The death of my tank 5 year old tank.

[Palting]

Left for 3 days, came back to a dark tank. The GFI had tripped, and shut the tank down. Here is the tank after what I assume to be 3 days worth of stagnation.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2355&pictureid=66172

All the SPS are melted, all the fish are dead. My favorite fish, an 8" Naso, and my show fish, a full grown Purple tang, and the whole rest of the gang... gone. Moved what still seemed alive to my FOWLR. A few LPS mostly, and my old hardy clam. Several softies like shrooms seem to be alive in old the tank, but are stuck on rocks and I don't want to move dying rocks to my pristine FOWLR.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2355&pictureid=66173

Mixing 40 gallons, my whole RODI stock, for the largest one time water change I can do. Will do another one tomorrow.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2355&pictureid=66174

Man, oh man, oh man.

[Coelli]

Oh man. :( I am so, so sorry. :(

Did you have an Apex or anything? This has me thinking it would be a good idea to hook up my Apex and the wireless for it to a UPS - so if anything happens, at least the Apex would have power long enough to send an alert.

I'm really sorry. How devastating. :(

[biggles]

Came home to the same thing years ago mate, gutted for you :(

[Palting]

Thanks, Coelli and Biggles. The GFI has not tripped once in these 5 years. The one time it trips, I am not home. **sigh**

Anyway, I don't want the above pictures to be the last picture I post of the tank. Here is the tank in better days just a few weeks ago:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2355&pictureid=62050

[anbosu]

Man that really stinks - sorry to hear

[Nina51]

every reefers worst nightmare. so very sorry for such a terrible loss. :(

[Aussie_00]

That is tough mate. It can happen so quickly.

[AdamNC]

That sucks man, had that happen about 8 years ago while living in Florida just after a hurricane hit West Palm Beach.

[usmc121581]

Sry, i had something like that happen last year, glad it was only my 40 gal. Sad thing was i lost my basketball sized frogspawn. Dont know what i would do if it was my 180.

[slief]

Wow. What a tragedy. I'm so sorry for your loss. Your tank was beautiful & I hope you restore it to all it's former glory.

Any clue what caused the GFCI to trip? Unfortunately, this is exactly why I don't keep my tanks on GFCI outlets. GFCI's are always touted as a must have but I've seen this story all too often. Unfortunately GFCI's fail and can trip prematurely. In 17 years since buying my new home, I've had a couple GFCI outlets go bad despite their limited use. While they do offer great protection, I'm not willing to risk my tank with them. If one of the powered devices on any of my tanks short, the circuit breaker will trip. I've been in this hobby about 27 years now and never had an issue that a GFCI would have prevented but I always run quality equipment and keep all my power devices away from water and off the ground to insure they don't get wet. Even my pumps are elevated off the ground on 3/4" thick rubber mats.

Again, sorry for your loss and I hope you get things back to the tanks former glory sooner rather than later.

[AcroporAddict]

Sorry for your loss, man what a shame. If I can give some advice, since you have moved what is alive elsewhere, you might benefit better from completely draining the tank first, then fill it from empty with new water. You are just diluting the taint with consecutive water changes, whereas you might get rid of most of it at once if you drain the old water completely, then refill over a couple-three days.

[Dduval]

Sorry for your loss as well, that is just terrible.

I am new here and learning, how does one prevent this? Or can it be prevented? Sounds like something that would happen to me with my luck...

[kmbyrnes]

Really sorry for your loss. Can't imagine how I would feel if I lost all that work.
Keep a positive attitude and bring it back, better than ever!

[reefkeeper2]

Sorry for your loss. It really sucks to lose your tank due to an equipment failure. You really need a GFCI though for safety sake. When you reboot your tank, put the main pump and one of your heaters on their own GFCI. Then put your powerheads and another heater on another. This way if one trips your tank will survive and you still have the safety a GFCI provides.

[cthedaytrader]

So sorry same thing happened to me years ago, I feel your pain. I hope you will bring it back!!!

[Palting]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

I can't drain the tank completely, acroporAddict. There are still some surviving coral in there that I cannot take out without further damaging them. Total system volume is 200 gallons, and I don't have that much RODI around. I'll just keep diluting things down as I make more RODI to make into salt water. Next 40 gallon water change is tomorrow, then another the day after, then another. I am hoping something more in there survives.

