EPIC FAIL TANKS Thread

[scarface70706]

I thought it would be interesting if everyone could post their fail tanks when you first started. im sure there are many because we all have to start somewhere. ill post pics of mine tomorrow from when i was 16 living at my parents house. man was that tank a disaster. maybe this could be a learning thread to show people what not to do. lol

Ps: even if its not your tank or you found a picture online of what not to do; post it. lets have fun with it.

[SoLiD]

Back in 2005 I saw a saltwater tank in a Doctors office and I thought it would be cool to copy it. I was so wrong. Here we have a 125 Gallon PetSmart fish tank with an Emperor 400 and Rena Filstar XP4 for filtration. It also has silica based playground sand and dead coral skeletons for decorations. I never could figure out why I had so much diatom algae breakouts.... Go Figure... I was such a noob... EPIC FAIL!

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd285/SoLiDST33L/125GPetsmartTank.jpg

[Porkyboy177]

Haha this should be good,

[Khemul]

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/khemul/2011-02-08105900.jpg
http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/khemul/2011-02-08105926.jpg
The earliest version of the current setup. Think it was taken in February. Version 1 was meant to be a Checkered Puffer tank. The puffer disagreed with the concept and decided carpet surfing was a better idea.

[NYCBOB]

these r some ugly setups.

[ohm786]

Lol, we have all been there...

[SoLiD]

these r some ugly setups.

While I agree, with my pay increase over the last 5 years, my current 40 gallon tank project would probably make you cry. I know it does me when I consider that I've spent close to $4000 on it so far. :-)

[mess7777]

good start to this one tagging along and hoping not to be the next to post! I nearly joined this club after realizing my used tank was missing the center brace and bowing over 1/4" in the middle. Luckily I switched it out before it was too late!

[Joe0813]

well ill be tagging along.... and hopefully when i get my tank up and running soon i wont be posting on this thread :(

[Sonicblast12]

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t5/sonicblast12/100_0362.jpg

This was about five years ago. Deep sand bed and maxi jets making tons of noise. Look at all that hair algae, I had forgotten how dirty that tank was. That starfish probably absorbed about $500 worth of fish, and I had a red lobster that was also a killer. Probably a half dozen Coral Beauties died in that tank. And yes, that's a yellow tang in a 75 G. It's a wonder I kept anything alive, didn't ever quarantine and had no idea how to treat ich. I would just feed garlic and cross my fingers.

[Reefing Newbie]

I don't see any problems with the above tank posted... Just needs a touch up and just a few... hmm edits lol. Hope my tank won't be posted here as I am setting it up(equipment stage right now, almost ready for water!)

[enjetek]

is that flame angel 'sleeping'? lol

[Sonicblast12]

It's not so much that it was a horrible tank or anything...at the time I thought it was incredible and the biggest tank in the world. I even had a skimmer!

But it was a revolving door of livestock, everything other than the tang, the flame angel, and the maroon clown died. And I killed two yellow tangs before I found that one. Lost so many fish shortly after acclimation, I would drip for wayyyyy too long. Hours with no water conditioner. And you should have seen the cyano outbreaks....

[Metal Man 1221]

If I still had pics from my original set up I would put you all to shame lol ( or myself, depends on how you want to look at it)

I loved CBBs when I first got in, after killing 3 it was my love for them that made me stop buying them.

However, walking into petco and seeing their tanks was always a confidence booster.

[Metal Man 1221]

Back in 2005 I saw a saltwater tank in a Doctors office and I thought it would be cool to copy it. I was so wrong. Here we have a 125 Gallon PetSmart fish tank with an Emperor 400 and Rena Filstar XP4 for filtration. It also has silica based playground sand and dead coral skeletons for decorations. I never could figure out why I had so much diatom algae breakouts.... Go Figure... I was such a noob... EPIC FAIL!

off topic but I love your DP, I still play MGS to this day.

[TheFishTeen]

Love this thread. Deserves thread of the month :)

My Fail Tank:

Day 1, Fail 1: Used canister filter.
http://thefishteen.kovstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/IMG_2870.jpg

Day 10, Fail 2: Added ten damsels.
http://thefishteen.kovstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/IMG_2988.jpg

Day 15, Fail 3: Added Pair of Fiji Puffers.
http://thefishteen.kovstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/IMG_3019.jpg

Day 20, Fail 4: Added a Yellow Tang and Cinnamon Clownfish
http://thefishteen.kovstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/IMG_3045.jpg

Day 25, Fail 5: Added GBTA.
http://thefishteen.kovstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/IMG_3047.jpg

And it just goes downhill from there...believe it or not the clownfish is actually a survivor of this ship wreck...

