Came home to a Black Dead tank!

[lsu_fishfan]

Camellia;1067651 wrote: Janelle, your such a sweetheart!

Corals look SO bad! I think the heater containment poisoned my corals. They did not look this bad this morning now my beautiful deep Pink Millie colony is white, Garf, torts, JF Lepto ... white, evetything is sliming really bad and brittle stars continue to pile up on sand bed!

As you can see from picture, the heater was cracked on the back side that was against my acrylic sump, evidently even the best BLOW!
This BLOWS!
Anyone know anything besides WC? I've left lights off, reduced flow and temp is just now reaching 76!

The heater might have released a gas in the water. Ru carbon, do water changes, and maybe add an air stone to oxygenate the water a little more, and maybe release any harmful gasses. Don't quote me on the gas, just a guess.

How's your wellso that you have as your profile pic? It's such a beautiful coral. Sorry for your loss :sad:

 

[camellia]

Honestly think the heater released something. Coral didn't look this bad this morning


I've never seen it look like this but believe it will live. Unlike these others...
Thanks for asking.

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Was intense beautiful deep pink Millie

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These are very scary Sun Coral. If the mother colony looks this bad most likely all of the babies in the tank are dead!

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I've removed hundreds of dead stars

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[jennm]

I had visions of carnage based on the subject line.

Glad you figured it out - just sit tight and watch water quality and let things warm up slowly - much will likely bounce back so give it some time.

I hate heaters too. They are the weak link.

Jenn

 

[camellia]

JennM;1067675 wrote: I had visions of carnage based on the subject line.

Glad you figured it out - just sit tight and watch water quality and let things warm up slowly - much will likely bounce back so give it some time.

I hate heaters too. They are the weak link.

Jenn

Jenn,
I don't know why I think lighting is so important! Guess I'm worried the intense lighting would hurt them more and it's better to let the tank warm up all day slowly (didn't run MH today & cut back Radion) while they were slimming off, warming up and trying to recover from no oxygen for 8 hours!

Would you leave lights low for another day or let them go full tomorrow? Thanks

 

[camellia]

rdnelson99;1067653 wrote: Skipped some of the post but since you asked.... And since others may benefit......

When a breaker trips, 90% of the time it is doing what it is supposed to do, disconnect the load under an overload condition. Always look for what caused the problem first. However, on occasion the breaker may have weekend over time.

Understanding how breaker works may help you figure out what happened. A breaker senses a build up of heat over time. A short circuit will result in a rise in current approaching infinity in milliseconds. That created ls a lot of heat very quickly. The heat will cause the breaker to trip quickly. But an overload generated a smaller amount of heat. It may take hours before enough heat is generated to cause the breaker to trip. That is why code requires that a continuous load (runs for 3/hours or more) is limited to 80% of the breaker rating.

So, if you are loading the circuit beyond 80% it is just a matter of time before enough heat builds up to trip the breaker. Sometimes if it has happened long enough and often enough it will weaken the trip element causing the breaker to trip before it should.

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Good info, thanks.

What's your answer to my GFI protection?
Thanks

This was cleaned & filer socks & floss an hour ago!!

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[rdnelson]

Any GFI protection that is working properly us a must in my opinion. But test them often. Using multiple GFI to reduce what all loses power is good reasoning in my opinion. Personally, I think it is over kill but it certainly can't hurt.

I believe that in "most" cases you will discover a tripped GFI before the tank has been shut down long enough to damage any livestock. Unless you are gone for several days, you will notice the pump isn't running or the lights haven't come on. If however you have things like heaters on a separate GFI from lights, you won't notice they are not working because the pump and lights still work.

The surest way to protect yourself in my opinion if you have an Apex is to feed the apex thru a UPS but have a separate low volt feed to the apex not on the UPS. If power goes out the UPS keeps the Apex running but the other power source drops out. The apex senses this and sends you an alarm.

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[shrimpy brains]

Can you get poly filters(that remove toxins) and add them somewhere in the water flow. Also, adding prime is a good idea.

 

[reefkeeper]

Prior to my new build, I had this happen to me several times and I know how you feel. With my new DT, I have everything on my system on 2 separate dedicated breakers and I no longer have any issues.

 

[urbanknight]

So sorry to read of your loss. It will make me keep a closer eye on my Eheims. My mantra has always been "When you think you have it bad, look over your shoulder. There's someone standing there that is much worse off." I had just read this guy's horror story before reading about yours. It's a long read, sad at times, but inspirational and a lesson in sticktoitiveness! :thumbs::yay::thumbs::fish:

 

[jennm]

Camellia;1067715 wrote: Jenn,
I don't know why I think lighting is so important! Guess I'm worried the intense lighting would hurt them more and it's better to let the tank warm up all day slowly (didn't run MH today & cut back Radion) while they were slimming off, warming up and trying to recover from no oxygen for 8 hours!

Would you leave lights low for another day or let them go full tomorrow? Thanks

I'd ease the lights for a few days while everything is mad. Remember, there are cloudy days on the reef, so a few days of lesser light won't do harm, especially if everything is stressed.

How's the water quality? That's the biggest risk having had no circulation for a while - beneficial bacteria start to die off in stagnant water and that can lead to a problem. Maybe not necessarily a big spike, but thing will likely be out of whack a bit in the nutrient department.

How are things looking now?

Jenn

 

[camellia]

Thanks Doug, that was a read!
I've kerp light low and lowed flow. Most my SPS have minimal life and remain in the tank. I did unfortunately have to toss my favorite Millies, Pink and sapphire, heart breaking!
Jenn,
If you saw my skimmer that's the answer to my water quality. I had literally thousands of brittle stars and evidently they cannot handle lack of oxygen like a hermit, snail, a coral or fish. None of these things died but every single star did! I'm pulling them off the sand bed by the handfuls.

I've did a 15 gal WC last night and again today. I'm running GFO and Carbon reactors, alpha, phosguard
Cleaning 4 full guncked up filter socks, floss ...

This is where it's so easy to see the difference in the " hardiness" of LPS vs SPS.
I don't have a single SPS, not even Monti or Digita that has color. The pic's make them look better than they really look IMO.

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A few days ago...

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[black reef]

Can't believe all of this caused by a heater. So sorry Deb

 

[camellia]

Thank you!
I just don't know what to do, I've read read and read some more. Example, frog spawn is almost clear.
I have little life in my coral yet no life in the tank itself, as in good bacteria or food...
I'm lost on what to do how to help what I have left