Have no clue as to what caused the GFCI to trip, slief. I just pushed the reset button, and everything turned back on again. My fear is a house electrical fire, so I will still use GFCI. I my do it a little differently next time, though. I will use at least two GFCI outlets. One will be for the main pump, while the other will be for the in-tank powerheads. If the main pump GFCI trips, the powerheads will keep the water flowing and in-tank filtration going. And vice versa if the GFCI to the powerhead trips instead. I guess one REALY has to be unlucky if both GFCI's trip at the same time.

This whole thing feels so unreal, I still cannot believe it happened. Denial is the first stage of mourning, right? Bummer.

[SCreeferGuy]

Really sorry about the loss..

Too late I know, but there is an auto-reset GFIC (search - Tower Manufacturing 30334052 15 amp Auto Reset GFCI Protected Quad Outlet Box With Circuit Breaker).

The idea is that it will act like a regular GFIC but if power goes out, it will reset itself so you don't have to be there to push the reset button.

[DavidinGA]

Wow. What a tragedy. I'm so sorry for your loss. Your tank was beautiful & I hope you restore it to all it's former glory.

Any clue what caused the GFCI to trip? Unfortunately, this is exactly why I don't keep my tanks on GFCI outlets. GFCI's are always touted as a must have but I've seen this story all too often. Unfortunately GFCI's fail and can trip prematurely. In 17 years since buying my new home, I've had a couple GFCI outlets go bad despite their limited use. While they do offer great protection, I'm not willing to risk my tank with them. If one of the powered devices on any of my tanks short, the circuit breaker will trip. I've been in this hobby about 27 years now and never had an issue that a GFCI would have prevented but I always run quality equipment and keep all my power devices away from water and off the ground to insure they don't get wet. Even my pumps are elevated off the ground on 3/4" thick rubber mats.

Again, sorry for your loss and I hope you get things back to the tanks former glory sooner rather than later.
/this

I never run gfci's.


Sorry for the loss man....

[Rob6311]

I'm sorry that happened to you, I'd hate for that to happen to me and I'd never wish that on anyone, it truly was an amazing tank and really hope you can recover it. But what is GFCI?

[kelrn98]

Oh so sorry. Wow, makes me never want to leave the house for more than a day. Aside from not using GFCI (which is kinda scary in itself), what safety precautions do you all take to prevent such tragedy? I feel like I have become kinda numb and unresponsive to the emails from my RKE, guess I need to start paying more attention to it.

Again, very sorry for your loss, I couldn't imagine your devastation. Hopefully you will rebuild.

[kga943]

That sucks real bad

[moondoggy4]

Sorry for your loss, it is a gut wrenching experience. I keep almost everything on a GFI but not the tunze 6100 it is plugged into the wall, I would have at least circulation.

[slief]

I'm sorry that happened to you, I'd hate for that to happen to me and I'd never wish that on anyone, it truly was an amazing tank and really hope you can recover it. But what is GFCI?

A GFCI is a power outlet with a built in circuit breaker. It stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. Commonly referred to here as a GFI. A GFCI is designed to shut off the outlet in the event that the circuit grounds out. They are often recommended for aquarium circuits in conjunction with a ground probe. The idea is that if a device in the water shorts out, the GFCI will trip and prevent the circuit from potential catastrophic failure. The problem with them is that like a circuit breaker, over time under heavy loads, they will trip arbitrarily under loads below their operating rating. Unlike a circuit breaker, they are much more sensitive to loads and not as robust. In my experience, a device that grounds out in an aquarium that is properly grounded will trip a breaker just like it trips the GFCI so a GFCI is in my opinion redundant protection but they aren't as reliable long term as a circuit breaker. Many people swear by them and say they are a must have however, stories like this are all to common and very often the cause isn't a short but instead an older or tired GFCI that tripped itself as a result of a load that happens to be below it's rating.

