flooddc May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 AAAH! Came down to check out my tanks after lunch and I saw wet spots in granite hallway. Ran around the corner and discovered water is shooting up like a fountain from my refugium. Shut down the power strip and assess the horrific situation. Turned out, that the return hose came loose from mag 950 pump and about 15+ gallons of saltwater sipped through the carpet and floor. here are some photos after sucking most of the water off the floor and carpet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10002234@N07/7303280900/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/10002234@N07/7303279344/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/10002234@N07/7303277688/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/10002234@N07/7303276116/ I am kicking myself for this. I thought about water seal the refugium closet area but "rushed" into it and never sealed it. too late now! On the other hand, I supposed it can be viewed as a fortunate situation. It would have been worst if it happen during my vacation! Anyway, ran a couple of fans and opened the windows. Put a tie wrap on the hose so that it will never happen again. Hopefully, the carpet won't be too bad after it all dried up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 Ha ha! Welcome to the wet sock club! I'm a card carrying member myself! In all reality though, you are right. Much better now then when you are on vacation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 I too am a member of that club. It is always a rush to get the water up and the floor dried before the wife sees it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 ^me too My recent experience also involved 15 gallons of water (and ~$1k damages). If you have or can borrow a wet vac, that will help a great deal with the drying process. 15 gallons is a lot to leave to evaporation and the faster you can get the water up the less soaks in to walls, floors, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 I too am a member of that club. It is always a rush to get the water up and the floor dried before the wife sees it. Me too! Love the comment about cleaning up before the wife sees it. Been there, done that, too. Welcome to the club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc May 30, 2012 Author Share May 30, 2012 Guessed I am not the only one with wet sock . A shop vac is a must have in any home. Rather not use it. But if need to, t's make clean up soooo much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc May 30, 2012 Author Share May 30, 2012 Me too! Love the comment about cleaning up before the wife sees it. Been there, done that, too. Welcome to the club. me too. But I guessed I can't hide it now. I pulled everything out of the closet. Maybe just blame on the rain from last night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 Be glad you don't have that old wooden parquet flooring! I had like 20 gallons blow out of a skimmer when I first started, only about 5 got moped up the rest soaked into the old floor. It bowed up in some spots and eventually ripped out in some spots... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 There are those of us that have had this happen, and there are those of us that are still waiting for this to happen....BUT IT WILL HAPPEN ! Your not alone. x2 on the comment about the wife too !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 Count me in that club. Here is my solution: Wood tray sealed and painted with a tube in the back that takes any water to a house drain. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 Easier solution- use a permanent hose connection at all times when operating with the pressure side of pumps. If you cannot do this, use the appropriate hose clamp, not a zip tie or nothing which is what I assume was the scenario before the flood. A hose firmly pushed onto a nipple or over male threads is very commonplace practice, but it is dangerous as you can see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnetic1 May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 Only your first? I think I flooded the basement 3-4 times. Probably part of the reason the wife made me break down the tank :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integral9 May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 I renew my wet sock club membership with almost every water change. Yeah.... I'm that good. Seriously though, that could have been much worse. Good thing you caught it in time and be glad you don't have carpet. Lucky. btw. I saw some wicking of the water into the drywall in that last pick. Better shop vac the rest of the water up asap. Also, I'd get a dehumidifier and set it in the room where the most water was / any water damage on the walls and let it run until it's bone dry in there. Also, some bleach water in a spray bottle does wonders for any mildew problems that might develop in the wet drywall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 I can't count how many disasters like that I had with my first two tanks. I made a mess like that once while a realtor was coming into the front door of my house with a group of buyers. That is why I am a realiablity fanatic now. Two drilled outlets in every over flow, hard-plumbed connections on pumps, anti-siphon holes everyplace... You get better at this stuff every time it happens. Integral9 has a point. Get a fan or something on the wet stuff before it goes south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowsingle May 30, 2012 Share May 30, 2012 sorry to hear....that sucks..... Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind May 31, 2012 Share May 31, 2012 My Hoover MaxExtract carpet shampooer has been a life saver. It works for me better then a shop vac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind May 31, 2012 Share May 31, 2012 A flood sensor on a controller like an apex or ACIII could turn off pumps and send you a text if it senses water on the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc May 31, 2012 Author Share May 31, 2012 Got onto some part of the carpet and probable will get salt residue after it dry out. I am running two fans full blast to get it completely dry. I have had flood in that general area before when i was doing my freshwater change. Good thing I discovered it early, otherwise all the pumps would have been damaged from running dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc May 31, 2012 Author Share May 31, 2012 A flood sensor on a controller like an apex or ACIII could turn off pumps and send you a text if it senses water on the floor. I wonder if there is/are some kind of device that cut off the pumps if flooded. Maybe a reversed of the ATO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budgetman May 31, 2012 Share May 31, 2012 Sorry bout that. I've had filter floss block my siphon overflow so nothing goes to the sump. The ATO makes it worse by refilling the sump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 May 31, 2012 Share May 31, 2012 Sorry bout that. I've had filter floss block my siphon overflow so nothing goes to the sump. The ATO makes it worse by refilling the sump. Do you not have emergency drains? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad May 31, 2012 Share May 31, 2012 I wonder if there is/are some kind of device that cut off the pumps if flooded. Maybe a reversed of the ATO? Most ATOs can be reversed and can cut off pumps if water level falls too low. In this application (where the switch is normally underwater), I wouldn't be comfortable with anything but a pressure switch driving the on/off relay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind May 31, 2012 Share May 31, 2012 Here are two products for sensing water and turning off the supply. This one will turn off your R/O line: http://www.freshwatersystems.com/p-993-lcs-14-leak-controller-water-shut-off-system-14-tubing.aspx?affiliateid=10050&qid=0&utm_source=Googlebase&utm_medium=Feed&utm_campaign=Product&utm_term=LCS-14 This one will turn off your pump: http://www.washerwatcher.com/water_watcher.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integral9 May 31, 2012 Share May 31, 2012 adding a couple of float switches to your controller would also work. One in top of the tank for overflow and one in the bottom of the sump for underflow. I know my ReefKeeper can do it, but not sure about the other controllers. I would be surprised if they couldn't though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b May 31, 2012 Share May 31, 2012 I'm going to re-check all my hoses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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