Tank meltdown

[tanzy]

Dear all, I just had the most horrible month. While I was away (from my tank) the return pump failed. Nobody at home knows how to restart that thing or replace it. It wasn't until 2 weeks later that I got back to the tank. OMG!!! I have 2 clowns, a purple tang and half a favia left, everything else was dead. I had fifty-five dead snails (you don't wanna count the worms) and the water was so fragrant you won't believe it. Red slime was the only thing thriving. To add to the problem, my family actually fed the fishies and they ate. Would you eat your steak next to a sewage treatment plant?
Today, I took the tank apart. Cleaned it all out including the first 2 inches of sand cause it was black and mucky! Did a 99% water change. Resurfaced the sand bed. Rearranged the rocks and put the fish back in. I lost everything I worked so hard for. I feel broken.
Anyway, I am taking the chance given by God to start afresh. New halides are on their way. New sump. New pumps. New management! Thank you for listening to me whine. Just had to tell someone.
Moral of the story is, never leave your tank unattended. Always have someone capable of handling emergency plumbing or wiring at hand.
Hoping for the best will update you guys on the progress of the tank. I love my ocellaris. Had them all the way from my 2 footer. It will suck to lose them.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Must be devastating.

I hope your new setup is better so that something good comes of this!

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear about this Tanzy. Good luck with the new setup.

 

[philakapd]

Best of luck on the new setup. I feel your pain. Not a very nice incident to come home to after all the hard work you put into it. BTW...what kind of return pump were you using? I want to make sure I don't buy one the next time I need a new one.

Hopefully you will find some piece in starting a new eco-system again. Enjoy it!

Phil

 

[danmhippo]

My condolences.

May those lives rest in peace.

 

[tazdevil]

Sorry about the loss, I had a similar disaster due to a power outage for 2 days. Just remember to watch out for a new cycle with some of those more delicate species you've got. Amazing what they've already survived though. Oh yeah, take those family members and smack 'em with the shot pump, just before dumping some skimmer goo on their heads, for messin with the tank.

 

[monkeyboy]

Bummer But really suprising that anything lived for 2 weeks without a return pump! Was the heater in your tank or in the sump?

Before i left on vacation i wrote up a 3 page manual for the tank and went over with the folks what it looks and sounds like when the return pump is off, etc... Peace of mind, peace of mind!

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I have been thinking about setting up dual return pumps on the tank I am now setting up for redudency, and I think your story has really helped make that decision a little easier.

 

[tanzy]

Thank y'all! I think this board is not only about exchanging tips and ideas but also to offer some kind of support. You guys are great! There are countless threads where things have gone wrong, tanks cracking or rio pumps cooking off. Never did I expect one day it would be me. I guess the world does go round and the person on top will be at the bottom. The best part is that if you are at the bottom, you won't stay there for long!
Anyway, my snails spawned after I dumped them back into the tank. Horny bastards! Eggs and sperm all over! They must be getting ready for the algae cycle and decided to bump up their numbers. :wink:
The pump that failed wasn't really it's fault. It was the fuse in my 3 pin plug that had blown. The pump is an Eheim 1060 that has been running for 2 years. No problems but I replaced it anyhow. Really, Eheims are good and reliable. I run 3 of them.
I like the manual idea monkeyboy! Good going, just hope it never gets used.
Redundancy is a definite the next time I start a new setup. No space(within reasonable tidiness) for dual return pumps now.
By the way, how long does it take to restart the denitrification again? I think my anoxic/anaerobic layer is gone, I see worms all the way down to the bottom inch of the sand by the glass.

 

[Jasper]

Sorry about your loss Tanzy.

Every time i leave the house for an extended period i coach and preach the needs of my creatures. But still i worry that something will go wrong. Many of my friends think i'm nuts but im sure my fellow reefers know what i mean.
Your tank may cycle quicker than you think. There may have still been lots of bacteria in there working.

Keep us posted.

Steve

 

[fishfarmer]

Wecome to the club, my tank totally crashed a couple weeks ago due to heat. My cycling is going fast. My main tank is mostly empty of rock but has two deep sand beds. One week of high ammonia, now into a zero ammonia, high nitrite period, and that's with very little water changes. My recovery tank is going through a lighter nitrite cycle, but I have been doing water changes.

 

[Philippe Dor]

Feel very sorry for your desaster, but everybody knows about Murphy's law, and running a reeftank on one single pump only is playing with fire (whatever the brand) Does anybody drive his car without a spare tyre in the boot? If you have a main tank with a mini reef system underneath, next time organise a back up system in the main tank first, and to play it safe have 2 return pumps in your sump with a separate return plumbing
each, otherwise if one fails the other one can't do the job because of the "short circuit" It might cost a bit to restart that way, but it will cost you more to loose everything again if you stick to one pump only. There is a very easy and very efficient way to hide a simple filter in the back of the tank under the base rock, if you like I could send you a drawing by separate email. One of the "commandments' should be: remember
Murphy's law, whatever can go wrong will (eventually) go wrong! Good luck next time. Phil

 

[esmithiii]

without a spare tyre in the boot?

Translation: "without a spare tire in the trunk?"

I currently have dual return pumps, and highly recommend this approach. I too have a tank care instruction manual that tells about daily maintenance/feedings and also what to do if something goes wrong. My server is currently down, but I will post it later.

The other thing I would have suggested is if you were out of town and the return pump failed and your family knew something was wrong, you could have called a LFS near your house and paid someone to come out and fix it. It would have been much cheaper than replacing your livestock.

Ernie

 

[reefland]

Ouch. Sorry to hear about this.

I'm plumbed for dual return pumps, but only have a single return pump hooked up. I have a second pump on a closed loop. I have a spare pump in the closet.

 

[Anonymous]

i'm so very sorry to hear about your loss. i truly hope that you will find some new joy in re-establishing your new system. may your little critters rest in peace.