They are very common and required for most circuits as part of code for newer homes in the US. I have them all over my house but for my tank,I run a series of dedicated circuits with no GFCI outlets.
http://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GFCI

[Pomacanthus1]

Such a senseless loss, I would never run a tank on one after hearing a few of these stories.:(

[sirreal63]

I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Your tank has been a favorite of mine for a long time.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Oh man! I'm very sorry for your loss. :(

[dyazdani]

Sorry for your loss, but you can rebuild! Good luck!

Remember that a GFCI and a circuit breaker operate on completely different principles. A typical circuit breaker (i.e. a non-GFCI breaker), offers over-current protection for heavy loads or short circuit conditions and are thermal or electromagnetic in nature. A GFCI measures the current balance between the hot and neutral connections using a differential current transformer. As long as the current is the same in and out, there is no issue. Once there is an imbalance above a certain point (I believe it is around 6mA) the unit will trip. The difference could be that some of that current is leaking out to a short, or through YOU. You do not want 15-20A of current going through you to trip the circuit breaker in the panel...

[ca1ore]

Oh, man, that sucks! Been there, done that, unfortunately :( When it happened to me, I bailed! Couldn't stay away forever though because I felt it was a moral imperative to come back bigger and better ..... at the very least I'll never lose a tank to the same cause ..... probably a different one, but not the same.

[johnike]

I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Your tank has been a favorite of mine for a long time.

This.
Sorry, man.

[CuzzA]

That sucks.

But, all this nonsense about not running a GFCI is crazy. I encourage some of you to search the Internet for stories where unprotected aquarium circuits have burnt down people's homes.

The notion that it's better to run a system not on a protected circuit to potentially save your tank, while leaving your home vulnerable to being burnt down fails to even scratch the surface of common sense. I can assure you that if your home burns down, you'll lose your tank. :crazy1:

There are ways to insure this type of thing won't happen without losing the protection of a GFCI circuit.

1) Run a battery back up that will last at least 24 hours.
2) If you're going to be away from your tank for more than 24 hours, have someone check on it.
3) If you have a controller there's a couple ways to be notified in the event of a power outage or tripped GFCI/breaker. The easiest way is to register with ReefTronics, they will notify you after one hour of not being able to communicate with your controller.

Again, I encourage anyone reading this thread to not take the advice of those suggesting to remove or not use a GFCI. There is a reason why it's a required building code to have any wet area circuits protected. To stop the flow of electricity, whether it be to fuel a fire or kill you when you unintentionally become the ground for the circuit.

[boxfishpooalot]

Sorry to see that.

Fwiw I learned my lesson with cars long ago too. I bought a 3000$ stereo and didn't buy the alarm. Guess what happened?

So we should buy the "alarm" before we buy the "stereo".

[Drae]

I really liked your reef... Sorry about this tragedy man. Keep your head up, you still have a blue thumb.

[zeebies]

Very sorry Palting. Thoughts are with you.

[Pomacanthus1]

But, all this nonsense about not running a GFCI is crazy. I encourage some of you to search the Internet for stories where unprotected aquarium circuits have burnt down people's homes.

The notion that it's better to run a system not on a protected circuit to potentially save your tank, while leaving your home vulnerable to being burnt down fails to even scratch the surface of common sense. I can assure you that if your home burns down, you'll lose your tank. :crazy1:

You mean like how people have done for decades? I've been here for years and I can't once remember someone's house burning down but I can remember several catastrophes caused by GFCI trips like this one.

I don't mind GFCI in the bathroom but anywhere else in the house or workplace they are terribly annoying and go off at the drop of a hat, running a tank on one of those unreliable POS is like playing Russian roulette with your livestock every day. I wouldn't trust one of those dang things to go off and save me when it needed to anyway. :lol:

[reefkeeper2]

You mean like how people have done for decades? I've been here for years and I can't once remember someone's house burning down but I can remember several catastrophes caused by GFCI trips like this one.

I don't mind GFCI in the bathroom but anywhere else in the house or workplace they are terribly annoying and go off at the drop of a hat, running a tank on one of those unreliable POS is like playing Russian roulette with your livestock every day. I wouldn't trust one of those dang things to go off and save me when it needed to anyway. :lol:

Do a search. It is irresponsible to advise people not to use a GFCI. I have been here for years and I have seen people who have had fires.