[palmer373]

3g tank I won in a raffle at a LFS. Had a RBTA and a clarki clown in it. Wish I knew better, oh and the LFS went out of business lol...
http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b405/palmer373/3g%20Nano%20Tank/P1060353.jpg

75g tank, added sooo many fish into it, still can't figure out why they died. I named the tank "The Bottomless Basin".
http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b405/palmer373/75g%20FOWLR/P1060799.jpg

This little devil ate soooooooo many fish, probably $300 worth AT LEAST! That is a lot for a kid whose only income is birthday money...
http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b405/palmer373/75g%20FOWLR/P1060661.jpg

[dnsfpl]

my virgin scape, 4 years ago
far too many rocks, and thick sandbed
dead coral skeleton too lol

http://i33.*******.com/ht8pk0.jpg

[sirreal63]

Epic Fail is using the words Epic Fail. Epic has become the most incorrectly used word of 2011.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epic

Everyone makes mistakes especially when starting their first tank.

[scarface70706]

Epic Fail is using the words Epic Fail. Epic has become the most incorrectly used word of 2011.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epic

Everyone makes mistakes especially when starting their first tank.

thank you literature police lol

and yes everyone makes mistakes when they first start thats why i made this thread. i wanted to give a better understanding "of what not to do " to the guys and gals that are starting up into this hobby. i wish i had this before i started back in high school. ill be sure to post my pic too if i can find any. i do have me old 55 tank at my parents but its all sand and a canister filter. (took the LV for my recent tank)

[Meshmez]

Epic Fail is using the words Epic Fail. Epic has become the most incorrectly used word of 2011.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epic

Everyone makes mistakes especially when starting their first tank.


From your link...

ep·ic   /ˈɛpɪk/ Show Spelled[ep-ik] Show IPA
adjective Also, ep·i·cal.

3. heroic; majestic; impressively great: the epic events of the war.

As in an "impressively great fail" or "epic fail"

[sirreal63]

I appreciate the reasons, but the reality is most people do not consult online forums before starting their first tank. Some do of course, but most do not. I wish there was an easy fix for that, but a thread with "EPIC FAIL TANKS Thread" is probably not going to do that. It's what the New to the Hobby section is for. :-)

I wish I still had the pics from my first FW tank, now that was funny. I listened to the "experts" at WalMart and of course did everything wrong.

[sirreal63]

From your link...



As in an "impressively great fail" or "epic fail"

And is as accurate as bright red white car or an epic hangover. It is ok if you do not grasp it.

[blackthunda77]

And is as accurate as bright red white car or an epic hangover. It is ok if you do not grasp it.

:rolleye1:

[TreyK]

epic hangover makes sense to me...

so does bright red car...

[icedgxe]

4. of unusually great size or extent: a crime wave of epic proportions.

I guess it should say failure of epic proportions, but it's not that big of a deal. I will however say that the words "fail" and "epic" are greatly overused.

[Reeferhead]

Listen people! Jack is right. If everyone went around using adjectives to modify verbs then soon we be using adverbs to modify nouns the world would become epically anarchy. :)

Besides which, this thread sucks! The title tricked me into opening it. You should be posting pics, stories, and videos like these:

Woman kills tropical fish during domestic
(http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=813)


TANK TROUBLE: Fifteen-hundred gallons of water went gushing down the aisles of a West Des Moines pet store Thursday when an aquarium burst
(http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-aquarium-bursts-120310,0,643901.story)

[ezerasurfr]

"Epic fail" is grammatically correct. So is the sentence: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

[Palting]

Listen people! Jack is right. If everyone went around using adjectives to modify verbs then soon we be using adverbs to modify nouns the world would become epically anarchy. :)

Besides which, this thread sucks! The title tricked me into opening it. You should be posting pics, stories, and videos like these:

Woman kills tropical fish during domestic
(http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=813)


TANK TROUBLE: Fifteen-hundred gallons of water went gushing down the aisles of a West Des Moines pet store Thursday when an aquarium burst
(http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-aquarium-bursts-120310,0,643901.story)

LOL!!! I agree. We need posting's like the above links. No more nonsense about grammar. BTW, those links were EPIC!! :).

