heater exploded

[holyherbiness]

Heh so i made a pretty stupid mistake earlier on my cheap hagen heater

I was cleaning the tank, but the heater accidently fell out of the tankand turned itself on, so i tried to put the heater back in and BAM! i hear some crackling

i pulled the plug and took it out and i see that a huge chunk of the glass is missing and some residual white cottonish thing on the bottom of the heater

anyone good with science want to tell me how that glass turned into that cottony stuff? (if it did at all)

hehe time to p urchase a new heater

 

[vaheelsfan]

That pulls a major vacuum. I take it no fish or people got shocked?

 

[holyherbiness]

nope i just heard some crackling and my guppies were attracted to the area hahaha it still works but the glass is broken so i wouldn't use it in water or bzzt!

 

[rick458]

well the heater blew up because you stuck a hot thing made of glass into a relatively cold fluid and the glass tried to expand AND contract in the same region on different sides and something had to give, is the fluffy thing insulation like fiberglass?

 

[holyherbiness]

no it was never there until the glass exploded
that's why i'm thinking that the glass somehow turned into that cottny thing
haha

 

[Rocketman]

That cottony thing is only there to cushion the heater from the glass or something on the bottom...you'll find it in most cheaper heaters.

Get an Ebo-Jagur next time.

 

[StreetCypher]

yeah, when my heater blew up i bought an ebo jager.
Its got a safety shut off.
But you should still unplug it every time you change water

 

[holyherbiness]

really? i guess i just always overlooked that cottony thing never saw it before
it kind of appeared nudged on the bottom when my heater exploded, and i didn't find any glass in the aquarium, which led me to believe that that cottony stuff was made of that glass, chemicably contransformed! haha
how should i heat my aquarium in the meantime? I've been pouring in small amounts of warm water periodically

luckily, the inhabitants are hardy guppies and cories.

 

[TPIRman]

Unless your house is especially cold, I would just leave things alone until you can get a decent heater. Living at room temperature for a few days will stress the fish less than the temperature roller-coaster that's probably resulting from the warm-water bucket brigade. Especially since it is getting into the warmer time of year (at least in the Northerm Hemisphere) you should be fine. Sorry to hear about your heater troubles!

 

[holyherbiness]

well timed too tpirman
i hated that heater
was always afraid it was going to malfunction (heck, i experienced huge temperature swings with it working!)

anyway, getting an ebo-jager 50 watt heater for my 10 gallon online

thanks for the help folks