[DavidinGA]

You mean like how people have done for decades? I've been here for years and I can't once remember someone's house burning down but I can remember several catastrophes caused by GFCI trips like this one.

I don't mind GFCI in the bathroom but anywhere else in the house or workplace they are terribly annoying and go off at the drop of a hat, running a tank on one of those unreliable POS is like playing Russian roulette with your livestock every day. I wouldn't trust one of those dang things to go off and save me when it needed to anyway. :lol:
Exactly.

I can't remember the last time I ever heard a story of a house fire from not using a gfci on a tank. Lol

I've heard countless stories of tank crashes from gfci's tripping...

[Pomacanthus1]

Do a search. It is irresponsible to advise people not to use a GFCI. I have been here for years and I have seen people who have had fires.

If you don't trust GFCIs on your own aquarium with potentially thousands of dollars worth of livestock, then it would be irresponsible to advise others to use them on their aquariums. Point of view.

[outssider]

My gfci has shut down 3 times. It caught my ballast "Twice" starting to short out, there was smoke and I was home at the time. once it detected a power head starting to go out.

I will always have a gfci hooked up.

[reefkeeper2]

If you don't trust GFCIs on your own aquarium with potentially thousands of dollars worth of livestock, then it would be irresponsible to advise others to use them on their aquariums. Point of view.

I suppose that would depend on if you value your livestock more than the lives of yourself and your family.

[Pomacanthus1]

I suppose that would depend on if you value your livestock more than the lives of yourself and your family.

Yes, everyone really was being reckless jerks the whole time before GFCI came out. For years, families were dying in scores in the name of keeping precious corals, but no longer is the saltwater hobby plagued by the shadow of death thanks to the amazing GFCI. That is, unless you happen to live in the aquarium itself.

[JMorris271]

Good point^
I am so sorry this happened to you and just can't imagine.:uhoh2:
Because of this thread, when I go away for a few days, my system will be split. half criticals on GFI and half on wall socket.

[reefkeeper2]

Good point^
I am so sorry this happened to you and just can't imagine.:uhoh2:
Because of this thread, when I go away for a few days, my system will be split. half criticals on GFI and half on wall socket.

I always have it split between two CGFIs. One for the main pump, the other for the powerheads with a battery backup. It already saved me from a fire once when a leak dripped on an extension cord. I had just got home from work and noticed a burning odor and the main pump was off. Nothing happened to the livestock because the powerheads on the other CGFI were still on. Ask any electrician, you really are tempting fate if you don't use CGFIs around water.

[Palting]

Quick update:

The tank already seems better after two 40 gal water changes. Life is appearing in the tank. Several of my Mini maxi anemones are already opening up, and the baby leathers are showing polyps again. Plus, Duncans, acan lords, candy canes, hammers, etc are acclimating to the FOWLR and seem to be recovering well. A lot was lost, but not all was lost. I figure 6-8 weeks to clean and stabilize the tank, then I can start restocking. As they say in one of my favorite quirky movies, Galaxy Quest, "Never give up, Never surrender!"

[CuzzA]

Wow. So clearly none of you have searched the Internet for stories of aquariums burning down a house or people dying from electrocution. And just because it hasn't happened to you that means it won't happen. Right?

The argument that we had tanks before GFCI's proves they are not necessary is nonsense. That's like saying, cars used to not have seat belts, so screw it, we don't need seat belts when we drive cars.

A quality properly installed GFCI should not trip without a reason. Perhaps, you guys need to hire a licensed electrician. My properly installed GFCI's have never tripped. Ever!!!

Do whatever you want. Since you guys don't want to find the info, I'll share just a few examples.

One fire.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=584645

Experience from a electrical engineer hobbyist.
http://joejaworski.wordpress.com/2007/09/06/aquarist-found-dead/

Hobbyist dead from aquarium electrocution.
http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/general-discussions/32580-herkie.html

Here's some info from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
http://www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/118853/099.pdf

[Khemul]

Yes, everyone really was being reckless jerks the whole time before GFCI came out.
:lolspin:
But really, yes, they were.


Somehow though I get the feeling this thread wasn't meant to be a debate on the merits of GFCI's... :facepalm:

[reefkeeper2]

Wow. So clearly none of you have searched the Internet for stories of aquariums burning down a house or people dying from electrocution. And just because it hasn't happened to you that means it won't happen. Right?