Well, not quite sure this qualifies as an epic fail, but this is my first reef tank. I piled all the rock I could find on the back wall, making sure to close off open spaces. Talk about dead space and dead flow!! I guess the epic fail part is that I was proud of the rockscape!! Ignorance is bliss!! LOL!!!
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/Kalawing/013.jpg

[curthendrix]

Sitting at my desk 3 weeks ago when I look up and see 210g of saltwater pouring down the front of my stand as the right front bottom corner seam burst....does that count?

[sirreal63]

It counts as a bad thing to have happen.

[Garage1217]

is that flame angel 'sleeping'? lol

Hiding his head in shame lol

[nuccadoc]

Sitting at my desk 3 weeks ago when I look up and see 210g of saltwater pouring down the front of my stand as the right front bottom corner seam burst....does that count?

Haha, I can relate. I set a 55 gal on a not-so-flat surface once and that lasted about a year before the seem broke and darn near drowned the kids guinea pigs that were beneath it. Man that tank drained quickly!

[Unome]

WOW....the grammar police are in full force today. :lol2:

I like this topic. I plan on going to saltwater one of these days and seeing pictures and reading about what people have tried(and failed at) gives me ideas about what not to do and to keep on reading topics here.

[Saadatski]

"Epic fail" is grammatically correct. So is the sentence: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

Haha, I just learned that in my Literature class. I honestly did not get it at first, then my professor explained it.

[lucidheights]

My first tank was disastrous and i am too ashamed to look for photos of it but i'm sure you can use your imagination. In a nut shell, it was 72 gallons of an uncertain saline proportion (hydrometer), mixed with tufa rock, over Estes "Reef" sand, topped off with bioballs and 5 of the meanest damsels known to man... ugh.

[miwoodar]

When I was in college I put an extra piece of live rock in a plastic fish bowl on a window sill with an air stone to see what would might grow out of it. The view was promptly obscured by a layer of green algae then the contraption sat there for the next six months for no reason. My roommates were surprisingly OK with the experiment.

[scarface70706]

who cares its fun lol and for the ones that do research can find this thread and find it useful. lets not ruin this thread by nit picking on dumb things.

[Khemul]

Since when did "grammatically correct" and the internet go together? Next thing you know people'll ask for correct spelling. :uhoh2:

[whipsaw]

Meh. My first reef tank was pretty good looking, and all the pictures I have of it are blurry old 35mm.

My current FOWLR is full of fail though. Yes, those are powerheads running UG plates. Plenty of concrete, bleached coral skeletons and GHA. Really deep sand bed and really wide silicone seals. Bare plywood stand decorated with salt creep and spiderwebs. A mix of fish that looks like a clown vomited rainbows and glitter into the tank. An assorted collection of bottles, marbles and cans collected from various oceans. Probably not going to be TOTM any time soon, but really it can only get better....


http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=5256&pictureid=37148

[sirreal63]

Since when did "grammatically correct" and the internet go together? Next thing you know people'll ask for correct spelling. :uhoh2:

Correct spelling would only be a dream. The point is it is over used and incorrectly used, to the point of absurdity. I can only hope that the next time someone chooses those two words they stop and think if it is in the correct context. I do agree this has been fun, if it weren't also sad at the same time. I wonder what next years fad phrase will be? lol

No tank is a failure, as long as some understanding and learning comes from it.

[SushiGirl]

:debi:

[Ding2daDong]

Debbie Downer alert!

-Matthew

[Agu]

My first reef tank was a 55 with a HOB running carbon and a sponge filter. Lighting was a dual bulb normal output fluoro with "plant and aquarium" bulbs.

I had read that macroalgae was great natural filtration so when it showed up I babied it by getting a better VHO light fixture with appropriate bulbs. Then the sponge was removed, then I got a CPR skimmer, then I added more flow, then I went to water changes every week. My corals looked good, fish were healthy, but all the macro algae died off. :(

It was about 6 months later, after I had joined a local reef club, that I found out the macroalgae I was trying to cultivate was commonly known as "hair algae". :lmao:

[Palting]

My first reef tank was a 55 with a HOB running carbon and a sponge filter. Lighting was a dual bulb normal output fluoro with "plant and aquarium" bulbs.

I had read that macroalgae was great natural filtration so when it showed up I babied it by getting a better VHO light fixture with appropriate bulbs. Then the sponge was removed, then I got a CPR skimmer, then I added more flow, then I went to water changes every week. My corals looked good, fish were healthy, but all the macro algae died off. :(

It was about 6 months later, after I had joined a local reef club, that I found out the macroalgae I was trying to cultivate was commonly known as "hair algae". :lmao:

:lolspin::lolspin: Good one!!! :thumbsup:

[reefjunkie42]

Correct spelling would only be a dream. The point is it is over used and incorrectly used, to the point of absurdity. I can only hope that the next time someone chooses those two words they stop and think if it is in the correct context. I do agree this has been fun, if it weren't also sad at the same time. I wonder what next years fad phrase will be? lol

No tank is a failure, as long as some understanding and learning comes from it.


