Why do tanks crash?

[lorenz0]

major crash due to moving.... took longer than I thought

[abcha0s]

So here’s how the numbers break down.

The first 4 questions were a group. There were 88 votes in this section:

My tank has suffered a full crash – 17%
My tank has suffered a partial crash – 32%
My tank has never crashed, but has potential issues – 37.5%
My tank is bullet proof – 13.5%

It’s almost a 50/50 split between those who have had a crash and those who haven’t.

The next category was intended to identify why tanks crash. It was hard to phrase these causes as I didn’t want the poll to be too long. Regardless, there is some good information that came back.

The major causes of tank crashes (for those who voted) are:

#1 (16 votes) - Equipment Failure
#2 (12 votes) – Disease or parasites
#3 (11 votes) – Electrical Failure
#4 (10 votes) – Temperature deviation

Water Chemistry had the second most votes at (13) but I am disqualifying the response as it seems that this is the end result from almost all failures and not specifically a root cause.

Each person will learn their own lessons from these statistics. For me, the results tell a number of things.

1. Most crashes are avoidable. Perhaps not all of them, but the more aspects of your system that you control and monitor, the less likely a crash will occur.
2. Controllers are really an essential part of any complex reef system. The trick is to use the controller to monitor and alert on critical system failures, not to respond to them. Responding to a false alert (false positive) can quickly lead to a real crash. It is better to keep the reef keeper in the process.
3. Buying good quality hardware is probably worth the expense or worth searching for something used.
4. Redundancy is important. Two is usually better than one.
5. Quarantine really is an important part of this hobby. Those who don’t quarantine risk losing everything.
6. Split essential components across multiple electrical circuits. Ensure that you tank won’t crash if a breaker is tripped.
7. Blackouts (Power Failures) do occur. Have some kind of strategy for eventually dealing with this.
8. All heaters are untrustworthy. A secondary temperature controller is essential.
9. Temperature needs to be controlled both up and down as it deviates from the ambient room temperature. Heat waves are scary things.

No doubt the list goes on and on. Perhaps the point is simply to weigh the risks associated with every aspect of your system. There were quite a few people (myself included) that indicated they were aware of a potential flaw but hadn’t fixed it yet. These are calculated risks.

I don’t actually believe that a tank can be “bullet proof”. Every aspect of my system is redundant, but I can still imagine a dozen scenarios that would lead to a crash. It could be as simple as knocking a food container into the tank.

It seems that once something goes wrong, there is a cascade effect ultimately leading to bad water. It’s important to have a plan for detecting and responding to the initial failure before it is too late. For example, when I dumped half of a reactor filled with Kalkwasser into my tank, the pH shot up to around 11.5 – I was able to bring the pH back down using Vinegar. I did not lose anything. Had I tried to solve this problem with water changes, I probably would have lost the tank.

Another interesting question might have been - How many people come back to the hobby after a full tank crash?

Presumably, these aren't the people hanging out on Canreef, but my guess is that many a good reef keeper is lost to a tank crash.

Anyways, an interesting question and interesting results. Thanks for the discussion.

- Brad

[Beverly]

Our 180g crashed when we had it several years ago because one of the critters died and released toxins.

We thought "The Thing" was cool when we saw it at the lfs and were thrilled and agog to have it - whatever it was. It was orange, about 1.5' long, hollow, and looked like some kind of wierd and wonderful worm - or something. Needless to say, because we didn't have a clue what it was, we were hoping it would filter-feed itself with the food we fed the fish. Don't actually know if it ever ate, even though we watched it during feeding times. It didn't have a mouth that we could see so how could we tell?

So, one morning at feeding time, I noticed dead and dying fish and pretty much panicked. Looked all over for electrical and other problems, but there weren't any. Then it dawned on me that the orange thing was missing. Yes, it had probably died and its toxins were killing our fish. Luckily I had a whole bunch of RO water in storage containers and quickly whipped up NSW. A few large water changes later, our fish had stopped dying, but we pulled quite a few dead ones out. We were devastated, to say the least.

LESSONS LEARNED:

- NEVER impulse buy ANYTHING for a reef or FOWLR.
- Remember that Google is your friend, so research the living heck out of anything you see at a lfs or online BEFORE bringing it home.
- Ask questions after doing research to clarify anything you have even the slightest concerns about.
- After research and asking questions, NEVER buy anything that you think won't fully thrive in your tank.

[Aquattro]

Partial crash due to moving a 75 into a 150 and not having enough new water. By the time iI sorted it all out, I thought I was good, but woke up in the morning to a house smelling like dead acropora! Milky white tank, and downhill from there.

[globaldesigns]

I didn't add to the poll, as I don't think I qualify for anything listed, but can say there can be other issues besides crashes.

I haven't really ever experienced a crash, but I have experienced my fair share of problems. Most prominent was the loss of most of my SPS. Can't ever tell you why or how, it just happened, and it has been over a year, maybe 2 of this garbage... But now SPS is growing, I wouldn't say thriving, but growing and seeing positive things that were not there before.

And what have I done, really nothing. Gone back to the KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid)... No more pellets, no more carbon, no more fany stuff like Zeo... Just a back refuge full of live rock rubble, then through a skimmer, then through some cheato. And oh, yeah some filter socks. Nothing more!

[lastlight]

It's all about the KISS I agree 100%.

I'm noticing a lot of corals and especially my acans look better in a big tank with relatively new water. I suspect a lot of our issues are due to years of a system running depleting stuff we never replenish to the same extent.

I did a few very large water changes on my last tank and I do believe there's real value in doing so as you sorta do a hard reset on these things.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by lastlight

I suspect a lot of our issues are due to years of a system running depleting stuff we never replenish to the same extent.

I did a few very large water changes on my last tank and I do believe there's real value in doing so as you sorta do a hard reset on these things.

Brett, good point. I do a 50g change every other week, and I credit that with a lot of my current success.

[BlueTang<3]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Brett, good point. I do a 50g change every other week, and I credit that with a lot of my current success.

I can vouch for this now been doing 45 gallons or so every week and have never had better colours or growth. Consistency is a big one also been dosing the zeo religiously now on a strict routine and wow the colours.

[reef-keeper]

Mine crashed due tank failure. Have no idea how it happened but when I got home my tank was all over the living room floor with the front glass shattered into a million pieces.

[Myka]

More than a decade ago I had a tank crash from a faulty heater sticking in the ON setting. Cooked the tank at 98F. The only thing to survive was a Coral Banded Jerk...I mean Shrimp. I learned from that experience and now use two small heaters instead of one big one. Or in the case of my reef, no heater!