The argument that we had tanks before GFCI's proves they are not necessary is nonsense. That's like saying, cars used to not have seat belts, so screw it, we don't need seat belts when we drive cars.

A quality properly installed GFCI should not trip without a reason. Perhaps, you guys need to hire a licensed electrician. My properly installed GFCI's have never tripped. Ever!!!

Do whatever you want. Since you guys don't want to find the info, I'll share just a few examples.

One fire.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=584645

Experience from a electrical engineer hobbyist.
http://joejaworski.wordpress.com/2007/09/06/aquarist-found-dead/

Hobbyist dead from aquarium electrocution.
http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/general-discussions/32580-herkie.html

Here's some info from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
http://www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/118853/099.pdf

Thanks for posting that. I'm not astonished that people don't know this. It is pretty common actually and I see questions on other sites and forums about CGFIs. The disaster the OP went through is not uncommon either, and having two GFCI circuits gives you both safety and insurance. The OP was polite and thankful for the info but the attitude displayed by some of the others goes a long way in explaining why a lot of the more experienced hobbyists won't post on RC anymore.

[wetWolger]

Quick update:

The tank already seems better after two 40 gal water changes. Life is appearing in the tank. Several of my Mini maxi anemones are already opening up, and the baby leathers are showing polyps again. Plus, Duncans, acan lords, candy canes, hammers, etc are acclimating to the FOWLR and seem to be recovering well. A lot was lost, but not all was lost. I figure 6-8 weeks to clean and stabilize the tank, then I can start restocking. As they say in one of my favorite quirky movies, Galaxy Quest, "Never give up, Never surrender!"

I would be curious to see what the tank looks like now. I know it's not flattering, but I am curious.

Sorry for your lost, but happy to hear some hardies lived through it.

[CuzzA]

Somehow though I get the feeling this thread wasn't meant to be a debate on the merits of GFCI's... :facepalm:

No, but the purpose of this message board is to learn. It's just unfortunate the GFCI education is at the expense of a thread on a tank that was killed back. And I do feel bad for the OP. I know that feeling of just wanting to throw up and quit.

Thanks for posting that. I'm not astonished that people don't know this. It is pretty common actually and I see questions on other sites and forums about CGFIs. The disaster the OP went through is not uncommon either, and having two GFCI circuits gives you both safety and insurance. The OP was polite and thankful for the info but the attitude displayed by some of the others goes a long way in explaining why a lot of the more experienced hobbyists won't post on RC anymore.

You're welcome. I agree, sometimes the attitude is not helpful. But the great thing is, once conjecture gets trumped with facts, others reading can understand the reality and learn. They can read and come to sound conclusions on what to do with their own systems. And it's permanent on the board, no taking it back. I always try to be very thoughtful and think about what I'm going to post. For the experienced members, they should be encouraged by the fact that when others read these arguments, they actually look educated and knowledgeable and the ones throwing around baseless statements are the ones to avoid taking advice from.

By the way, two GFCI's on the same circuit won't necessarily fix the problem. If the first GFCI on the line gets tripped, the rest of the line including the second GFCI would be dead. However, two GFCI's, one on two separate circuits and splitting life support between them would be a better solution. ;)

[reefkeeper2]

By the way, two GFCI's on the same circuit won't necessarily fix the problem. If the first GFCI on the line gets tripped, the rest of the line including the second GFCI would be dead. However, two GFCI's, one on two separate circuits and splitting life support between them would be a better solution. ;)

I took it for granted that people would know the second CGFI should be on a separate circuit. My mistake :o

[slief]

Wow. So clearly none of you have searched the Internet for stories of aquariums burning down a house or people dying from electrocution. And just because it hasn't happened to you that means it won't happen. Right?

The argument that we had tanks before GFCI's proves they are not necessary is nonsense. That's like saying, cars used to not have seat belts, so screw it, we don't need seat belts when we drive cars.

A quality properly installed GFCI should not trip without a reason. Perhaps, you guys need to hire a licensed electrician. My properly installed GFCI's have never tripped. Ever!!!