:deadhorse:Im pretty sure the point has been missed..:deadhorse:

[freetareef]

My first tank was disastrous and i am too ashamed to look for photos of it but i'm sure you can use your imagination. In a nut shell, it was 72 gallons of an uncertain saline proportion (hydrometer), mixed with tufa rock, over Estes "Reef" sand, topped off with bioballs and 5 of the meanest damsels known to man... ugh.

lol

[freetareef]

my first was a 20 long on the bar counter in my apartment. i had two clowns, four blue chromis and a yellow tang....it was like a roller rink...the fish went round and round and round.....lol. i even had a fluval canister filter...and four pounds of rock from petco.....
notice i didn't say live rock....lol

[freetareef]

LOL!!! I agree. We need posting's like the above links. No more nonsense about grammar. BTW, those links were EPIC!! :).

Well, not quite sure this qualifies as an epic fail, but this is my first reef tank. I piled all the rock I could find on the back wall, making sure to close off open spaces. Talk about dead space and dead flow!! I guess the epic fail part is that I was proud of the rockscape!! Ignorance is bliss!! LOL!!!
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/Kalawing/013.jpg

i did the "wall of rock" in my second tank, an aga 75...:blown:

[freetareef]

Meh. My first reef tank was pretty good looking, and all the pictures I have of it are blurry old 35mm.

My current FOWLR is full of fail though. Yes, those are powerheads running UG plates. Plenty of concrete, bleached coral skeletons and GHA. Really deep sand bed and really wide silicone seals. Bare plywood stand decorated with salt creep and spiderwebs. A mix of fish that looks like a clown vomited rainbows and glitter into the tank. An assorted collection of bottles, marbles and cans collected from various oceans. Probably not going to be TOTM any time soon, but really it can only get better....


http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=5256&pictureid=37148

lol... Plenty of concrete, bleached coral skeletons and GHA. Really deep sand bed and really wide silicone seals. Bare plywood stand decorated with salt creep and spiderwebs. A mix of fish that looks like a clown vomited rainbows and glitter into the tank.

this would accurately describe my second 75 gallon....diy lr...oh yeah...gray. lol

[raylost]

Here's mine,
My first 20g epic fail.
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae133/raylost/IMG_1457.jpg

[smellslikeTUNA]

hah this thread is awesome! keep it going people!

[smellslikeTUNA]

TANK TROUBLE: Fifteen-hundred gallons of water went gushing down the aisles of a West Des Moines pet store Thursday when an aquarium burst
(http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-aquarium-bursts-120310,0,643901.story)

everyone needs to watch this, too funny

[mystikdragon7]

http://www.overvolt.net/kristi/fire1.jpg
http://www.overvolt.net/kristi/fire2.jpg

HUGE EPIC FAILURE!

[Palting]

WOW!!! Good thing it didn't burn the room or the house! No GFI, I assume?

[lordofthereef]

Epic Fail is using the words Epic Fail. Epic has become the most incorrectly used word of 2011.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epic

Everyone makes mistakes especially when starting their first tank.

Use a word incorrectly for long enough and it is officially given a new meaning. If you think that every word in the English language has been around and has had the same meaning since the beginning of time, you are sadly mistaken. This thread is supposed to be fun. Please take the raincloud elsewhere.

[mystikdragon7]

WOW!!! Good thing it didn't burn the room or the house! No GFI, I assume?

It actually didn't burn that much of the floor or the back of the stand. I did however lose some livestock to it though. And no, there wasn't a GCFI lol:headwally:

[t4zalews]

I can laugh at this now because its over and no one got hurt....This happened to my buddy in college. He acquired a lighting system from a person in our fraternity, it was an ice cap and he and opened it up and spliced some wires. Needless to say he wasnt an electrician. You can see where this is going...lets just say they had to rebuild the whole condo wing.

[keywestcoralboy]

Ok no pics unfortunately.. But I go to Alaska for 4 months a year for work and my family maintains my reefs for me. this year one of the link light LEDs connector cords fell into the water creating a short.. Causing a real fire in the stand it gatored almost the whole back wall of the stand made a huge black spot on the ceiling and triped the circut breaker for my apartment, no waterfow= alot of death. also when breaker was turned back on fire restarted.. I was on the coast of the bearing sea and that's what I hear on the satellite phone EPIC FAIL.

