Heater broke

[JamieB]

So the brand new heater in my betta only tank broke, oozing rusty looking stuff, I only noticed because that betta was not acting right. Went in to do a water change, he was being super sluggish, laying on the bottom, not eating, I think he may have heavy metal poisoning. And naturally, I don’t have any kits to test for that, nor water conditioner to treat for that since I’m on well water. Did a full water change, flushing the tank twice before adding new water, only partially filled it for ease of access to that fish in case he doesn’t make it, and reduced volume to treat in hopes he does. I moved the rock and decorations back in, but now I’m trying to research how to treat him for the poisoning. Any one else go through this? Ph is in the low 8s here, I forgot gh/kh, and it was filtered, but that’s a HOB filter above the water line now.

 

[JRS]

That is a bummer. Sounds like you are doing everything you can reasonably do to help him pull through. Hopefully he will perk up with the fresh water which should have removed the toxins. Calcareous rock is known to retain heavy metals such as copper but I doubt you have anything in the the tank like that. I'd keep the filter running and add activated carbon if you have any but probably not necessary at this point. He also could have been affected by the electricity in the water.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Partial water changes. How many watts is (was) heater? Is it a well known brand?

 

[JamieB]

I have no clue about wattage, it was tetra brand. I did a full water change, only rocks in there are chunks of quartz and two pieces of I’m not sure what kind other than they look cool and have been in my aquariums for years. The heater had a rust colored gunk along the bottom by the black part. I’ll post pictures later. It dried into a thin rusty film but was thicker when wet.

 

[JamieB]

200watt.
Betta passed yesterday. I’ll do a good clean on that aquarium, fill and run it fishless, then test it with a guppy or three, then move the other betta over.

 

[JamieB]

He was older, and had lived a good life.

 

[JamieB]

Well I topped off that tank, put in another heater, and added two not so pretty guppies to see if the water is ok for my other betta. If they’re ok in a week, I’ll add him over, and leave his current aquarium for the guppies and shrimp.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Wow, what an ordeal. Since it was new, the manufacturer needs to know about the failure. They might have a systemic problem and appreciate hearing about the incident. I hope they replace the thing.

 

[Phaewryn]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I only buy titanium heaters because of this issue, they can't break like the glass ones and and not as likely to electrocute the fish, which is likely what killed him. These are the only heaters I will buy now: https://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-Aquarium-Heater-100W-Black/dp/B07JG9XKWK

 

[JamieB]

I bought two of them at that time, the other one is doing fine, so I’ll hunt up the pictures and shoot them an email if I can find an address, just as an FYI. I won’t buy another from them though, unless I need one in an emergency. Going through a bag I bought off a guy testing which ones work, so far I’ve found one that works on the mini pond, and two that don’t. He warned me he wasn’t sure which ones were still good or not. I’m trying a fourth one in that aquarium now, and I think there’s still one more to test.