Do whatever you want. Since you guys don't want to find the info, I'll share just a few examples.

One fire.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=584645

Experience from a electrical engineer hobbyist.
http://joejaworski.wordpress.com/2007/09/06/aquarist-found-dead/

Hobbyist dead from aquarium electrocution.
http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/general-discussions/32580-herkie.html

Here's some info from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
http://www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/118853/099.pdf

Very good information there. Thanks for posting it. While I don't personally use GCFI's on my tank for the reasons I stated previously, there are definitely very good reasons to do so and those links you posted certainly support that fact. I'd never really condone my reasoning for not running them as GCFI's are a very important safety measure . My system draws a lot of amps and I'd need a dozen or more GCFI's to support it which would pose serious issues.

UPS's were mentioned as a power back up for such an instance which is also great advice. Being in the computer industry for the last 27 years, that is certainly great advice. I've run UPS's for components on my tank but in my case because of my current draw, I'd need several smaller ones or a number of very large expensive ones to cover my pumps, controller and a few other important components. The biggest issue I found with UPS's is battery replacement. The batteries don't last very long and the AMP hours degrade over time. I've always used enterprise class APC ones and have several 1500 and 3000Kw ones at my office running my servers but even those need the batteries replaced every year if you expect them to last to their rating without power.

With regards to fires.. I have several smoke detectors around my tank in the closet where equipment is located, below the tank where the sumps are located, in my fish room etc. One of which is tied directly to my home alarm system. I even keep a fire extinguisher on the wall in the closet next to the tank and elsewhere. These are all things that us aquarists should take very seriously. Fires with our tanks are a serious concern and while I may not run GFCI's, I am very wary and vigilant when it comes to the prospect of a fire and electrical shock.

I also keep a rubber pond liner under my tank to insure that should I spring a leak, the water is captured and insulated from my tile floors which helps to mitigate the risk of shock given that I don't run a ground probe. Also something I'd typically suggest others run in conjunction with GCFI's. When I laid out my power for my tank, that was a serious consideration as salt water and power don't mix well. Sadly, that is an area that many aquarists don't really pay enough attention to. In my many years of being in this hobby, I've seen a lot of dangerous wiring jobs. Power bars sitting on the floor below a tank or on the floor under the stand for example can be deadly and that is something that many people don't realize. All it takes is a small leak and you have a recipe for disaster. As I said, all of my power sources are off the ground, mounted to FRP lined walls away from any potential water sources and or flood areas. Even my power outlets that my power bars are connected to are in an adjacent closet away from any water sources.

Also as mentioned, Reeftronics is a great asset as far as knowing of a power outage. I love Reeftronics and it's proved invaluable to me and others alike.

That said, your points and links are very valid and noteworthy. There are some lessons to be learned from your links.. Some of that information gave me food for thought as well. Thanks for taking the time to post those.


By the way, that's a nice DoDo in your avatar. That's what we call Mahi /Dorado here in So. Cal! I'm a die hard off shore fisherman and that's a beauty!

[CuzzA]

You're welcome Slief. I'm not a fan of UPS's for the reasons you mentioned. Here's my thread on battery back up. This could easily be incorporated into your system.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2440002

[Coelli]

While not an ideal solution, this is what I'm using since we don't have GFCI outlets (yet).

Tripp Lite TLM812GF 8-Outlet Safety Power Strip with GFCI Plug and Metal Housing 12ft Cord, OSHA Yellow
http://smile.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-TLM812GF-8-Outlet-Housing/dp/B000WJ7R4G

Addit: Glad to hear the OP was able to salvage a few things... a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless!

[mattvisocky2003]

Almost made me cry after seeing the old photo....

[biggles]

Quick update:

The tank already seems better after two 40 gal water changes. Life is appearing in the tank. Several of my Mini maxi anemones are already opening up, and the baby leathers are showing polyps again. Plus, Duncans, acan lords, candy canes, hammers, etc are acclimating to the FOWLR and seem to be recovering well. A lot was lost, but not all was lost. I figure 6-8 weeks to clean and stabilize the tank, then I can start restocking. As they say in one of my favorite quirky movies, Galaxy Quest, "Never give up, Never surrender!"