[bigworm175]

Epic Fail is using the words Epic Fail. Epic has become the most incorrectly used word of 2011.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epic


You need look into the difference between prescriptive language and descriptive language. You are in an Internet forum (context). Please get off your horse that is high and have a little fun.

I had a 37 gallon tall that had 2 65w PCs and a Rena canister filter. I tried to keep a Naso Tang and numerous sps on the sand bed. I am a bad person :sad2:

[TheFishTeen]

Let's not let the nerd inside of us out and roam this thread for grammar corrections. Were here for reefing, not English class :)

[bigworm175]

My nerd is not on the inside it is on the outside. But your point is the same as mine. I like this thread.

[scarface70706]

ugh i need to hurry up and post my pic. ive been wanting to but ive been so busy. soon like promised. Thank you guys for participating. looking great so far lol wow this thread is turning out great.

[Daniel Reef]

Epic Fail is using the words Epic Fail. Epic has become the most incorrectly used word of 2011.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epic

Everyone makes mistakes especially when starting their first tank.

According to urbandictionary.com, epic fail (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=epic+fail) means:

Complete and total failure when success should have been reasonably easy to attain.

[freetareef]

here is what happens when you skip the planning phase....the light is to big, the stylo under the tank is to small, i just downgraded from a 150 so there is a lot of sand, the stand was welded at work by me... and guess what i had in the sump? a dsb....lol

<a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/256/epicfailr.jpg/'><img src='http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/8246/epicfailr.jpg' border='0'/></a>

Uploaded with <a target='_blank' href='http://imageshack.us'>ImageShack.us</a>

eventually i got found a better home for the tangs, made a hood, got a lot more rock and this system turned out well...i think the mesh modded asm g-3 with the gate valve helped.....considering it was a 75 gallon...

<a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/59/hpim0204q.jpg/'><img src='http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/939/hpim0204q.jpg' border='0'/></a>

Uploaded with <a target='_blank' href='http://imageshack.us'>ImageShack.us</a>

[freetareef]

lol that post is an epic fail....hope you don't have dial up....

[TheFishTeen]

lol that post is an epic fail....hope you don't have dial up....

Hahahaha it kinda hurt my eyes on my 15" macbook....lol

[SoLiD]

lol that post is an epic fail....hope you don't have dial up....

Hahahaha it kinda hurt my eyes on my 15" macbook....lol

Yeah, do us a favor and resize the picture to a monitor freindly resolution like 1024X768. That post totally screws up an already messed up thread. :debi:

[kidkams]

when i first got into saltwater (the tender age of 12) my neighbor gave me a 10 gallon tank and i was convinced i would be able to fit a lionfish, fw catfish and about 3 angelfish in there. I had no idea what i was doing, eventually i learned though haha

[Dyraxe]

The term "epic fail" was first used as sort of a back handed comment for hard core gammers. i.e. World of Warcraft. Just like LEET speak (elite speak) which you see everywhere now as "LOL, ROFL, ROFLCOPTER, ***!.....etc etc. It is basically nerd lingo of the now internet generation. The premise of the word was meant to be an oxymoron with no intention to be grammatically correct. That to me is the reason why it is funny to call someone an epic fail. You are saying basically, you suck! lol

I find this thread to be great and I got a kick out of these tanks posted.

[unhandleable]

Haha, this thread is amazing. I myself have had my share of failage in my first tank.

[Chubby]

Correct spelling would only be a dream. The point is it is over used and incorrectly used, to the point of absurdity. I can only hope that the next time someone chooses those two words they stop and think if it is in the correct context. I do agree this has been fun, if it weren't also sad at the same time. I wonder what next years fad phrase will be? lol

No tank is a failure, as long as some understanding and learning comes from it.
http://www.aprilroad.com/pages/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/loser-150x150.jpg

BTW, love this thread!

[sirreal63]

Is that a self portrait? Love the hat.

[billdogg]

This was not my fail, but it was my tank.

My first tank (circa 1988) was a 55 with 2 x 24" NO t12's and a UG filter with airstones. It's first big upgrade was (gasp) powerheads instead of the airstones on the UG lift tubes. Crushed coral. It was stocked with (no kidding here) 54 different creatures. I had a multitude of fish, shrimps, crabs, a lobster, starfish, a clam, a few anemones (a condy and a couple gbta's) a variety of corals including gorgonians, and a few things I'm sure I've forgotten. It was actually a beautiful tank, but required weekly 20 - 30% WC's to keep it happy. I worked PT at the LFS, so salt (and fish) was at cost. That helped.

