bprinehart March 4, 2008 March 4, 2008 So I get a frantic call from my wife while I'm at work, around 2:15. "Honey your aquarium stinks really bad, the water is cloudy, and all your corals are white!" :( I rushed home from work, and found every single piece of SPS and LPS either completely bleached or devoid of any flesh at all, and my BTA in an unrecognizable ball of goo. Some of my Zoanthids look like they are going make it. Both my cleaner shrimp...gone. All my snails except for one Astrea, and my big bad turbo who's been with me from the beginning dead. Most of my hermits made it. The GSM and the Coral beauty managed to survive as well. Judging from the scale of the destruction, I'd say the BTA went belly up, and proceeded to wipe it all out. I noticed that the tank temperature was over 88 degrees, and it normally stays put at 78-80 depending on the temp of the house. I looked in the sump and the heater's light was still on. I'm really kind of sick about this whole deal. I was getting ready to finish moving everybody out of this tank TONIGHT, and get them in to the 75. When I left for work this morning everything was fine. It's just heartbreaking. I managed to salvage who I could. Took out all the LR and scrubbed it in ASW I had set aside for this weekend's water change, and moved it to the 75. Looks like the casualties so far include: Yellow M. Digitata Green M. Cap. A nice blue tort frag that had really started to flourish in the last 4-5 months A. Valida E. Quadricolor Acan. Lordhowensis My beautiful pink lemonade chalice I just picked up at the last meeting My pink tipped hammer My snowflake Xenia GSPs So just about everyone of my corals, save for the few that had already been moved. Excuse me while I go cry myself to sleep... Sorry for the rambling diatribe, and I know I'm not the first to experience this. Just needed to vent it. It really sucks when you invest so much time and research into the care of these beautiful animals and a mechanical failure wipes them out in a matter of a few hours.
YBeNormal March 4, 2008 March 4, 2008 That really sucks. I also had a heater stick recently but it was intentionally undersized so the worst that it could do was elevate the temp a few degrees. I have since plugged my heaters into an AC III and have min/max temps set on the AC III as one more layer of safety.
bprinehart March 4, 2008 Author March 4, 2008 That really sucks. I also had a heater stick recently but it was intentionally undersized so the worst that it could do was elevate the temp a few degrees. I have since plugged my heaters into an AC III and have min/max temps set on the AC III as one more layer of safety. I'm definitely looking into an AC ASAP. Thanks for the commiseration.
HowardofNOVA March 4, 2008 March 4, 2008 BP, Sorry to hear of this type of news, we have all gone to this at some level and sorry to hear of yours! Let us know if anything we can do to help you get back up soon?? Howard
DaveS March 4, 2008 March 4, 2008 I feel for you man. Probably nothing I can say to make things better but here's one thought- if reef keeping was really easy, everyone would be doing it. But as it is, it's not easy nor cheap. That's why people drool over your tank when they visit.
bprinehart March 4, 2008 Author March 4, 2008 (edited) BP, Sorry to hear of this type of news, we have all gone to this at some level and sorry to hear of yours! Let us know if anything we can do to help you get back up soon?? Howard Thanks Howard. Like I said, I was able to get the fish, and some zoanthids, and peppermints out of there. Thank goodness the 75 was ready to go. I feel for you man. Probably nothing I can say to make things better but here's one thought- if reef keeping was really easy, everyone would be doing it. But as it is, it's not easy nor cheap. That's why people drool over your tank when they visit. Yeah I know what you mean, and thanks Dave. It's not even about the money though...It's about the attachment you get watching things grown and thrive in our best attempts at recreating their environment. I really did shed a tear or two after one of my fish buddies got out of here from helping me clean up the wreckage. It's just sad. Edited March 4, 2008 by bprinehart
bk_market March 4, 2008 March 4, 2008 wait I didnt get the reason ur tank get wipe out. So the heater malfuction?
magnetic1 March 4, 2008 March 4, 2008 Sorry to hear man! Hopefully you'll be back up and running soon!
jason the filter freak March 4, 2008 March 4, 2008 condolences i too have a controller on my heater for just this reason. it's a ranco system it will also be running two undersized heaters soon rather than my one titanium heat probe
gmubeach March 5, 2008 March 5, 2008 WOW thats terrible news least you had someone there to warn you:) you might have lost everybody!
NRehman March 5, 2008 March 5, 2008 BP, Really sorry to hear this. I have or will make nice size A. Valida frag, GSP, Green M. Cap frags that you can have. Let me know when you want them. Best, Nadir
ReeferMan March 5, 2008 March 5, 2008 i can replace almost all the things that didnt make it plus some. I need to trim really bad as well. You got to come out to gainesville but you can swing by BRK and ill make it worth wild.
