Need help my heater broke!

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Zeeb08

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Jan 6, 2023
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I currently have two peacock bass (Cichla Ocellaris) they’re 3 inches each and my heater just broke. It’s a 75 gallon tank and the temperature is at a constant 72 degrees Fahrenheit right now. Will they be okay till I am able to get a new heater?
 
Apr 2, 2002
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I have never kept these fish. So I went to my go to source and it said tamp range for them is "Temperature: 76 – 80°F (24 – 27°C)"

i would say that 72 is not good for them and the longer it is the worse it could be. So, there are a few things you can do tha will get you by for a bit. All of them will work best if you can lower the water level. Depending on how the tank is filtered I would say if you can lower it by half and that will help a lot. Lower the water level as much as you can without stopping the filters from circulating water though it.

There are few things you can do to get and keep the temp up tha will work best with lowered water levels.

If you have a heating pad in the house you can put it against the glass to warm the water. You can not run this 24/7. But you can turn it on for a while and then off. If you have a stand that allows for the bottom glas to be available, then against that works best. You can eve be uder it close and not in contact. Make some sort of "table" under the tank put the pad on it so it is a couple of inches below the glass. Heat should rise :cool:

Next, if you have a very clean pot in the kitchen, fill it with tank water and heat it on the stove. Then return it to the tank. The hotter it is, the better. You can pour it directly into the tank sparingly across the top. Do not pour it near the fish. There must be something circulating the tank water even if that is a hand stirring it. You will have to do this a bunch of times to get the temp higher- at least to the bottom of the range above, and then keep it there.

Finally, in desperation if you have a small space heater and the tank is in a small enough room, that can be used. Plce the heater high enough that it blows both under the tank and motsly against the front glass. Do that and close the room door(s) to keep the heat in. If the room is at 78 the tank will follow. But you need to monitor this as you do not want the toom at 90F.

Now if you are really lucky and have a heating pad, a big pot and space heater and a not to big of a romm, you can combine all 3 things and leave the tank filled a lot more.

I found myself many years ago before we had back-up power, without electricity. I had a few battery powered air pumps i could rotate from tank to tank, but i had one tank at 86f with a bunch of very expensive fish. At the time our cooktop was electric. So I took the pot of waer outside to my gas grill and heated the water there. My other tanks could be allowed to drop into the low 70s F, but the one tank needed to be warmer. So it wasn't to bad. And the paoer was nacl in about 5 hours.

If anybody is reading this far, I hate having single points of failure on a 75 gal. tank *I have two). So I spend what it costs to have more than one filter. For example if I wanted 250-300 watts on a a tank, I would have two 150 watt heaters. If I need needrd an Aquaclear 300 on the tank, I might use a 150 and a 200. The idea as that one of the heaters or filters can fail and the tank is not completely unfiltered or unheated. I know this costs more in the short run, but in the long run ot can save an entire tank of fish.
 
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Zeeb08

AC Members
Jan 6, 2023
6
0
1
22
I have never kept these fish. So I went to my go to source and it said tamp range for them is "Temperature: 76 – 80°F (24 – 27°C)"

i would say that 72 is not good for them and the longer it is the worse it could be. So, there are a few things you can do tha will get you by for a bit. All of them will work best if you can lower the water level. Depending on how the tank is filtered I would say if you can lower it by half and that will help a lot. Lower the water level as much as you can without stopping the filters from circulating water though it.

There are few things you can do to get and keep the temp up tha will work best with lowered water levels.

If you have a heating pad in the house you can put it against the glass to warm the water. You can not run this 24/7. But you can turn it on for a while and then off. If you have a stand that allows for the bottom glas to be available, then against that works best. You can eve be uder it close and not in contact. Make some sort of "table" under the tank put the pad on it so it is a couple of inches below the glass. Heat should rise :cool:

Next, if you have a very clean pot in the kitchen, fill it with tank water and heat it on the stove. Then return it to the tank. The hotter it is, the better. You can pour it directly into the tank sparingly across the top. Do not pour it near the fish. There must be something circulating the tank water even if that is a hand stirring it. You will have to do this a bunch of times to get the temp higher- at least to the bottom of the range above, and then keep it there.

Finally, in desperation if you have a small space heater and the tank is in a small enough room, that can be used. Plce the heater high enough that it blows both under the tank and motsly against the front glass. Do that and close the room door(s) to keep the heat in. If the room is at 78 the tank will follow. But you need to monitor this as you do not want the toom at 90F.