Then I went to Put-IN-Bay for a long weekend at the family cottage, leaving my GF in charge of the tank and my other pets (2 dogs and a cat). It was the last weekend of July. The temps went to 100+. I had a great time at the lake - way too much time at Frosty's Bar and Heinimans winery (Mom graduated from PIB HS with Louie Heiniman - the wine was free - all I could drink) and lots of swimming. Got home Sunday afternoon and the temp outside was 105. My backdoor faced east, and when I touched it to put my key in the lock, burnt myself on the knob. I thought the place was on fire. I opened the door and a wave of stench nearly knocked me over. The GF had decided to save me some $$$ on electricity by turning off the AC on the first day. I had left a very detailed sheet of instructions - but had not even thought about adding "LEAVE THE FREAKING AC ON YOU DIMWIT!) Needless to say, the tank was a total loss. I would estimate the water temp at somewhere above 120. Luckily, the dogs and cat were in the basement where it was cool enough to live. She came over later, as I was flushing the tank with the garden hose run in through the window. Her response to the disaster? "well - it's ok - I'll just have my daddy give me some money and you can buy all new next week" If I were not a fairly even tempered type, I'd a killed the ...witch.

Ironically, I had spent my time at the lake deciding that it was just never going to work out with us and it was time to end the relationship.

After that, it was impossible to keep anything alive in that tank. It went to the trash.

You wanted EPIC??? Yup - been there, lived through it, don't ever want to do it again.

[Cloudburst2000]

This was not my fail, but it was my tank.

My first tank (circa 1988) was a 55 with 2 x 24" NO t12's and a UG filter with airstones. It's first big upgrade was (gasp) powerheads instead of the airstones on the UG lift tubes. Crushed coral. It was stocked with (no kidding here) 54 different creatures. I had a multitude of fish, shrimps, crabs, a lobster, starfish, a clam, a few anemones (a condy and a couple gbta's) a variety of corals including gorgonians, and a few things I'm sure I've forgotten. It was actually a beautiful tank, but required weekly 20 - 30% WC's to keep it happy. I worked PT at the LFS, so salt (and fish) was at cost. That helped.

Then I went to Put-IN-Bay for a long weekend at the family cottage, leaving my GF in charge of the tank and my other pets (2 dogs and a cat). It was the last weekend of July. The temps went to 100+. I had a great time at the lake - way too much time at Frosty's Bar and Heinimans winery (Mom graduated from PIB HS with Louie Heiniman - the wine was free - all I could drink) and lots of swimming. Got home Sunday afternoon and the temp outside was 105. My backdoor faced east, and when I touched it to put my key in the lock, burnt myself on the knob. I thought the place was on fire. I opened the door and a wave of stench nearly knocked me over. The GF had decided to save me some $$$ on electricity by turning off the AC on the first day. I had left a very detailed sheet of instructions - but had not even thought about adding "LEAVE THE FREAKING AC ON YOU DIMWIT!) Needless to say, the tank was a total loss. I would estimate the water temp at somewhere above 120. Luckily, the dogs and cat were in the basement where it was cool enough to live. She came over later, as I was flushing the tank with the garden hose run in through the window. Her response to the disaster? "well - it's ok - I'll just have my daddy give me some money and you can buy all new next week" If I were not a fairly even tempered type, I'd a killed the ...witch.

Ironically, I had spent my time at the lake deciding that it was just never going to work out with us and it was time to end the relationship.

After that, it was impossible to keep anything alive in that tank. It went to the trash.

You wanted EPIC??? Yup - been there, lived through it, don't ever want to do it again.

Thank god the dogs and cat were okay. While I love my tank, I love my cat more. If someone were to accidentally kill the tank off, I could eventually forgive them. If they did that to my kitty-boy, there would be bloodshed.

And my epic fail is happening right now. I'm upgrading my current tank to a larger tank with new live rock, new live sand, etc. The only thing from my old tank going to the new one is the clownfish. I gave all my old corals to my brother-in-law so needless to say, I haven't really been maintaining the tank I will be taking down. It is hair algae central in there LOL

[Crazy_Beaver]

Haha!Great idea for a thread!!!!!

[gmate]

Bump for more fail stories.

[wlyon]

I'm slightly embarrassed to show this but oh well...

I started my first tank right in the middle of finals week (first mistake) and this is what happened during the cycle. I used two pieces of LR and a couple pieces of DR and a plastic decoration the LFS said would be fine (second mistake)

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/8439/img1044fl.jpg

However on a good note, this is what that aquarium has turned into 2 years later.