What would we do without the good old water change when things go south hey, the best and only thing you could really do in the circumstances mate - glad to hear things are looking positive :thumbsup:
Looking forward to watching you drop a tonne in cash over the coming months mate - i mean that in a nice way :beer:

[vitodog]

What would we do without the good old water change when things go south hey, the best and only thing you could really do in the circumstances mate - glad to hear things are looking positive :thumbsup:
Looking forward to watching you drop a tonne in cash over the coming months mate - i mean that in a nice way :beer:

Yeah, I smell an upgrade coming.:bounce1:

[reefgeezer]

I am so sorry. Don't give up. Look it as a chance to change everything you didn't like about the tank. Although, I don't know what that could be.

[Despairodyne]

I took it for granted that people would know the second CGFI should be on a separate circuit. My mistake

You can wire the gcfi outlets in parallel on a single circuit so no outlet up stream are
affected by a trip.

I have 2 20A circuits with all of the outlets wired in parallel.

I figure that a GCFI trip is the same as a power failure which can last long enough to kill
your tank. Good GCFI outlets don't trip when the power goes. The emergency backup is the same either way.

Then again, I'm just a n00b.

[Breadman03]

There is a problem with running a GFCI to protect your tank. The problem is that people typically run their tanks in a single circuit so when the GCFI trips, it shuts down all life support. The key to successful implementation is redundancy-have heating and circulation elements on two or more circuits to ensure some level of life support until the situation can be corrected.

My house almost burned up when a bulkhead cracked, causing water to pour over a receptacle which was smoking when I arrived home. I had to manually trip the breaker.

FWIW, I'm currently running my entire system off of one circuit without GFCI temporarily until I can repair my collapsed porch and run a pair of dedicated circuits for the tank. Buying an old fixer-upper house comes with a large share of headaches to deal with. I'm well stocked on Motrin.

[AudiSportB5S4]

Yikes that is a bummer to say the least. I'm moving into an apartment building in a few weeks and I am going to get a battery backup from Ecotec for my MP10s.. Probably just hook one up to it rather than both just to get as much out of it as possible. Definitely something I was thinking about and I'm glad I read your opinions on the UPS' bc that was on my radar.

What about power surges? Not so concerned about that more or less just extended time with no flow in the tank? I was thinking the UPS would be good for the surges.

[HumbleFish]

Just seeing this thread now, and so sorry to hear about this, Palting. What happened to you is probably my biggest fear... and why I don't enjoy vacations like I should, because in the back of my mind I'm worried about my tanks.

It's also made me wonder if perhaps I should be embracing technology a little more with this hobby. Perhaps an Apex controller, camera on the tank, etc. would be a wise investment.

[tkeracer619]

:sad2:

Damn. Sorry.

[JohnniG]

Feel bad for you mate :(

[CuzzA]

I took it for granted that people would know the second CGFI should be on a separate circuit. My mistake

You can wire the gcfi outlets in parallel on a single circuit so no outlet up stream are
affected by a trip.

I have 2 20A circuits with all of the outlets wired in parallel.

I figure that a GCFI trip is the same as a power failure which can last long enough to kill
your tank. Good GCFI outlets don't trip when the power goes. The emergency backup is the same either way.

Then again, I'm just a n00b.

This is true. If you pigtailed the hot, neutral and ground seperately and then fed each GFCI outlet separately, one GFCI would not effect the other. An oversight on my part. Good point.

[Breadman03]

Just seeing this thread now, and so sorry to hear about this, Palting. What happened to you is probably my biggest fear... and why I don't enjoy vacations like I should, because in the back of my mind I'm worried about my tanks.

It's also made me wonder if perhaps I should be embracing technology a little more with this hobby. Perhaps an Apex controller, camera on the tank, etc. would be a wise investment.

That's a huge contributing factor for my owning an Apex. Open the app, see that all is well, resume relaxing.

[sahin]

Such a terrible loss. Its good to hear at least some of the corals survived and are doing better.

[sahin]

What happened to you is probably my biggest fear... and why I don't enjoy vacations like I should, because in the back of my mind I'm worried about my tanks.

It's also made me wonder if perhaps I should be embracing technology a little more with this hobby. Perhaps an Apex controller, camera on the tank, etc. would be a wise investment.

