Tank crash

[menglish]

So after 10 years, my tank had a catastrophic crash.

ALL but 1 of my corals are DEAD.

The only thing that survived is a rock of sunkist bounce.

I am crushed!!!

Not sure what really happened but I think it was my lights.

Last month came back for a week vacation and noticed all the corals looked pail. Few nights later i went in the basement late and noticed the lights were still on.

Turns on, some how the control on my Apex was lost and the lights were on 24-7 for at least one full week before I caught it. 

 

Now, I am planning to do a complete reset.

here are my plans:

-Remove and save the water (~200 G)

-remove rocks, hose off to get rid of junk, store in a 35g brute with salt water

-remove sand, wash out all the guk

-I have some live rock in the sump that i will keep going

I am hoping to do all of this in a day before i put the sand and rocks back in.

 

Any suggestion before i start?

 

 

 

Tank crash.qt

[ParrotFish]

Oh wow, I am so so sorry. 

 

Dumb question, are you saving things like water and sand to save on costs? I have heard reusing sand is not advised, and I have no clue what it takes to wash that much sand. 

 

Just watched the video. In my opinion it looks really good for a tank that crashed. I usually hear that nothing has lived. But I also understand taking an opportunity like this to redo things. 

[gastone]

So sorry to hear this.  Honestly, I don't think I'd save the water.  It's absolutely possible that the lights were the cause.  It's also possible that some toxin was built up.  I'd dump the water and since you are starting fresh, acid wash and/or bleach cure the rock.  As for the sand, I suppose you could try acid washing/bleaching that as well. 

 

 

[wildcrazyjoker81]

Man I'm sorry to hear it! I personally feel anyone running radions or AI lights these days are playing Russian roulette. The lights and mobius are plaged with issues that you just experienced. Every time Polo Reef posts about it on FB (he got rid of every single radion/AI light over this issue) tons of people talk about them just staying on or not keeping schedule.

 

I would personally just take the rock out and put it in a container/Rubbermaid can and keep it cycled and then rinse the existing or add new sand. My gut would to be add new sand since it will be loaded with nutrients being that old. I'm a huge fan of Tropic Eden sand as it is clean and ready to go out of the bag, but it is pricey.

 

 

[YHSublime]

I’d personally keep it running, and focus on getting your quality back. I have the Radions on a fall on/fall off outside of Mobius. 
 

when my nano crashed while I was on vacation, stuff I thought was dead came back from out of nowhere. Just little flecks o. The rock, it was actually wild. 
 

if you’ve been doing this for any length of time, you will understand the loss one of these days. 
 

just my two cents.

[menglish]

So I did an ICP test to check my chemistry.

Unfortunately, i do not see anything that would suggest a major problem that could explain the crash.  This suggest the lights was likely the issue.

take a look and let me know.

 

thanks

Milton's Reef - September 17, 2025 (B-0Dnwxd).pdf

[ReeferMan]

I personally would keep everything as is and ride it out unless you feel the need for a change. 

[YHSublime]

2 hours ago, menglish said:

So I did an ICP test to check my chemistry.

Unfortunately, i do not see anything that would suggest a major problem that could explain the crash.  This suggest the lights was likely the issue.

take a look and let me know.

 

thanks

Milton's Reef - September 17, 2025 (B-0Dnwxd).pdf 1.79 MB · 1 download

 

 

On 9/15/2025 at 10:24 PM, YHSublime said:

I’d personally keep it running, and focus on getting your quality back. I have the Radions on a fall on/fall off outside of Mobius. 

Once again, a vote for if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

 

make sure you get your lights sorted, but otherwise I’d trim out the dead stuff, and slowly build back up. Use this time to make changes, clean up the spots the corals made it difficult before, add or subtract some rock work. Keep your current livestock comfortable. I let my tank ride for a year after the crash with just basic maintenance, until I felt the spark to build it back to its glory. Seeing the consistency and the slow bounce back was more enjoyable then tearing it all down and starting over, which I’ve also done.
 

no need to ground zero when you’ve got a good foundation already. 

[menglish]

So after weeks of planning and thinking, I have decided to do a complete reset of the tank. I pulled rocks, sand and water. I washed out most of the rocks and sand but i left the sump untouched.  I put the fish and the one rock of coral that survived (sunkist bounce) in a tub while the work was being done.  Last week I added back rocks and water and am not ready to start over again.

More to come.

 

 

[WheresTheReef]

It happens to most at some point. Glad you’re taking this as an opportunity to reboot the system and not tossing in the towel. Good luck with the new system and take the time to redo all those things you wish you did differently from the previous build.

Edited October 28, 2025 by WheresTheReef

[FishingandReefing]

My tank crashed about two months. Lost a bunch of corals. Trust me, you ain’t the only one. Good luck to you, to me and everyone!


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