Algae you don't see will be your doom!

[Gizmo]

Oi! 4am this morning, my wife and I wake up to the smell of burning rubber. What might that be you ask? Oh, thats electrical smoke from a cord for something completely unlreated to my fishtake... a stereo 10' away. (just incase someone starts yelling GFI!!! GFI!!!) Funny story... from an outside perspective I guess.

In one of my overflows of my 70g Puffer tank, A sheet of algae that must have been there since the dawn of glass, broke off the overflow wall and lodged itself into the drain line. This crap was like leather... SOLID and not letting any water past.. So, my system has 500+ gallons of water in it, which allowed to return pump to merrily continue pumping water into the tank. FLOOOOOOOD!!! Luckily the breaker popped and the cord stopped its journey to the world of inferno.

Let this be a warning to those, like me, who don't really care/notice whats going on in the overflows... Take out anything looking like it could breakoff and plug your drain. Well back to work at 6am now... mop, mop, mop.