Fireman12s February 27, 2016 Share February 27, 2016 Hi gang, So, I am deployed overseas with the military, and today my roommate sent me an email that my tank is overflowing! Now, she is out of town, and will not be back until sunday, and knowing her, she has probably said "F-it!" and left.. So, I need some help. The good news is I have an apex system, and I have remotely turned off all the pumps that pump new water into the system (I have an ATO, and a Automatic Water changing system in place). I also have a camera and while I can see the tank, I cannot see the whole system and see what the problem is. I need someone who is willing to go there (to Arlington near the Pentagon) and look at the system, determine what the problem is, and we figure it out together. I will not be back for another couple months, and have had a 5.5 month run successfully up until now...I imagine that the problem is rather simple, however, I will need help to thoroughly clean up any mess too, and I am not there to make it happen. We have all had a spill, and hopefully, this one has not gotten so bad that it has flooded the entire basement. I have a US Phone number so we can speak on the phone, and I can watch you from the camera and see what is going on. PLEASE HELP! It seems by reviewing my system on apex fusion, that the redundant systems I had installed for the ATO are working, as there are no alarms.. So, what I believe it may be is that the hose for the return is sitting against a clogged filter bag, and the display is not draining fast enough and the sump pump is pumping water from the sump to the display.. thusly causing the overflow in the display. More good news.. Concrete slab where the tank is sitting.. but, the carpets are wet I am sure :/ I you can help, please email me ASAP @ fireman12s a T Hotmail dot come HELP HELP HELP! BLAKE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman12s February 27, 2016 Author Share February 27, 2016 (edited) Oh, and I am willing to make your time worthwhile Edited February 27, 2016 by Fireman12s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis February 27, 2016 Share February 27, 2016 Sorry to hear that. If it was yesterday I would have went and looked at it for you. I just started my work cycle for the week and have 5 12.5 hours days in a row. Hopefully someone can help you out quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman12s February 27, 2016 Author Share February 27, 2016 Thanks keraxis. I appreciate the thought... Hopefully someone will be able to help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv February 27, 2016 Share February 27, 2016 I have been watching since 5:00 am. I was hoping someone closer to Arlington would step up. PM me. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef17 February 27, 2016 Share February 27, 2016 Just emailed you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv February 27, 2016 Share February 27, 2016 No PM yet. Did someone stop by? I can stop in if you get a hold of me before 11:00 am eastern. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS February 27, 2016 Share February 27, 2016 Great to see WAMAS members coming through for fellow reefers. Hope it works out ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman12s February 27, 2016 Author Share February 27, 2016 (edited) HI GANG! SO, Origami has come to the rescue! he contacted me first, and here we are... 3 hours later, and he is finalizing everything. FORTUNATELY, it was not a real huge issue. Seems as if though my return hose had sat on the bottom of my filter sock, and slowed the flow from the overflow to the sump.. thusly the return pump overflowed the main tank some (not too much really... fortunately) I realized this might be the case when I was first notified via email about the overflow... so, I turned off everything that added water to the tank (ATO, Return pump, etc) as I was not 100% sure where the water was coming from. So.. fast forward to Tom coming to the house, and we are checking everything (I am in the middle east and online, and via Apex Fusion and Magic Jack phone) and as soon as I turn on the Return pump, the controller for the return pump became fried!!! The outlet for the Apex was fine, but now we had to come up with something to get the system circulating again! So, Tom snooped around in my "Junk drawer" and found a Cobalt Maxi Pump, some spare tubing, and put the maxi pump in the sump and ran the tubing to the display tank. Plugged the Maxi Pump into the outlet where the Waveline Return pump was, and wala! We had a working return system again!!! Although, not at the flow I once had, but, the MP-40 and MP-10 I have in the tank will still keep the flow going ok. Tom then checked my salinity, and found it low, as we suspect the ATO kicked on to resupply the water in the tank during the overflow, and the ATO Tank was low too. Tom then took all the other necessary steps to mix a new tank of salt water, add some salt to the sump as appropriate, and fill up the ATO tank. we checked some other systems as well.. and well, everything is a go! I cannot thank Tom enough for coming to the rescue here and saving my system... THANK YOU SO MUCH! And to the rest of the members who responded, I cannot thank you enough as well for your concern and consideration, I am sorry I was not able to get back to you.. as Tom and I were already working to remedy the system! Thank you all! Once I get home, I will correct the problem with the Waveline Controller, and add an additional piece of PVC pipe drilled with holes to the end of the return hose to water can come out the sides and never block up again. The system was running great up until this point...and it seems that bad hose placement caused the issue of the overflow. SO, lessons learned A little about my system: 90 Gal Bow Front 36 Gal Sump Skimmer ATO APEX Automated Water Changes at 1 Gallon per day 40 GAL ATO Tank 40 GAL Salt Water Tank for Automated Water Changes Automated feeder System has been operating without issues for 5 months with me being overseas.. all that has had to be done was to mix salt in the 40 Gal tank with water from the ATO manually, clean skimmer, replace filter socks, refill auto feeder. If I had a different set up for the return hose.. all would still be well. THANKS AGAIN TOM! :clap:We (The fish and I) Owe you and your wife a dinner when I get back! Edited February 27, 2016 by Fireman12s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 February 27, 2016 Share February 27, 2016 Tom is pretty amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami February 27, 2016 Share February 27, 2016 No problem, Fireman. Glad to help. Maybe we'll sit down and have a beer when you get back. On me, as thanks for serving overseas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizzaguy February 27, 2016 Share February 27, 2016 Thats so awesome. Wamas is one of a kind. Tom, kuddos to you. Stand up guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nextlevel808 February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 That's awesome to get it done from so far away. And Tom your a class act guy and good for the hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 Tom.. you bring up catching a beer with him one day.... what about a pub crawl social or a meet and greet dinner. You just mentioned trying to do different stuff at the last meet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyInVa February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 Thanks for your service. I am in Springfield. I will PM you my cell number should this ever happen again and you need someone to check it. It is a great idea to have as many people as possible on stand by. I almost had a similar situation while on vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Panda February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 Wow that was awesome Tom. If I was not over an hour and half away I would tell you to put me on your call for help list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anemone February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 Keep in mind, this is after WAMAS campaign season. Kudos to you Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b March 1, 2016 Share March 1, 2016 Just now seeing this thread. I haven't logged on in a couple weeks. I live in Arlington so if you need future emergency help you can PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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