This is the exact thing that happens to me when I go on vacations...

Apex Controller + Camera on tank is exactly what I intend to sort out before any next long vacation.

[ca1ore]

As they say in one of my favorite quirky movies, Galaxy Quest, "Never give up, Never surrender!"

Thought that was from Winston Churchill? :lol:

Glad to hear something survived.

[ca1ore]

Just seeing this thread now, and so sorry to hear about this, Palting. What happened to you is probably my biggest fear... and why I don't enjoy vacations like I should, because in the back of my mind I'm worried about my tanks.

It's also made me wonder if perhaps I should be embracing technology a little more with this hobby. Perhaps an Apex controller, camera on the tank, etc. would be a wise investment.

Ain't that the truth. Though you also need to have some ability for intervention, otherwise you will have the pleasure of watching your tank crash on video with no way to do anything about it. THAT would suck!

[anbosu]

Ain't that the truth. Though you also need to have some ability for intervention, otherwise you will have the pleasure of watching your tank crash on video with no way to do anything about it. THAT would suck!

I have a wireless IP cam I can access - from that I can at least instruct someone what they need to do to fix it.

[ca1ore]

I can at least instruct someone what they need to do to fix it.

I don't believe that would work all that well in my case :(

http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r680/ca1ore/IMG_0744_zps7fc65650.jpg (http://s1361.photobucket.com/user/ca1ore/media/IMG_0744_zps7fc65650.jpg.html)

[sahin]

I don't believe that would work all that well in my case :(

http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r680/ca1ore/IMG_0744_zps7fc65650.jpg (http://s1361.photobucket.com/user/ca1ore/media/IMG_0744_zps7fc65650.jpg.html)

Above is like:
http://images.sodahead.com/polls/000202699/polls_people_homerSimpson_5045_418902_answer_4_xlarge.gif

Apex + camera + friend/relative = peace of mind for me...

[anbosu]

I don't believe that would work all that well in my case :(

http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r680/ca1ore/IMG_0744_zps7fc65650.jpg (http://s1361.photobucket.com/user/ca1ore/media/IMG_0744_zps7fc65650.jpg.html)

Haha. It might be time for you to upgrade just so you can clean up that mess!

[ca1ore]

Haha. It might be time for you to upgrade just so you can clean up that mess!

Well, every sump I've ever had ended up looking like that so I've largely come to accept it. Fortunately, the 'proof is in the pudding' ...... and this is the pudding ....

http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r680/ca1ore/913c8e34-4b1a-4caf-bcf4-b40247475891_zps538a2b41.jpg (http://s1361.photobucket.com/user/ca1ore/media/913c8e34-4b1a-4caf-bcf4-b40247475891_zps538a2b41.jpg.html)

[anbosu]

[QUOTE=ca1ore;23177491]Well, every sump I've ever had ended up looking like that so I've largely come to accept it. Fortunately, the 'proof is in the pudding' ...... and this is the pudding ....

I know you have a nice tank, just making fun of your mad scientist sump.

[ca1ore]

[QUOTE=ca1ore;23177491]I know you have a nice tank, just making fun of your mad scientist sump.

Yeah, I know. It is rather comical :) I've said this before, but I see all these folks with wonderfully organized (and perfectly parallel plumbing) sumps and I wonder why mine always looks like such a mess.

Anyhow, sorry for the OT.

[Jyetman]

That's the reason I remove all my GFCI while on trips its only for a week or two why take the risk.

[Hzuiel]

So sorry to hear about your disaster.

The more of these stories I see, the more I think even on a smaller system there is no way i wouldn't have at least a controller that can send alerts, and a battery backup. On a bigger system with all that time, livestock(emotional attachment), and money involved I'd want a backup generator.

[markalot]

Palting, I'm so very sorry, I just found this.

I end up plugging at least one pump and a heater into non GFI when we go out because I can't trust them not to trip. GFI does prevent us from getting shocked and while GFI might prevent fires in certain cases that is not what it was designed for.

I like GFI when I am less than 6 hours away from the tank. :)

Anyway this tank was my inspiration and I can't wait to see it running again, so please keep at it!