34g Reef Freaking Disaster!!!

[dsaundry]

So I get up today and head out with the wife and we have a very pleasant day out, we have a great time so much so she even alows me to drag her to King Eds to look around.While there I pick up a nice little Coral Beauty for my 34g at the shop. Well to make a long story short we stop at the shop on the way home to put the new addition in the tank and as soon as I opened the door I knew someting was wrong. First of all the tank was cloudy and then I could smell decaying organism's, so I run to the tank and the first thing I do is feel the side of the glass,,,,stone freaking cold! So after doing a bit of investigating it turned out that the electronic power bar did not reset itself after a power failure last night. So the list of casualties is {2} Ocelaris clowns, Yellow tailed damsel, Lawnmowwer Blenny, Pajama Cardinal, Canary Wrasse, Cleaner Shrimp, Fire Shrimp, Bristle Starfish, Orange Starfish, Some Hermit Crabs and Snails, A Green bta, a White bta, and an Urchin. and now for the coral list, A toadstool leather, a whack load of various Zoanthids that I have collected over the past, a bunch of mushrooms, ricordia's, gsp, blue cloves, Zenia and a few other small misc things. There were only a couple of snails that survived and I am hoping that some of the corals that didn't look so good may come back as I have rushed them home to my 140g. I will see if anything survives over the next day or so. So now I have had to put the new Coral Beauty in my 140g with another coral beauty and cross my fingers that they get along. I am shutting down all remnants of the tank at work and will never set up a tank at a place I cannot monitor on a daily basis. I am so bloody upset about this I have actually made myself physically ill. So my venting about this on the forum is keeping me from putting my fist through a wall right about now...In my 12 years of reefkeeping I have never had a system go down like this and hope to hell it never happens again!:sad:

[matinbc]

So very sad. I would not be honest if I said I did not worry about the same thing. But to look on the bright side, (If there is one) You can put the money towards your home tank and spend the same every month that you would have been spending on 2 tanks, and not set off alarm bells in your shared account. Keep your babies close to home.

what kind of power bar was it? (to ensure that I am not running the same one.) The electrical portion of the reefing hobby has always been the concern for me. As salt water finds it way everywhere through evaporation and is an excellent conductor.

sorry about your loss....

[Borderjumper]

I feel so bad for you. I know all to well what your feeling right now. Clean it all up and put it away for now..Give yourself sometime. I'm sorry for your loss.

[Chaloupa]

Ah man, that totally sucks. I feel for you. But as Borderjumper says, put it away, give yourself some time to recover, and you might just find that you do put it up again. Here's hoping your Coral Beauties get along!

[Frenchie2]

:sad::sad::sad: I'm so sorry for you and all these poor little critters... We all learn a lesson or two in this mysterious hobby... Get better soon!

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

what a terrible thing to go through.
Sorry to hear about your loss.

[daniella3d]

How can this happen? don't you have heating at your work? It should not have dropped so low that it would kill everything.

My aquarium temperature is at 76F. Was at 74F for a long time and everything was doing great. The room temperature is 72F and that would not have killed anything in my tank. Even if I would keep the house at 70F it would not kill my fish and corals.

How can an aquarium inside a house could be stone cold unless there is electricity outage?

And then you put the new fish with your existing fish without quarantine, another disaster waiting to happen. I surely hope it does not carry any disease like velvet.

I am really puzzled...

So I get up today and head out with the wife and we have a very pleasant day out, we have a great time so much so she even alows me to drag her to King Eds to look around.While there I pick up a nice little Coral Beauty for my 34g at the shop. Well to make a long story short we stop at the shop on the way home to put the new addition in the tank and as soon as I opened the door I knew someting was wrong. First of all the tank was cloudy and then I could smell decaying organism's, so I run to the tank and the first thing I do is feel the side of the glass,,,,stone freaking cold! So after doing a bit of investigating it turned out that the electronic power bar did not reset itself after a power failure last night. So the list of casualties is {2} Ocelaris clowns, Yellow tailed damsel, Lawnmowwer Blenny, Pajama Cardinal, Canary Wrasse, Cleaner Shrimp, Fire Shrimp, Bristle Starfish, Orange Starfish, Some Hermit Crabs and Snails, A Green bta, a White bta, and an Urchin. and now for the coral list, A toadstool leather, a whack load of various Zoanthids that I have collected over the past, a bunch of mushrooms, ricordia's, gsp, blue cloves, Zenia and a few other small misc things. There were only a couple of snails that survived and I am hoping that some of the corals that didn't look so good may come back as I have rushed them home to my 140g. I will see if anything survives over the next day or so. So now I have had to put the new Coral Beauty in my 140g with another coral beauty and cross my fingers that they get along. I am shutting down all remnants of the tank at work and will never set up a tank at a place I cannot monitor on a daily basis. I am so bloody upset about this I have actually made myself physically ill. So my venting about this on the forum is keeping me from putting my fist through a wall right about now...In my 12 years of reefkeeping I have never had a system go down like this and hope to hell it never happens again!:sad:

[Delphinus]

What a terrible thing to happen. :( Sorry for your losses.

