destroyed vacation and tank

[darkreef]

I moved away from my ocean , my family everything .
To start a life in Alberta . When I got home sick I sat by my tank .

Monday I left my tank in the care of my in-laws .
I went back to cape Breton for a few days to see my family for the first time in three years.

Tonight something bad happened . Worse then I could ever imagion .

The only thing they had to do was put water in the auto top off every four days and add pelts .

They didn't ask permission and started steam cleaning my floors .
I left the apartment in mint condition , super clean .

Some how they poured the bleached and soap water into the sump tank of my aquarium .

At first I was like ok keep calm , drain the auto top off department. Wash it out .

No they added it right to the sump ... They had no business adding anything to the tank .I don't understand what happened . There instructions where simple.

I'm not there I can't take everything out ... Thousands of dollars .burnt in smoke .
I'm destroyed . I'm hoping to call the pet store tomorrow and asking them to take anything that's alive until I get home .

First time home and this happens . They could never understand why I spent so much money on a fish tank ... They never understood what it ment to me. My ocean,my rock that kept me strong when I was home sick .

It took me years to finally set up this beautiful tank . Only two months ago I added everything . And thew is not enough water on tap to my a emergancy qt.

:( hope everyone is having a better night then me .
Sorry for the typos I cant see much out of my eyes .

[Slyguy00]

Im sorry to hear that. Pretty amazing how brainless some people are.

[freeze]

Pm'd

[Dearth]

Never are the right words for that at least not printable here.....

[darkreef]

It was the only thing I had that kept me sane .
Iv never seen 10 grand burn up so fast .
My heart hurts . I don't even clean in my apartment with anything but vinegar .
For my cats and tanks sake . (Cat has allergies that effect his eyes)

That tank was part of the family , each coral and fish had a meaning and purpose .
It felt like I lost my entire family. Going to be very hard to finish my vacation .
I'm just glad I'm around the people I love.. but that only fills the hole so long .

All they had to do was put fresh water in the auto top off , I don't understand how someone could screw that up .

[WarDog]

Wow. Just wow. So very sorry for your loss. Shocking thread to read.

[mark]

What was their thinking though? Seems just to big of a mistake to make.

[darkreef]

Some updates , they were up till 6 this morning emptying the sump.
I recommend primer for this case ... Because I only have 15 gallons in storage .
There going to buy heaters and get the sump to temperature . Before starting the pumps.

No update on live stock ...
I really thought I'd wake up and this be just a bad nightmare .

All I dreamt about last night was my happy cowfish ... Not so happy .

[corpusse]

I'm really sorry this happened to you, but unless they are mentally disabled this was a deliberate attack on you.

Maybe you don't want to discuss this on a forum but you mention inlaws, and how they never understood how you'd spend money on the tank. Without any knowledge of the situation I would guess they don't like you married to their child or just hate you for some other reason.

Again real sorry this happened, I can't imagine how devastating. I know this is Canada, not America, but maybe you can consider taking legal action against them? No idea if you would have any kind of case (when you hire a tanksitter they usually have insurance), but this is not some kind of mistake, its a malicious attack on you, and what you love.

[canadianbudz604]

I don't understand how they could be so dumb to pour bleach/dirt water in the sump. Is it supposed to be some weird joke? I wouldn't have in laws anymore if they did some dumb **** like that. Man I don't understand what the hell they were thinking.

[kien]

Oi! That's Terrible! Sorry to hear :-(

I guess you were not there so there's no telling what really happened. For all you know they had a huge party and some drunks poor beer into your tank and on puked on the floor..

[Pike]

Sorry, really really sorry for your loss. I just wonder if they really did dump anything in the sump. Is that what they say they did ? Because I had one of those aerosol smelly things that go off automaticaly and after a few days with closed windows the living smelled good but I noticed that my Frontosa cichlids were all lethargic and gasping for air. The water absorbs all those chemicals just as it would with bleach steam cleaning

[Coralgurl]

Oh man, this is horrible!! Is there anything any of us local reefers can do to help out?? I have water ready and can mix up some salt water if needed, I also have room in my tank if you need any livestock moved and looked after for you.

I'm sure their intentions were not to hurt the tank but there are just no words to console you. So very sorry!

