Aquarist007
New member
this is a true story and I am posting it here in order to possible learn a few points about safety and heaters etc--so please keep the comments constructive so it doesn't get put in the lounge.
I had a 5 inch Clarkie that was sold to me by a former friend. For six months this Clarkie controlled the tank, chased other fish, dug up the substrate, bumped corals and good size rocks within his anenome etc etc. it was a bully and would even charge at my hand.
Finally as a last resort I had a buddy of mine bring up a shop vac and we were going to get that clarkie out of there--by chance with two nets we finally caught him.
Even though I hate that little sob I did't want to flush it so I put it in the sump--even in there it would go at me through the glass.
this morning it went at the glass at me and then silence and darkness--all power went out in the house.
I went over a retripped the ground faults one at a time and everything started up again. Taking a closer look in the sump I see the heater faintly arching---this isn't right? The heater was still on but the glass was broken.
That devil clarkie had knocked it around till it broke. :eek2:
I am including this story to point out
had I not had a ground probe both the clarkie and I might have been dead. Ok for my oldest son who inherits the tank
putting fish into sumps might not be a great idea--although my buddy and I had this sick fantasy that the Clarkie was going to get sucked through the mag3600 and become a nice dinner for the fish he had bullied in the main tank---probably with that clarkie he would have wrecked a 3600mag pump and I would have been out more that 35 dollars for a heater
glass heaters suck--I guess the hard plastic are better. And I guess the best way to control these and the system is to get an aqua controller?
I think it is time to invest in a battery back up system--if I had been at work the system would have been off for 10 hours.
I do have a gas generator but you have to be there to work it.
I had a 5 inch Clarkie that was sold to me by a former friend. For six months this Clarkie controlled the tank, chased other fish, dug up the substrate, bumped corals and good size rocks within his anenome etc etc. it was a bully and would even charge at my hand.
Finally as a last resort I had a buddy of mine bring up a shop vac and we were going to get that clarkie out of there--by chance with two nets we finally caught him.
Even though I hate that little sob I did't want to flush it so I put it in the sump--even in there it would go at me through the glass.
this morning it went at the glass at me and then silence and darkness--all power went out in the house.
I went over a retripped the ground faults one at a time and everything started up again. Taking a closer look in the sump I see the heater faintly arching---this isn't right? The heater was still on but the glass was broken.
That devil clarkie had knocked it around till it broke. :eek2:
I am including this story to point out
had I not had a ground probe both the clarkie and I might have been dead. Ok for my oldest son who inherits the tank
putting fish into sumps might not be a great idea--although my buddy and I had this sick fantasy that the Clarkie was going to get sucked through the mag3600 and become a nice dinner for the fish he had bullied in the main tank---probably with that clarkie he would have wrecked a 3600mag pump and I would have been out more that 35 dollars for a heater
glass heaters suck--I guess the hard plastic are better. And I guess the best way to control these and the system is to get an aqua controller?
I think it is time to invest in a battery back up system--if I had been at work the system would have been off for 10 hours.
I do have a gas generator but you have to be there to work it.
