Wwwiiiiippppppeeeee Out - so how do you guys handle.....

[ErikS]

it when your tank goes in the dump?

Had a fine series of events recently - almost seems like a conspiracy :D

1. Go away for a week, come home to find 42 gallon top off tank empty (tank is 150g, uses around 15g a week). Still a mystery - no water leaks, no water stains.....still haven't figured where the water went. SG was 1.017 (down from 1.026) = stressed corals.

2. Just as the corals show signs of returning to normal OM 4 freezes AND Tunze 6000 goes belly up = circulation issues. Tunze is a mystery, cleaned within a month - problem free for 3 years. OM is my fault, hadn't cleaned it since install (4 years)

3. Get the OM functioning, relying on other 6000 to get the job done. CA reactor goes offline (CO2 tank empty) & impeller shaft snaps on skimmer (Deltec). Alk plummets (1/2 my fault, missed a weeks testing). Water gets a tad funky.

4. One of the DE's fails, socket is a mess (Ocean Lights, terrible sockets). Get it back online in a day (took a day to notice as they're on while I'm at work)

5. Cooling fan fails & thanks to temps in the 80's in Oct get a temp spike.....find a fan in VA in Oct????

Seems like one thing after another & it gets frustrating. I didn't have any really special SPS....just a few of the usual common stuff, most were plate (dessert) sized - just bummed. The only survivors look to be a softy, some plain zoas, and a dersa (the fish too).

I do keep track of the equipment, it's maintained (except the OM = my bad). Sat morning is clean/maintain....I just missed one (yeah, I know that's all it takes).

Just curious how you folks handle it when you have a series of unfortunate events? I'm not really ready to toss in the towel....but it has been tempting.

[eagleONE]

Honestly, it's hard... you think that this hobby is suppose to help you de-stress. Early September I lost all my sps. Complications with my move and my new apartment complex cost me ever piece of coral and fish in my tank.

But I'm glad I had my local group give me support. I'll do the same and I'll tell you... keep doing what you love to do.

Good Luck

[Craig Lambert]

I wonder if you had a power surge...or outage? If it was out for a period of time the ph's may not have restarted. The top off water must have ended up in the system for SG to fall to 1.017. And yea, the ALK would have fallen quite bit with nothing to replentish what was used up. I'm always scared to death to go on a vacation.....

[ErikS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11077092#post11077092 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Craig Lambert
I wonder if you had a power surge...or outage? If it was out for a period of time the ph's may not have restarted. The top off water must have ended up in the system for SG to fall to 1.017. And yea, the ALK would have fallen quite bit with nothing to replentish what was used up. I'm always scared to death to go on a vacation.....
The top off is still a mystery. There was no water anywhere - one would think that if the top off got stuck it would have flooded & I would have seen some evidence - I saw none. The only thing I can imagine is that the float did stick & the JBJ controller timed out before the sump filled. The ACIII cycles the JBJ twice a day (interrupts 15min for a kalk stir)= the float stuck, JBJ got reset, float is stuck & JBJ fills until time out.......repeated until all 42g were in the sump. Timing was just right so that the sump never overflowed.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11077035#post11077035 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eagleONE
[B]Honestly, it's hard... you think that this hobby is suppose to help you de-stress.
:D Funny how ironic it can be at times.

Thanks for the input, not likely I'll toss in thw towel.....I'm just too stubborn. On the upside I'll be spending more time here :D Gotta catch up on the latest goings on.

[143gadgets]

Hey Erik1!! Nice to see you back online! haven't heard from ya in a while. Sorry to hear the bad news. Just think... It could of been worse. Get some water changes going and get that baby running.

Just so you all know. Erik is the BB KING!!!! :) He converted me.

[SPStoner]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11076437#post11076437 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ErikS

Just curious how you folks handle it when you have a series of unfortunate events? I'm not really ready to toss in the towel....but it has been tempting.

:D :D :smokin:

http://site-images.ws/cust/78908/crown-royal-purple.jpg

[Craig Lambert]

That would be a good start..............I'm always amazed by the fact that disasters like this only occur while you're out of town. I have yet to experience a major disaster, but the only time I've ever had an external return pump fail was while I was on vacation.

[cwegescheide]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11082770#post11082770 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SPStoner
:D :D :smokin:

http://site-images.ws/cust/78908/crown-royal-purple.jpg

I prefer Wild Turkey but yes it does happen and it has happened to most of us. Recently I had a series of events that had a fairly detrimental impact on my reef as well but not as bad as yours. From now on I clean and check my pumps A LOT more frequently.

I also invested in an aqua controller III because I work away from home m-f (have been for several years now) and it gives me a little piece of mind.

How much time transpired in your list of stuff that happened in your tank? Thats incredible!

Chris

[Serioussnaps]

Consider not using float switches.......it will happen again. Look into something that "doses" rather "dumps." Peristalic pumps are the greatest thing that ever happened to topping off a fish tank.

[ErikS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11081781#post11081781 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 143gadgets
Hey Erik1!! Nice to see you back online! haven't heard from ya in a while. Sorry to hear the bad news. Just think... It could of been worse. Get some water changes going and get that baby running.

Just so you all know. Erik is the BB KING!!!! :) He converted me.
I'm always around, but until recently I didn't have anything to flap my yap about :D The tank was just cruising along....... (should have taken that as a hint)

Nah, I'm not the BB king.........he who shall not be named (at least here) is, I simply followed his lead.

Tank is still running, lucky for me the Dersa from BlueRibbon is okay, as is the big honk'n frowspawn Lee gave my wife (phew for me on that one). A green (like dayglow green) SPS I never ID'd & a samoensis.......might, big might make it. Fish are fine, but who cares about them?

LMAO - love the drinking idea.......though I'm not certain if that would ease the pain or give one a "who gives a pooh" attitude :D

How much time transpired in your list of stuff that happened in your tank? Thats incredible!
Vacation was 9-2-2007 through 2-9-2007..........last week or two has just been figuring out a game plan - grand total of just over a month for all events. Hey - when it rains it pours.

I also invested in an aqua controller III because I work away from home m-f (have been for several years now) and it gives me a little piece of mind.
That's what I use - wouldn't be without it. Sadly no email on vacation = no notice. And the water issue wouldn't trigger an alarm (in the current config).

Peristalic pumps are the greatest thing that ever happened to topping off a fish tank.
Yeah, just my luck. Had two, both failed (no top off). Seven years of using floats & this was the 1st issue - go figure. I can't be 100% certain it was the float switch, it's just guessing as I have no evidence aside from the excess water use & SG.

Truly ironic is that I've gone on vacation for 2 weeks at a time prior - always came home to a better tank, my wife always joked that keeping me away from the tank was good for it.

(same process for those - clean everything, re-set & check everything.....go away & pray):D

[arts007]

Wow I feel bad for you, I know it sucks. Seems like Mr. Murphy has visited your tank, or maybe it was Robert Goulet... I hear he messes with stuff too

[ErikS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11083243#post11083243 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by arts007
Wow I feel bad for you, I know it sucks. Seems like Mr. Murphy has visited your tank, or maybe it was Robert Goulet... I hear he messes with stuff too
LMAO - It was Goulet.....the bastage :D

Just the way it goes sometime, tanks run on autopilot & then wham. The old adage only bad things happen fast in a reef tank.