[darkreef]

I'm trying to get whole of a petstore that could take my livestock .

I have a cowfish , leaflipsoap fish , marine betta .
Designer zoas , 30+ corals .

But really if there is anyone willing to take them I come back Monday night .
(If everything is still alive) .

I'm sure the rock and sand is screwed if it made it into the main tank .

[Scuba Diver Gal]

I am not super experienced, but we can help you. I am home today all day. I could be there in 45 minutes…although would need someone experienced to help me out…I can get my son from school too, he's better than me. I'll message him and see if he has any ideas too. We don't have a great quarantine running to move them into, and our trigger has shown a few spots today, so I don't know if you 'd want your fish in our sump today...

[pinkreef]

OMG:cry:

[darkreef]

Great news everyone , the fish and coral made it threw the night !

The great people at concepts are taking the fish and coral
I can't thank them enough , or what I'm going to do to repay them.
This is why I shop at concepts for 90% of what I need .
Thank you !

The fish are being caught now , and il be doing a 100% water change and hard on carbon .
When I get back , I don't need them touching anything lol

I want to thank everyone that's offered there help today .
Means a lot that someone would go out of there way to help a stranger in distress .

I can relax now and enjoy the rest of my time with my family.


Thank you !!! Thank you !!! Thank you !!!!

[Delphinus]

Glad to hear you are in good hands. Good luck and try to enjoy the rest of your vacation.

[Scuba Diver Gal]

I know the guys from Concept rescued other tanks from floods and I think a fire (just in the short time that my son has been in this hobby). They are the rescue heroes of the fish world :)

Maybe I'll text Matt and bring them a lunch or something while they are doing your stuff :)

I will help in whatever way I can…even if it's just some food delivery. Hope all your fish and corals make the transition smoothly...

[SteveCGY]

Great news everyone , the fish and coral made it threw the night !

The great people at concepts are taking the fish and coral
I can't thank them enough , or what I'm going to do to repay them.
This is why I shop at concepts for 90% of what I need .
Thank you !

The fish are being caught now , and il be doing a 100% water change and hard on carbon .
When I get back , I don't need them touching anything lol

I want to thank everyone that's offered there help today .
Means a lot that someone would go out of there way to help a stranger in distress .

I can relax now and enjoy the rest of my time with my family.


Thank you !!! Thank you !!! Thank you !!!!


I hear concept just got a new shipment in today and are doing a 75% off sale. Lol. Jk. Glad to hear all is good. Way to go concept.

[denny_C]

i would like to think if any of us were in those shoes we would like the same kind of help:)


anytime tiff get em on over here and we will take it from there:)


good luck!!


denny

[FishingGoalie]

If you guys don't have enough room which i know you do lol. But i can hold lots of the stuff new tank lots of room :)

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Glad that Concepts can help save your livestock.

I agree with those who can't accept (or wrap my mind around) the idea that someone could be this stupid and do this "by accident". Who dumps dirty, soapy water into a fish tank or sump? Everyone knows to dump that down the toilet. I have talk special needs kids at school and they know how to do this.

Good luck sorting this whole mess out. Glad the livestock at least didn't pay the price.

Anthony

[H2o2]

High Five Concept

[Coralgurl]

Glad to hear everything made it through the night! Wow - Concept!!! Fantastic guys!!!!

Again, if there is anything you need help with, I am happy to help out!!

[darkreef]

Thanks everyone , and I can't wrap my head around it as I don't use chemicals in my house .
I also use tongs and things and never put my hands in the tank .
But I'm so thankful of how this hobby stick by Eachother side .
That's amazing if only the world was like our network we wouldn't have people starving out there .

Thanks everyone , I can tell your just as confused and upset as me .

Peace and love !

[Misses.ReefWars]

I agree with those who can't accept (or wrap my mind around) the idea that someone could be this stupid and do this "by accident". Who dumps dirty, soapy water into a fish tank or sump? Everyone knows to dump that down the toilet.



+1 !!

[matt_C]

the fish and coral are out of there old water.
right now we are trying to get as mush chemicals out of there system by aerating the water.

[Slyguy00]

Props to concept! That is awesome

[Madreefer]

Hats off to Concept. Good on you guys and sorry to hear bout the Ef up.

