Unfortunately, very few drummers sing.
And Ampeg don't make drums.
But, IF they did....600v through a drum throne........
Would save lots of time at a sound-check.
One can always dream.

murph wrote:

Very OT, but anyway, with electric guitars, usually the problems arise from some spanner thinking it's a good idea to remove the earth connection on the guitar amp when there's a hum with a di (as opposed to using the earth lift switch on the di....).
This leads to between 2-600 volts having no reference, till guitar players lips hit the mic. This hurts. Badly. Sometimes fatally.
Otherwise, far more common with amateur set-ups, is phantom power being applied globally, but the XLR is wired wrong... 48V don't hurt too bad, but can frighten people with long hair. (Who are almost always big girls blouses if they play guitar)


Unfortunately, very few drummers sing.
And Ampeg don't make drums.
But, IF they did....600v through a drum throne........
Would save lots of time at a sound-check.
One can always dream.

Yeah, the roadie unlinking the amp earth is (or was) classic. I would never let a roadie near my stuff.
My old 50s valve amps were great, they didn't have a circuit board (just valve mounts bolted to a metal chassis and connected via vague wires to other components) you'd often get a small amount of earth leakage: a multi-meter between the amp earth and the earth of my aged 70s effects pedals would give a greater than zero reading.

Modern musical equipment is pretty good wrt electrical safety.

Hummm....big girls blouses who play guitar? I don't use XLR except for mics and modern synthesisers (but don't bother with phantom power)

Aquarium Heater.....are Aqua One the best? I don't know, I'm just wondering.

ian

I heard it could happen with glass heaters. Therefore I would recommend you titanium or steel (I think it is steel) ones especially when you have big or agressive fish in the tank. Some of these heaters have an option of switching off when the water level is below minimum and moreover they are fully submersible and do not have to be in a vertical position.

or another option is try to have 2 heaters to be on the safe side!

andrewo wrote:

or another option is try to have 2 heaters to be on the safe side!

there is another 300w heater in the tank, so it didnt affect the temp that much,
which is good because i hadnt been in the house for over 24 hours..

See; this is a experienced fishkeeper for you so