[Coleus]

I am very sorry to hear. Hope thing will turn around better for you

How can this happen? don't you have heating at your work? It should not have dropped so low that it would kill everything.

My aquarium temperature is at 76F. Was at 74F for a long time and everything was doing great. The room temperature is 72F and that would not have killed anything in my tank. Even if I would keep the house at 70F it would not kill my fish and corals.

How can an aquarium inside a house could be stone cold unless there is electricity outage?

And then you put the new fish with your existing fish without quarantine, another disaster waiting to happen. I surely hope it does not carry any disease like velvet.

I am really puzzled...

Maybe not just the temperature, the lack of oxygen also kill

[dsaundry]

Lack of oxygen and cold was the main factor imo, this tank is at my shop which traditionally doesn't stay as warm as a house. The main issue is that at the shop there is always a day or two that it is closed and therefore not monitored. The "powerbar" is electronic which is the main culprit, had it been a cheapo push button type it all would have been ok. Instead of switching back on when the power did come on, it stayed off for some stupid reason...guess where the powerbar is now? On a more positive note it does appear that some of the corals have survived, will know more when I get home from work today,,as near as I can figure the power was out for just over 24 hours...way too long for a reef tank. I still have my 140g and I may set up the 34g at my house but for now it will stay down.

[fishoholic]

so sorry to hear :sad:

[VFX]

Hey Darryl

Sorry to hear. It's a real shame. That 34g was looking real sweet last time I saw it & I know how much you hate losing a single fish never mind a tank full.

Let me know if you need a hand or if there's any hardware or livestock you need and if I've got it, it's yours.

Will be a shame not to have a reef at the shop. Customers seemed to love it & you get to look at your nano-reef all day at work & then your main reef when you get home.

I guess being out the Valley we need to be doubly careful when it comes to power outs & have some sort of backup in place.

.

[ponokareefer]

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Hopefully you are able to rescue some more critters from the loss.

Unfortunately when systems are set up at places of employment where people aren't there everyday, crap like this can happen. I am coming up on my 2 year anniversary when my tank crashed at work because my skimmer overflowed onto the floor causing so much water to escape that it stopped my return pump from cycling the water and my MH's cooked my tank. I have just about got my tank as full again as it was back then, but the smell and sight of a cooked tank is something I will never forget. That being said, I love having a tank at work that can take your mind off of things. Customers seem to really like it as well.

[mseepman]

Sorry to hear about this, we had a power outage on the weekend for about 6 hours and I know that I was thankful that my UPS's kept both my tanks going fine. I could barely sleep worrying about it though.

[dsaundry]

Thanks for the kind offer Viv, I will most likely go back to the drawing board and replumb and set this tank up again, but at home, You know I want to thank all the "Canreef" people for their kind words. Viv was right I hate losing any fish, let alone a whole tank, my customers did love this tank and actually used to bring their kids around to see it, but ultimately it boils down to where I can best take care of the fish and corals etc. Its not at my shop! I have had a couple of minor scares before but nothing ever like this. So today I have been cleaning up,found a couple more snails that made it{tough little buggers} and will be taking the tank home. I was trying to see the name of the sh**ty power bar but I can't see a name. I got it off ebay a few years back as it had a supposed good reputation. Will go to basic timers from now on.

[christyf5]

wow thats awful, sorry to hear this :neutral: stupid powerbars...:confused:

[PoonTang]

Really sorry to hear about your loss. I too went through a total tank loss a year and a half ago due to a power bar, so I definitely feel your pain. You know it is possible to still have your tank at work. All you need is a way to monitor it. The first thing I bought after my crash was a Apex controller. Remote monitoring and control is the only way to go and you can also easily add a wireless web cam for visual monitoring.

[Lance]

Aw Man! I just hate hearing these things. So sorry for your loss.

[daniella3d]

That's what I do when I go to vacations, then I use my cell phone to watch the web cam over the net and get my email in case a warning was sent. Only way to go to vacations and peace of mind.

And to top it, I put my pumps and skimmer on a Noma power backup. that starts as soon as the power goes off and return to the electricity when the power is back.

The web cam is nice to check if the skimmer is working normaly, if the water level is ok (auto top off working) and if the pump and light are working ok, as well as if the fish are alive and well and the water clear. It's all very easy to see on the web cam image.