Highland Reefer March 5, 2008 March 5, 2008 I feel for you. I had installed a wrong pump in my system about a year ago and overheated everthing over night while I was sleeping. I lost everthing except for a cabbage leather. I cried in my milk for a year. I don't even want to think about how much money I lost.
bprinehart March 5, 2008 Author March 5, 2008 (edited) Wow...I have to say I'm a bit overwhelmed by the offers to help. I will definitely be taking some people up on those. I see so many good natured people on these boards everyday speaking volumes about their character without words, but by their actions. I am really proud to say that I'm a WAMAS member. Thank you all so much, I really am kind of emotional about the outpouring of kindness. Thought I'd provide an update. It looks like the hammer may not be a loss. There is a little bit of tissue that is starting to puff itself up, looks like a severely contracted polyp. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I also think the GSPs may make it. One or two polyps are trying to poke out. So we'll see how they do. I would say all of the SPS are a total loss, as well as the LPS listed previously. My heart just sunk into the pit of my stomach when I pulled out an Echino and Acan skeleton with absolutely no flesh left on either. After making sure everyone that could be saved was moved in and doing ok in the 75, I got to cleaning up the old tank and sump. I found something interesting. Apparently the heater must have gotten so hot that it shattered itself, which doesn't make sense to me. But when I started to think back about what happened, I can probably pinpoint the exact moment that it did. I was surveying all the equipment in the sump, and saw that the heater was on, I disconnected the non GFI powerstrip, and then thought it was odd that the powerstrip connected to the GFI outlet tripped itself. I was thinking maybe in my haste I got some water splashed around. There were 4 hands in the tank at the time, not counting my own so there was a little drippage going on. I think that is when the heater shattered. It was submerged the whole time though and that's what I still don't get. Once I pulled the sump out and inspected everything I saw that it looks like a couple of the elements kind of burnt themselves up. I'd really like to know what happened to it. I have some pics of it on the cell, and I'll get em posted up sometime soon for your best guesses. Just keep thinking about and pulling for my few remaining critters guys and gals. I'll make it through this. I'm just glad that I was able to save at least a few animals, and that no people were hurt Thanks again to everyone for the encouragement, it really does mean a lot, to both my wife and myself. Edited March 5, 2008 by bprinehart
lanman March 5, 2008 March 5, 2008 Well, that sucks... a larger tank will help, of course - things don't happen quite so suddenly. More likely you would get home and find the temperature at 84 and shut the heat off. Heaters are notorious for 'sticking on'. Best of luck with the 75!! Hopefully a few of those items will come back to life for you! bob
bprinehart March 5, 2008 Author March 5, 2008 wait I didnt get the reason ur tank get wipe out. So the heater malfuction? Well that was the main reason, the heater made the water way to warm for most of my creatures. If I had to guess, all of the animals died when the BTA kicked the bucket, I'm just assuming this, but it would seem logical. The nematocysts and stinging sensation in my hands are my main reasons for thinking this. I would also be willing to bet that the decrease in O2 had something to do with it. Well, that sucks... a larger tank will help, of course - things don't happen quite so suddenly. More likely you would get home and find the temperature at 84 and shut the heat off. Heaters are notorious for 'sticking on'. Best of luck with the 75!! Hopefully a few of those items will come back to life for you! bob Thanks Bob. It'll get better I'm sure.
rottloverr March 5, 2008 March 5, 2008 Thats very sad. You are welcome to come over and scope out any frags you like. Not much is big enough yet but some things are. Cheers, Sean
bprinehart March 5, 2008 Author March 5, 2008 Quick update, my Favia bit the dust this morning, along with the green and brown birdsnests. I think everyone else is going to pull through. Thanks again for the kind words guys and gals.
davidm March 5, 2008 March 5, 2008 Feel free to pick out some frags if you ever make it out to the Vienna area. sorry about your loss. I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself though - a broken glass heater in the tank with your hands in there as well could have been extremely dangerous.
WallyBackm March 5, 2008 March 5, 2008 I feel for you man. I just got back from vacation. Somehow my heater got unplugged during the last 2 days I was gone. When I got back the temp was very low, my beloved cowfish was struggling bad and 2 SPS mini colonies were white as the driven snow. Cowfish died Mon night.
gsedlack March 5, 2008 March 5, 2008 Yikes. Very sad story to read let alone experience. Good luck on a rapid recovery and rebuild /George
bprinehart March 6, 2008 Author March 6, 2008 Ok, in my best estimation both of my Birdsnests are completely gone, as well as my efflo frag. So I made it through with two badly damaged but clinging hammer coral polyps, my Duncanos which thankfully were moved over previously, and a few zoanthids. I absolutely must get an AC III soon. I don't ever want to go through this again.
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