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/4067/img0031pw.jpg

[FragIt Dan]

1997, 65g in my mom's living room with my brother sleeping in the basement bedroom below it. Tank had been setup for a few years by then. My brother recalls waking up to it raining, but inside! The tank had been dripping down the metallic stand (apparently for a while) and rusted it out. Back leg of the stand gave out, torqued the front glass shattering it. The wave in the living room rocked back and forth three times (it left salt residue up the walls indicating the height of the wave). I was at university at the time and left the tank to my mom's care, so there was little I could do. My brother grabbed the two fish we had (panther grouper and Picasso trigger) and threw them in a bucket, then filled it up with tap water in the tub. After calling my mom at work she told him to add salt, so he did and stirred it up (so much for premixing). Both fish were donate to our LFS and survived years to become local heroes at the LFS. Total insurance bill was $66K, but that's what insurance is for :). There's something epic about that fail ;).


FragIt Dan

[TheFishTeen]

Ouch! Hurricane Katrina in your living room!

Heres a scary story, It's a little more serious than an 'epic fail'. This is via another forum - mods please be friendly.

Tommy almost died Wednesday evening after being exposed to the deadly Palytoxin from zoanthids left over night in a bucket. The zoo's were have dead from leaving them over night in a bucket so he decided to clean the rocks off in his utility tub with hot water and scrubbing them. He was full aware of the danger of the toxin, he used eye protection and full length gloves to clean the rocks. What he didn't protect was his lungs, the hot water and steam from the water made the toxin airborne. After 20 minutes of cleaning the rocks he went up stairs, feeling sick to his stomach. after another half hour passed he was ready to head to the emergency room but before he left he printed out articles on the toxin to take with him. In the waiting room he became almost paralyzed and started to cough up blood, his lungs were filling up with blood as well. The Dr's treated him with everything the could think of and were getting results, they called in the priest for last rights that evening and didn't think he'd make it through the night. Thursday morning they continued massive treat of antibiotics and steroids with little improvement. Today he's on his way back from his death bed and will be in the hospital for days to run tests and monitor his progress. We wanted me to post up to let everyone know and to remind them the dangers of our tanks. Thoughts and prayers go out to Tommy and his family, which also got sick from the toxin just not as bad as Tommy did being in closer range to the steam.
Erik

Tommy has recently updated:

I tire easily still and am on 100 percent oxygen still, but improving.


Moral of the story is, don't underestimate the toxins in your tank.

[PufferPutz]

Ouch! Hurricane Katrina in your living room!

Heres a scary story, It's a little more serious than an 'epic fail'. This is via another forum - mods please be friendly.



Tommy has recently updated:



Moral of the story is, don't underestimate the toxins in your tank.

That is interesting and very sad at the same time. I am still researching my first reef tank. I hadn't considered the toxins that are associated with some of these critters. Weird, because I have raised, and bred, spiders with various toxicities of venom of the years. I should have realized this sooner.

Thanks for posting.

[cyberpanther]

Here's my story.

Went on vacation only to come back to find a fuse blew and the tank had been off for days. As soon as I got home and saw this I filled rubbermaid containers with saltwater to put any surviving corals and fish in. While looking for the fish I was putting the live rock in a different bucket, when all the sudden my hand got cut on the side of the rock. Within a couple hours it was sore and inflamed around the cutm, and by the next day I had a red streak up my arm and my hand had swollen to about 3 times it's size. I went to stat care to find out I had blood poisoning from all the toxins in the tank from things dying etc.

I ended up being ok, but the doctor said she had seen a guy that was allergic to bee stings get stung by a lionfish and it didn't look as bad as mine did. Tanks can be deadly.

[sneaton]

180534

this is my first saltwater tank (29 g)..this pic was taken the day i added water...the lfs said to add fish right away so they talked me into a yellow tang and a clown...lol....the water is still cloudy from mixing the salt directly in the tank full of tap water....no powerheads,no live rock,no skimmer....just a hang on the back 20 gallon filter.....both fish are still alive....tang is in a 75 though....(i know...the 75 is still too small)

[huseman808]

Here is my tank when i first started it. I had a Power 30 filter, and tried to close-loop plumb a 20$ protein skimmer from ebay to work with a gaudy powerhead and plumbing. It produced no skimmate, but on the other hand it did make infinite micro-bubbles. Fail.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss22/huseman808/IMG_3112.jpg
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss22/huseman808/IMG_3115.jpg

But here it is now, so I learned. :)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss22/huseman808/IMG_1537.jpg

[Telaverus]

Epic fail!... "D'oh!"

