Heater problems

[Lesmiz4]

So yesterday about 4:30 in the afternoon I walk by my tank and look at the tempature reading on my tank (as I do everytime I walk by it). I stop short...72.2! AND, the heater isn't even on. So I turn it up and watch the temp climb back up to 78 degrees. But it kept going. The next hour it was up to 80.6...so I turned it down, and went to bed.

I woke up about 2:30 a.m. and decided to go check it....82.6! Now I'm freaking out. So I turn it down again and go back to sleep. When I wake up 3 hours later it's still around 81.5. So, I'm going out to buy a new heater when I get out of work. Oh, and I should mention this heater has been working fine with no adjustments for over a year.

My question...are my fish going to survive this without too much stress?

[Dangerdoll]

they should be fine..... Now, had the temp changed more consistently for days, then there might be cause for concern. Just keep your eye on them for a couple of days once you get things back on a roll. For now, you'll be fine.

[Hound]

I agree as long as you don't get above say 85f you should be ok. I really think the thing that fails most in an aquarium is the internal thermometer of heaters. Some aren't too bad. I have one that holds a temp of 79f when its set to 73f, but at least its predictable. Others I have had just go off and on randomly after a while it seems. Oddly enough for a lot of heaters I have had the one year mark is where they die off.

[Dangerdoll]

A lot of people keep 2 filters in their tank in case one of them fails.