Ever wiped out/crashed a tank? - I'd like to know what happened

[nitrofish]

I don't know if mine counts, but my tank leaked and most of the corals say almost 2 days in bucketts, some without heat while I tryed to get another tank up and running to save what was left. lost a lot, but saved a lot more.

 

[smcnally]

Yours counts. That was a sad day...What happened to you was a bummer.

 

[Shallowwaters]

Its also really important not to buy an external GFCI like the ones on an extension cord. My experience with these is that if the power shuts off (no GFCI trip), the GFCI must be manually reset. This is terrible, because if your tank loses power even for a second, when the power comes back on, your tank will still be without power.

This can happen with standard high amp GFCI outlets too. I believe it happens when there is a surge associated with the very brief outage or return of power. It would be really great to find an answer/solution to this issue. I had a whole-house power "flicker" bump off my main pump outlet GFCI. The main pump failed over to my UPS which ran the pump for an hour and 1/2, but when the 120 amp hour battery died, there was no power on the circuit. In this situation, all other equipment on four other circuits returned to service after the power flicker, but my most critical component (primary circulation pump) failed even though it has the only (and expensive) dedicated back-up power system. Isn't that ironic?

 

[smcnally]

I have actually been told by my boss (who is a master electrician) NOT to use a GFCI on my tank circuit. He told me that a lot of pumps will trip them and cause more issues than they are worth.

 

[Armando]

maybe it's a good idea to have a GFCI and a standard outlet. when you go on vacation, switch from the GFCI to the standard outlet to avoid tripping. you won't be home so there's no danger of electrocution. hey you might even electrocute someone trying to sabotage your tank while you're away

 

[smcnally]

hey you might even electrocute someone trying to sabotage your tank while you're away

That's funny! As long as it isn't anyone important!

 

[dz6t]

As long as it isn't anyone important!

Doesn't matter, whoever try to do that should be zapped.

 

[Shallowwaters]

Good points about non-GFCI when on vacation. Probably, there is a low risk of stray electricity in a non-submerged centrifugal pump. But then, I don't have non-GFCI outlets in my basement - they are required by code. Hmmm.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Some things come to mind

When breaking down my 60g at my old house I took most everything out, drained water - shut the sump/pump down. I left stuff in the tank w/circ & went back to new house
Went back to the old house the next day...my only heater was in the sump
No crash, but the tank was down to 65

Top off problem - NEVER run RO/DI into the sump to make water & think you will remember to shut it off. Came home from work to a flood, but luckliy salinity had not dropped that much. The fresh water was simply flooding over the top

CA overdose - BAD, I lost small fish, clowns, cleanup crew, crabs, peep shrimp, CBS ALL my pods which still have not made a comeback
I decided to add CA to my top off water to keep the CA up AND to help raise the CA. I did not TEST the resultant mix, and I may have added CA 2x
VERY high...not a total crash, but it took months for my tank to even off
Always check your levels 1st - Then
Always test & 2x check when dosing anything

SPARE equipment - some of it can be expensive, some not
I had a seal let loose in a 30g, luckily I had multiple rubbermaid bins to quickly transfer everything to

 

[willray]

My crash happened when I added some Estes brand white marine sand to a yr old TBS pakage and the cukes didn't like the new sand. 3 of them nuked my tank overnight.Instant amonia spike. I added a little just to be safe too!

 

[MarkO]

3 near crashes (near meaning not a complete wipeout, lost a coral or a couple fish....)
1. AC failure while on vacation. Tank temp was 90º when we returned. Lost an acro.
2. tank powerhead and return pump froze up. Coincidentally they happened at/near the same time. No water movement in tank. Lost 5 fish due to oxygen deprevation (sp?).
3. While making RODI, alarm didn't sound to remind me to shut off water. Instead the RODI mysteriously syphoned on it's own into the tank. (Actually, understandable, as a result of surface tension, etc...) Ended up with about 50 gal of RODI into display, and a flooded basement (about 30 gal.). Salinity dropped to 1.019, but fortunately I didn't lose anything.

 

[TBoisvert]

I had a near wipeout due to using WAY TOO MUCH Putty!!!!!! Not even joking! RTN HELL!

I learned my lesson!

Tam

 

[Matt L.]

I didn't even count floods in my mishaps!

If I had a dollar for every time one of my housemates came to me with the comlaint that there's water on the floor...

I, too, was apparently born an idiot, because I never remember to shut the RO/DI off.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

OH CRAP!! Thanx MATT