Tank Crash. Lost all my corals :(

OCDP · #1 08-09-2006, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midgetwaiter

One thing to think about when you are setting your tank back up.

If you are in a situation where a simple failure like leaving your lights on overnight will kill off the tank then IMO your system is broken. There will always be something that can go wrong but little things like someone making a really simple mistake should not put the whole system at risk.

To address this specific problem, a temperature controller costing less than $100 could have saved you. I know hindsight is 20/20 etc but this is how you learn things like this. Any time you are building a system you have to consider possible failures and have a plan for them.

You are right.. no denying that, such a small mistake cost me too much time and money.

Another update: I just did another big water change, and things are clearing up nicely, and the smell is going away slowly. Things are looking up . The fish look fine, and even better since the water change. My buddy and I are off to the LFS tonight for some more rock, I have the old SW I am going to put the old rocks in, I will decide what to do with them when the time comes (most likely cook them)

I am going to most likely get rid of my sandbed and vaccum it all out, I am also going to buy some carbon for my AC500, and a couple new chunks of live rock. Things are slowly looking up...

Beverly · #2 08-09-2006, 12:45 AM

Scott,

How deep is your sandbed? If it's deep enough to have an anaerobic layer, I would remove the fish from the tank and have water on hand for a large water change before removing it.

OCDP · #3 08-09-2006, 03:53 AM

Well, did another water change and I bought some carbon, and a vacuum. Cleaned the sand fairly well, too hard to siphon in such a small tank. But, got 90% of my sand clean... all I can say is WOW

disgusting.. I had 3 pails full of dark brown water. Glad it's gone.

Now I just need to work on getting the rocks clean.

Flusher · #4 08-09-2006, 04:11 AM

I've never cooked rock, but I think this might work:

If you were to find a temporary new home for your surviving corals and maybe your fish, couldn't you just keep the tank more or less intact and cook the rock right where it is? Leave everything running (heater, skimmer, powerheads) except for the lights. That might be the easiest way to do it. Maybe throw in more cleaners (crabs, sea hare), too?

Just a thought. You might even be able to keep the fish in there; I don't think they need much light (probably not enough light to grow algae, anyway). You'd basically have a dimly-lit FOWLR tank for awhile.

GrimReefer · #5 08-09-2006, 04:19 AM

sorry to hear about your losses. i don't know how i would feel if i lost my whole tank. threads like these really discourage me from SPS and metal halides...

reeferaddict · #6 08-09-2006, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by genix

sorry to hear about your losses. i don't know how i would feel if i lost my whole tank. threads like these really discourage me from SPS and metal halides...

Don't let it scare you off... just pay close attention and plan accordingly if you DO decide to try SPS...

OCDP · #7 08-09-2006, 02:46 PM

Yeah that might work Flusher, but I also may just go with new rock, a fresh start that way. I may not replace all the rock, but a few big pieces at least.

Genix, definitely don't let these stories hold you back from going with SPS and halides... it's worth it. And like reeferaddict said, plan around it.. I could have done things to prevent this... even if I would have had a fan to keep the room cooler.. things may not have been so bad. So plan things carefully I guess and everything should work out ..