Total Disaster

[Delb0y]

I have over the past year and a half learned so much about keeping marine fish and soft corals. I finally got my tank to a point where I was so happy with it.
60Kg of LR, a good selection of soft corals and fish, Xenia growing rampent all over the tank, blue and purple sponge growing and spreading. My bristle stars were having young, turbo snail sex was producing so many young snails --- Life was good !!!!!!

Asked to go way to the UK for a few weeks with work- No bother, my wife has in the past looked after the tank so well.

That where it goes bad and I mean real bad.

My wife decided to paint the room in my absence, walls and ceiling. As well as Varnish the doors and get some additional wall lights fitted by the local electrician. "She never saw so much dust from plasterboard !!!. "
I have two 100g water butts, one for RO and one for salt water. My wife used the salt water to top up daily.

I returned to a dead tank, the salinity went off the scale, all the soft coral are dead and the fish were in serious distress. As my wife had used all the salt water I had none to change.

I spent a week making up salt water and did massive water changes daily. In the all I'm keft with are the fish.

I am now at the point of packing it in all togerher as my job have now given me a posting to the US. I believe I will be away for 3 weeks in 4 for the next six months.
My wife now refuses to look at the tank never mind take care of it, which I dont blame her.

Ah Well !!!!!!!
:mad:

[notquitemusashi]

SORRY FOR YOUR TROUBLES.

when i go out of town, i leave very detailed instructions.

[bpoore89]

This hobby can be harsh sometimes. I know we all go through it. I always get so annoyed that Im to the point where I swear up and down I quit. But in the end its really just a chance to do something different. A fresh start. I always find the rebuild interesting

[jimwat]

I paid a "professional" tank sitter watch my tank while I was out of town, and they could not get it right (screwed up the kalk drip...pH all out of wack). But nothing died.

I actually had better success with a kid from my neighborhood who had no SW experience at all. I left explicit instructions AND my cell number. No problems.

The other thing that I have is an Aquacontroller which allows me to monitor/control my tank remotely. And I am thinking about setting up a web cam. It's probably overkill, but the thought of coming home to a tank disaster...:sad1:

Sorry for your losses.

[Delb0y]

Thanks for the support !!!!!
I'll hang on in there - As you said bpoor89 - starting over would be interesting.

[mofrags]

sorry for your loss I have done the same thing three times now the last at the end of last year when we went to hawaii for 2 months. now my tank is automated. join a club and get some reef buddies to swap favors with is probably the best.