110 gallon tall tank lit with 2 PC's, I was sure to put the corals on the bottom to light acclimate them though :spin2:

I also started the tank with tap water and urinated in it to start the cycle, then put fish in it a couple of days later. The saying "a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous" comes to mind. I never did feel right sticking my hand in that tank :lol2:

[ritter6788]

Set up my first saltwater tank with the help of Petco and the LFS. :(

HOB filter, one t8 bulb for light.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee283/ritter6788/024.jpg

I also had 2 clownfish...so they could host the anemone....
The lion fish ate one of the clowns...
The bicolor angel died in one day from ich...the guy at the LFS said it would get along just fine with the Coral Beauty...
The mandarin was suggested for this tank by the LFS...since they will eat frozen brine...

[mkbtank]

Great thread.

The year was 85, and I was 13. Picture my 10 Gallon HEX tank with a baby octopus. He would hide under my one decoration, a brain coral skeleton which was en vogue for SW at the time. The highlight was whenever someone came over, I would lift up its hiding spot to watch it INK, as I thought that was the greatest. Needless to say, that did not last long. UGH.

[drw94]

I was about 12 or 13. So about 23 years ago. I caught at small shark that was about 9 inchs long from the local pier. I lived in southern california at that time. I put it in a 20 gallon tank with a hob filter. It did live for about a week. I felt bad and returned it to the ocean. Yes still alive and it swam off great.

[tobyte1]

Easter, 1993. Im out of the country for work and my kids decide that the fish were hungry.....Dumped a WHOLE bag of jellybeans in my 120g. The wife didn't know what to do so she scooped out the beans and let it ride....I come home four days later to aquarium armageddon. Totally wiped out. Nothing smells worse than putrid, rotting anemones. I was so devastated that I got out of the hobby for 5 years......Thank goodness, there are no pictures. Not memories that I want to keep.

[HHIreefer843]

Ive only been in the hobby for 2 years but my first tank consisted with a HOB filter a vlamgini tang, sohal, yellow and a kole, all in the same tank.....I'll post pics soon

[Snakebyt]

when i started my first reef tank, i came across some LR at the LFS that had these cool coral things on them, over a couple weeks, i bought about 10lbs of rock, was so suprised i was getting a coral covered rock for LR price....

Found reef central and found out the cool coral looking things were majanos and aptasia...

[Snakebyt]

when i started my first reef tank, i came across some LR at the LFS that had these cool coral things on them, over a couple weeks, i bought about 10lbs of rock, was so suprised i was getting a coral covered rock for LR price....

Found reef central and found out the cool coral looking things were majanos and aptasia...

[sanchoy]

Yes coral aiptasia rock also for me

[KyleK46]

I feel there are some people holding out! this only helps people so support the new guys ! lol

[jrp1588]

My epic fail occurred recently (In the past few months) after a few years of successful reef keeping.

1)I didn't feel like shelling out $30 for a TDS meter for my RO/DI. All well and good until one day the stem of my membrane breaks and starts allowing water to bypass. I have no idea how long this had been going on, and I didn't discover something was amiss until I got color changing DI media. I would burn through it after making a good 50gal of water. I got a TDS meter and discovered I was getting 80tds out of the membrane. I had been running for months putting 80tds water into my tank, plus my water dept uses chloramine, so the water was high in ammonia...oh, I have copper pipes too.

2)Who needs a thermometer? For some reason I didn't see the value in that $2 investment. Over the winter my tank temps would drop down to about 72 at night and rise to 78 during the day. (adjustable house thermostat set to 62 at night and 68 at day) Picked up another 250watt Jager and everything is cool now.

3) Using bricked up salt. I left a half bucket of oceanic salt open overnight in my humid basement. Needless to say it was rock hard by morning. I've been using that for the better part of 6 months. Apparently this causes the calcium and alk to combine and form calcium carbonate and ruins your alk and calc numbers.

4) More rock is better right? I had an obscene amount of rock in my 75gal tank. It was stacked against the back and side glass, forming a huge wall of dead flow areas. I removed a 5 gallon bucket worth of rock. I now get much better flow and I can scrape all of my glass!

It's no wonder my tank has been plagued by algae and STN. Things are slowly recovering now. The STNing corals are beginning to recover, and algae is growing back slower and slower each time after I remove it.

I'm embarrassed I let it get this out of hand. haha