Really sorry to hear about your loss. I too went through a total tank loss a year and a half ago due to a power bar, so I definitely feel your pain. You know it is possible to still have your tank at work. All you need is a way to monitor it. The first thing I bought after my crash was a Apex controller. Remote monitoring and control is the only way to go and you can also easily add a wireless web cam for visual monitoring.

[dsaundry]

Well I thought I would give an update on the disaster that I and some other people have experienced, it appears that a lot of my zoas have survived along with some of the mushrooms, toadstool,zenia and leather didn't make it, but I am really glad some of the stuff made it, a ray of sunshine in a really dark day..maybe thats a bit melodramatic..oh well it really did surprise me that anything survived at all, this tank was really cold when I came in. Now I am cleaning up and getting back to business {so to speak} and will move forward. The Coral Beauty is doing fine, they seem to be getting along, so far. I have already been thinking of what I will do when I once again set up the 34g but as stated before it will be at home, it is easier for me there. As the new light I had ordered for it arrived today I guess I really don't have a lot of choices, I have to set it up again someday, sooner than later I hope.

[dsaundry]

daniella3dThat's what I do when I go to vacations, then I use my cell phone to watch the web cam over the net and get my email in case a warning was sent. Only way to go to vacations and peace of mind.

And to top it, I put my pumps and skimmer on a Noma power backup. that starts as soon as the power goes off and return to the electricity when the power is back.

The web cam is nice to check if the skimmer is working normaly, if the water level is ok (auto top off working) and if the pump and light are working ok, as well as if the fish are alive and well and the water clear. It's all very easy to see on the web cam image.

I am afraid I don't really use a cell ph for the most part{I know, catch up} I dont text or tweet either, but one day perhaps. If I had been out of town I don't know if it would have made any difference as I guess I would have to have a tank sitter to call I guess. I like my computer but I use my wifes cell ph when I go out...she usually makes me take it. :lol:. Don't get me wrong, I luv technology, I just hate it when people can track me down when I want to get away.:mrgreen:

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Sorry to hear man. Hope some of the livestock survives.

[christyf5]

Glad to hear some of the corals made it. Definitely a bright light on a dark day :biggrin:

[daniella3d]

Well you do use the Internet so not all is lost. You could monitor your aquarium from home each day or each evening before the lights go off. As for traveling, you can bring a small notebook and use free wireless around, like at Starbuck for exemple or at your hotel. Many restaurants and shops now have free wireless. I use my cellular because often when I go to vacations it's in the middle of nowhere. But your situation is different...if it is to monitor something at work, it could very well be done with a controller and a net module and a web cam that you monitor from home.

Last vacations I was at Mingan Island photographying the Atlantic puffins. No civilization what so ever on that island but since it's about 10 miles from the shore the cell phone could get through so I could monitor my tank during the day.


I am afraid I don't really use a cell ph for the most part{I know, catch up} I dont text or tweet either, but one day perhaps. If I had been out of town I don't know if it would have made any difference as I guess I would have to have a tank sitter to call I guess. I like my computer but I use my wifes cell ph when I go out...she usually makes me take it. :lol:. Don't get me wrong, I luv technology, I just hate it when people can track me down when I want to get away.:mrgreen:

[dsaundry]

Well I spent yesterday taking down the tank and equipment at work, then took it all home and cleaned it up..don't know how soon I will recreate the tank, but I have ideas. I am currently doing some reno's on the house so that is taking up a lot of time, I am also taking down my 90g as I have transferred all the livestock to the 140g. And to top it up I have been busy dealing with my moms estate stuff as she recently passed away,,soooo the 34g project will be on the back burner for a while. But I do have some real good ideas for it when I tackle it again, so like the "Six Million Dollar Man" I will rebuild it- better, stronger...well you know what I mean:mrgreen:

[TimT]

Sorry for your loss Daryl. It sucks that something so small can wreak such havoc.

[dsaundry]

I really couldn't imagine losing the system the way I did, the tank had been up and running for some time, I had some of the livestock for 2-3 years...really put a crap start on the week...will keep this updated as I go. ...By the way Tim, luv your fish food...well the fish luv it... will call u later.:biggrin:

[PoonTang]

Lots of us guys here monitor our home tanks while we are at work so it makes perfect sense that you can monitor your work tank while youre at home. :mrgreen:

[Reefdigger]

sorry to hear about this... there's always a brighter side to things when s@%t happens... keep your chin up...

[dsaundry]

Well its been almost a week and fortunately and to my surprise a lot of the Zoa's and mushrooms etc seem to be pulling through. Still watching but it looks real good so far. The Coral Beauties seem fine as well.:biggrin:

[christyf5]

Well its been almost a week and fortunately and to my surprise a lot of the Zoa's and mushrooms etc seem to be pulling through. Still watching but it looks real good so far. The Coral Beauties seem fine as well.:biggrin:

yay!! glad to hear some stuff made it :)