[Myka]

Omg, what a shocking thread! What were they thinking?! I can't even wrap my head around why someone would think that was a good idea? Did they think the sump went to a floor drain or something?? Some people really don't understand how our tanks work, but wow this is a new level! :o

Props to Concept for helping out! What is the damage? It sounds like it is mostly going to pull through? I hope...

[WarDog]

+1 to Concepts. This is truly Canada's premier LFS. Props to them for going above and beyond. Happy to hear the livestock is out!

I'm sure your in-laws weren't deliberately trying to sabotage your tank. It takes a seriously anti-social person to do that.
My guess is that they thought they would surprise you with clean carpets and didn't realise the tank water can absorb chemicals as Pike suggested.
Perhaps they used the cleaning bucket to fill the sump/ato without rinsing it (like rinsing would do any good)?
Some people just don't understand how sensitive and fragile our little ecosystems are!
Hopefully the damage is minimal. Looking forward to an update when you get home.

[denny_C]

Omg, what a shocking thread! What were they thinking?! I can't even wrap my head around why someone would think that was a good idea? Did they think the sump went to a floor drain or something?? Some people really don't understand how our tanks work, but wow this is a new level! :o

Props to Concept for helping out! What is the damage? It sounds like it is mostly going to pull through? I hope...

fish and coral are now here at concept , tank is being drained and set up again , then carbon running very aggressivly...all equipmewnt washed.it will be up to tiff when she gets back whether she wants to continue on or restart the tank with her sand and rock she has now or start new.

so far so good , all fish are in their new tanks , alot of work cut out still for those home:)

good luck!!

[darkreef]

Thanks everyone and concepts for the emergancy rescue .
Even got a picture of my fish in there new tank . *tears of joy*
When I started into this trade I met a lot of good people .

I will continue into the trade because of you good people ! .

[FishingGoalie]

I went to concept and saw them. They all look very happy :). Your cowfish is the cutest fish ive ever seen. :biggrin:

[waynemah]

What a crazy read. It sounds like Concept really stepped up!

[Myka]

fish and coral are now here at concept

Good to hear! Minimal losses then? This is good news. Both for Tiff and the livestock!

[denny_C]

Good to hear! Minimal losses then? This is good news. Both for Tiff and the livestock!

so far no losses, i believe there is a small chromis or damsel that they couldnt catch.

we couldnt acclimate as the water they came in more than likely was contaminated so it was a quick temp acclimate and then in they went to water syphoned from our display.

we are going to watch them for a few days and try feeding this evening:)

out of all the fish all of them are out and about swimming but one is in hiding.

breathing has returned to normal and corals are opening and doesnt seem to have any loss there.

im trying to give the fish there own space and not stress them out further and they are in our qt room with fresh liverock from my display, hopefully they will eat some frozen tonight.

as far as fish condition goes the one im most scared of ( cowfish) seems to be doing just amazing and the best of the bunch:)

theres going to be a lot of work to clean out the system, prob some tough calls to make but we have sent them home with a game plan and matt has given them his personal cell number in case they need him to come over.

we will help in anyway we can...short supplies,knowledge etc.

ive been in a similiar boat before and i remember kevin at red coral offering something similiar, it all came down to if i have the space which lucky enough right now we did:)

[Wheelman76]

Great job Concept!!!

[Slyguy00]

Now that is some service! Says alot about concept.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Concept is truly a customer-first establishment and great job keeping everything alive.

[NIVLEM09]

Kudos to Concept for helping out.im glad the fish survived the incident.

[The Guy]

Concept is truly a customer-first establishment and great job keeping everything alive.
Props to Concept for helping out with the rescue, I am still totally shocked to think anyone could do something like this to your pride and joy, unbelievable . Glad most of your livestock are ok so far. Good luck with setting up again.

[NIVLEM09]

Let's just be thankful that the inhabitants are alright and that Concept is close enough to lend a helping hand.we. Weren't present when the incident occurred so it wouldn't be fair to pass judgement.once again-a big thank you to Concept for helping the OP

[Baker]

Concept is truly a customer-first establishment and great job keeping everything alive.

Good guys over there, they love the hobby and love making people happy. Glad everything worked out for you. Sucks that you had to go through that.