Now if you are really lucky and have a heating pad, a big pot and space heater and a not to big of a romm, you can combine all 3 things and leave the tank filled a lot more.

I found myself many years ago before we had back-up power, without electricity. I had a few battery powered air pumps i could rotate from tank to tank, but i had one tank at 86f with a bunch of very expensive fish. At the time our cooktop was electric. So I took the pot of waer outside to my gas grill and heated the water there. My other tanks could be allowed to drop into the low 70s F, but the one tank needed to be warmer. So it wasn't to bad. And the paoer was nacl in about 5 hours.

If anybody is reading this far, I hate having single points of failure on a 75 gal. tank *I have two). So I spend what it costs to have more than one filter. For example if I wanted 250-300 watts on a a tank, I would have two 150 watt heaters. If I need needrd an Aquaclear 300 on the tank, I might use a 150 and a 200. The idea as that one of the heaters or filters can fail and the tank is not completely unfiltered or unheated. I know this costs more in the short run, but in the long run ot can save an entire t
I have never kept these fish. So I went to my go to source and it said tamp range for them is "Temperature: 76 – 80°F (24 – 27°C)"

i would say that 72 is not good for them and the longer it is the worse it could be. So, there are a few things you can do tha will get you by for a bit. All of them will work best if you can lower the water level. Depending on how the tank is filtered I would say if you can lower it by half and that will help a lot. Lower the water level as much as you can without stopping the filters from circulating water though it.

There are few things you can do to get and keep the temp up tha will work best with lowered water levels.

If you have a heating pad in the house you can put it against the glass to warm the water. You can not run this 24/7. But you can turn it on for a while and then off. If you have a stand that allows for the bottom glas to be available, then against that works best. You can eve be uder it close and not in contact. Make some sort of "table" under the tank put the pad on it so it is a couple of inches below the glass. Heat should rise :cool:

Next, if you have a very clean pot in the kitchen, fill it with tank water and heat it on the stove. Then return it to the tank. The hotter it is, the better. You can pour it directly into the tank sparingly across the top. Do not pour it near the fish. There must be something circulating the tank water even if that is a hand stirring it. You will have to do this a bunch of times to get the temp higher- at least to the bottom of the range above, and then keep it there.

Finally, in desperation if you have a small space heater and the tank is in a small enough room, that can be used. Plce the heater high enough that it blows both under the tank and motsly against the front glass. Do that and close the room door(s) to keep the heat in. If the room is at 78 the tank will follow. But you need to monitor this as you do not want the toom at 90F.

Now if you are really lucky and have a heating pad, a big pot and space heater and a not to big of a romm, you can combine all 3 things and leave the tank filled a lot more.

I found myself many years ago before we had back-up power, without electricity. I had a few battery powered air pumps i could rotate from tank to tank, but i had one tank at 86f with a bunch of very expensive fish. At the time our cooktop was electric. So I took the pot of waer outside to my gas grill and heated the water there. My other tanks could be allowed to drop into the low 70s F, but the one tank needed to be warmer. So it wasn't to bad. And the paoer was nacl in about 5 hours.

If anybody is reading this far, I hate having single points of failure on a 75 gal. tank *I have two). So I spend what it costs to have more than one filter. For example if I wanted 250-300 watts on a a tank, I would have two 150 watt heaters. If I need needrd an Aquaclear 300 on the tank, I might use a 150 and a 200. The idea as that one of the heaters or filters can fail and the tank is not completely unfiltered or unheated. I know this costs more in the short run, but in the long run ot can save an entire tank of fish.
Thank you so much man! That worked and was able to keep them warm till I was able to get a new heater!!
 

fishorama

AC Members
Jun 28, 2006
12,682
2,125
200
SF Bay area, CA
You're only a few degrees lower than p. bass like from what I've read. They might not be too happy or active for long but they should survive at a slightly lower temp. You can try some of 2tank's answers for the short term...But order a heater or 2 ASAP or go to your local fish shop & buy 1 or 2. Probably more expensive but also faster...

You do know that tank is small for 2 P. bass right? They should grow fast...I'm just saying you need a plan for the near future...
 
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Zeeb08

AC Members
Jan 6, 2023
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I know it’s small for them I currently have a 1400 gallon pond they’re gonna go in. I just have them in the tank for now. Also could anyone help me find a pond Heater?
 

fishorama

AC Members
Jun 28, 2006
12,682
2,125
200
SF Bay area, CA
There's a indoor/outdoor pond forum near the bottom of the freshwater section. You may get a better answer there, try a heater search i8n that forum too.
 
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