[denny_C]

just a little update:)


all fish and corals are doing amazing and all are eating as of today, no losses and everyone is back to normal conditions:)


tiff i have a few videos taken but am having trouble uploading them from this dumb pc lol , text me and ill text it to you as its on my phone:)

403-499-8708


cheers


denny

[FishingGoalie]

just a little update:)


all fish and corals are doing amazing and all are eating as of today, no losses and everyone is back to normal conditions:)


tiff i have a few videos taken but am having trouble uploading them from this dumb pc lol , text me and ill text it to you as its on my phone:)

403-499-8708


cheers


denny

I got some pictures if you want them :D

[denny_C]

I got some pictures if you want them :D

heya little buddy:)

pics i have but i wanted to send tiff a video of her boys all eating and out swimming:)


cheers


denny

[FishingGoalie]

heya little buddy:)

pics i have but i wanted to send tiff a video of her boys all eating and out swimming:)


cheers


denny

OK :)

[darkreef]

Txt ya tomorrow buddy its late now when I check canreef !
:D thanks so much !

[fishoholic]

Wow crazy! :crazyeye: glad Concept was able to help

[darkreef]

Well I got home two hours ago and my apartment smells like death , bleach , and warf.

Its going to take me a week atleast to clean the tank and start filling it over again .
Wires everwhere , equipment everywhere . Everything left to dry and crust .

They took my live rock out and put it in a bucket ... Well the water is more like slime and thick . It probably needs to be all thrown out now .

I guess when I told them to take the fish to the store and leave the tank alone wasn't good enough ... They had to take it a few steps further . Not impressed

Going up concepts soon to see my fish. ...

[waynemah]

By the sounds of it, the rocks may have been removed to safely extract the fish with minimal stress.

[gtreef]

Such a shocking post, I'm so glad that Concept was so excellent and saved your fish! I hope that your corals survive and everything goes up from here. I couldn't imagine something like this happening… the devastation you must have felt. Hugs all around and here's to getting everything back on track!

[Slyguy00]

Well I got home two hours ago and my apartment smells like death , bleach , and warf.

Its going to take me a week atleast to clean the tank and start filling it over again .
Wires everwhere , equipment everywhere . Everything left to dry and crust .

They took my live rock out and put it in a bucket ... Well the water is more like slime and thick . It probably needs to be all thrown out now .

I guess when I told them to take the fish to the store and leave the tank alone wasn't good enough ... They had to take it a few steps further . Not impressed

Going up concepts soon to see my fish. ...


They could have just let you deal with it, and let all your stuff die... Id be thankful someone offered to come and help. I sure wouldnt be complaining about it. After all it isn't anybody else's fault. Sorry to hear about your tank. But remember they are just trying to help.

[Tn23]

I agree with slyguy. The guys over at concepts probably had thought that since there were chemicals in the water. The live rock and water would of gone bad and the tank needed to be re cycled anyways? So assuming that they saved what they could.

Look at the bright side at least your corals and fish are alive. Go concepts!

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk

[reefwars]

I agree with slyguy. The guys over at concepts probably had thought that since there were chemicals in the water. The live rock and water would of gone bad and the tank needed to be re cycled anyways? So assuming that they saved what they could.

Look at the bright side at least your corals and fish are alive. Go concepts!

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk


The only work on our end was taking fish and corals in , we did give a list of things to do but I didn't think they would do it they really knew nothing about aquariums so I'm sure they were afraid to do anymore it's prob best they didn't do too much.

[pinkreef]

now you get a fresh start, new sand and landscaping. when its all over you can look back and be glad thats behind you. kudos to the aquarium shop that helped you :biggrin:

[darkreef]

concepts gave my fish a home and I'm not complaining about that. thanks a million

what i was complaining about is i kept telling them to leave it all alone after the fish were out and they didn't. they didn't listen to a single thing i said . even all the wiring was a mess and i plugged in my wave marker that was hooked up to my pump power supply? not sure why all the wave makers and pumps were disconnected at the controllers and swapped .. now i may be looking at some equipment replacement. this is why i told them to leave it alone. ( the sitters not concepts)

anyways I'm 4 hours non stop in

it begins
http://i945.photobucket.com/albums/ad296/darkreef5/10294380_10152458253664923_5203991075507960241_n_z psca36abe6.jpg (http://s945.photobucket.com/user/darkreef5/media/10294380_10152458253664923_5203991075507960241_n_z psca36abe6.jpg.html)

equipment out and in a vinegar bath. one sump section almost clean

http://i945.photobucket.com/albums/ad296/darkreef5/10259833_10152458253574923_6552017011680631102_n_z psc2fc44d0.jpg (http://s945.photobucket.com/user/darkreef5/media/10259833_10152458253574923_6552017011680631102_n_z psc2fc44d0.jpg.html)

vinegar bath
http://i945.photobucket.com/albums/ad296/darkreef5/10258833_10152458253439923_9110958782762232973_n_z ps840856bc.jpg (http://s945.photobucket.com/user/darkreef5/media/10258833_10152458253439923_9110958782762232973_n_z ps840856bc.jpg.html)

live rock? this was left with no flow.. reason my house smells like warf
i threw some powerheads in it not sure if its to late. water was brown and slime
http://i945.photobucket.com/albums/ad296/darkreef5/1461405_10152458253359923_58159965555059273_n_zpsb ad89c28.jpg (http://s945.photobucket.com/user/darkreef5/media/1461405_10152458253359923_58159965555059273_n_zpsb ad89c28.jpg.html)

four hours in... sand removed. water mixing in the now clean sump!
getting close going to start adding water soon

http://i945.photobucket.com/albums/ad296/darkreef5/10291863_10152458253224923_8661257338945011714_n_z psd57a2f1f.jpg (http://s945.photobucket.com/user/darkreef5/media/10291863_10152458253224923_8661257338945011714_n_z psd57a2f1f.jpg.html)

it took a lot less time then i thought . even doing it by myself!
thanks everyone ... pink reef this was a fresh start only up for 2 months ( swapped from a two year tank) :P

[Slyguy00]

Looks like things are slowly coming together. Id say your rock will probably be ok, but odds are everything on it has died. So your essentially gonna be starting from scratch and having to cycle them. Good luck

[darkreef]

Tank is cleaned and filled , temp and salinity going up . Rock be added tomorrow and out of that swamp water . They will be getting a swish in fresh saltwater before adding get all the loose stuff off.

A lot of work but well worth it . I don't think I could have had the same attitude towards this if my fish didn't make it . Thanks again !

[Myka]

I would suggest you put your "live" rock into a big Rubbermaid-type tub with a big powerhead and heater to re-cure them. Just fill it with RO/DI water. If you do a sudden switch from RO/DI water to saltwater you will lose about 30% of the nitrifying bacteria, but most of it will be fine. Cure it in freshwater, and then switch it to saltwater near the end. You will see a very small spike in ammonia or none at all when you do the switch. That way you can do big waterchanges without costing a fortune in salt.

Fwiw, Canadian Tire sells 210L totes for $30. They are black with red lids. I use one for saltwater mixing. They have wheels on them and they work well on hard surfaces, but not if the tote is more than half full of water.

[darkreef]

I noticed that my snails are still hard at it ... And I think they would die before the pods and bacteria , so I'm going to throw it in tomorrow with a swish first . If I get a algae my vow fish will love me for it lol

[Myka]

I noticed that my snails are still hard at it ... And I think they would die before the pods and bacteria , so I'm going to throw it in tomorrow with a swish first . If I get a algae my vow fish will love me for it lol

I'm not worried about bacteria, i'm worried about the ammonia spike you're going to get when you put that rock back in water. ;)

[harlequin01]

wow what a story, kudos to your local lfs. i had my tank flooded my carpet once when I lived in apartment. i had to call a carpet cleaner to get rid of the smell

[darkreef]

*update* three weeks into cycle . I have three colony rocks that came back and are starting to open up , a acan frag was crushed and fully healed its self also .

Diatoms , alage , pods ... All the good starting to come alive .

Sadly nothing was replaced as said it would be .
And don't even talk to them anymore ... Not over this but other silly reasons


Going to look into getting a clean up crew at the end of next week .
And add sand before I put my stress toxic fish in .

Going to pick up some cheato also to get some friend hichhikers :) .

Good note . I don't see a single aiptasia ! We will see tho ... One cell is all you need .
.

Thanks concepts !