AWWWWWW Tank Crash!

[alki]

Just got home from vacation. Apparently somewhere between wednesday and tonight my gfi tripped and the tank looks to be 95% dead. All livestock dead. I could tell something was up when I walked in the door and ohh that smell.

I tried to get all the dead fish/shrimp/crabs I could see then changed alot of water from my other empty tank and am running the pumps. I cant even run the skimmer as it just overflows in about 10 seconds. The temp in there is at 65 right now.

Anything else I can do? Im frickin exhausted and just got home at 11 with 2 sleeping kids to find this.

IM not sure what else to do. I will need to get some more water tomorrow to change more out. There are piles of tiny starfish all over the sand. I cant find 3 of my fish as I guess they are under some rocks dead.

ugh

 

[thatguy559]

im sorry about your loss. that sucks to have to come home to that. best thing to do is to collect all the dead stuff and start changing water. which you already started to do if you need anything to get you started back up i can donate some corals to you

 

[mcoomer]

Get some sleep and start doing some big water changes tomorrow. Try to get your tank to the point that your skimmer begins to run right and then you can back off and do smaller water changes. Probably not much more you can do.

Mike

 

[ReefLogic]

That totally sucks not much more to say, you are doing what you can not much else.....you can pray to wake up and find it was only a dream....that's what I would be doing.

 

[dragoneggs]

Very sorry to hear. I travel a lot and am always scared upon returning. I am trying to have someone check in on my tank at least every other day when no one is home. I know that doesn't help you but i want to wish you the best with your recovery.

 

[Krish]

Sorry to hear as well :doubt:. Apart from what was already suggested I'd run quite a bit of carbon as well. Hope not all is lost. Keep us posted.

 

[NaTe R]

sorry for your loss. I too am still out of town for the holidays, returning tonight what an awfull thing to experiance. I hope you rebuild

 

[Myteemouse]

Bummer. NIGHTMARE situation!!
I always fear when I get home the tank will be down

 

[returnofsid]

Sorry to hear of your loss!! I know how devastating that can be, having experienced it myself! You've been given some great advice. Your best bet is to continue what you're doing and allowing the tank to go through it's inevitable cycle.

Don't give up. The tank will recover, and you'll be able to restock, in time!

 

[vinny2261]

So sorry for the tank crash. You could try a HOB filter or canister with some carbon to help with the smell.

 

[alki]

Looks even worse this morning. More corals have completely died. Im going to get some carbon setup and get some more water from the aquarium today.

Some of the crabs and snails have lived. I havent seen anything else though. Still cant find some fish. I guess I will need to pull all my rock out to get them out of there.

Man this sucks.

 

[Krish]

Looks even worse this morning. More corals have completely died. Im going to get some carbon setup and get some more water from the aquarium today.

Some of the crabs and snails have lived. I havent seen anything else though. Still cant find some fish. I guess I will need to pull all my rock out to get them out of there.

Man this sucks.

:doubt: I can't imagine... I agree with pulling out the rock. You will want to make sure nothing dead is left behind.

 

[mcoomer]

BTW...it's too late to save your tank now but for the future you might consider a controller that has net access. I can monitor mine 24/7 and get the info that you see below in my sig. When we went on vacation to Thailand last December I was able to check in on my tank every day. Also, if the controller loses power I get an email alert so I can call home and have someone check things out. Check out one of Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper Lite systems with net. Not a lot of money for a whole lot of peace of mind.

Mike

 

[Shalori]

So sorry to hear about your loss. But if you see some crabs and snails have made it through, maybe you'll have more pleasant surprises, and find more pulls through and perks up as you get the nasty water out of there. Good luck.

 

[alki]

Wipeout. Thats a before shot and then carnage. I have carbon running and will do some more water changes in a bit. It looks like all my sps and lps are dead. Some zoos might make it.

 

[tamarindthai]

sorry to hear about your loss,,i got some starter for you,, free when you 're back up and running again,,let me know.

 

[mal1099]

Yeah sorry to hear and see what has happened to you. Hope you rebuild im sure there are many who will help you restock.

 

[Faciosity]

That's a real bummer, I'm sorry. Looks like some stuff is still alive and may pull through.

 

[Scooterman]

Wipeout. Thats a before shot and then carnage. I have carbon running and will do some more water changes in a bit. It looks like all my sps and lps are dead. Some zoos might make it.

Don't necessary give up on the corals until they are totally white, then over time they build reefs so keep the wc's and carbon but don't stop, it will perk up. I've been through this before and it is no fun but things have a way of coming back, clean her up and keep going, this will make you better, bigger and stronger! You have a RF support team here!

 

[alki]

Thanks for all the support! The main reason I posted here is to see all of the people who love these aquariums as well, as I was very close to just shutting down the tank for good.

I did end up shutting down my other tank (the one I stole all the water from), but will wait a while on this one to see what happens. It looks like only the candy cane coral will make it, and maybe a few zoos.


The worst part is I cant find a reason as to why it happened. The gfi has never tripped before. There was nothing new added to the circuit. I thought it might be the xmas lights I put up last week, but they are on a different circuit. It's possible everything just turned on at exactly the right time and tripped it. I dont know. I would feel better if I knew what happened so I could correct the problem.

Anyway got 15 gallons of new water today and am going to change it tonight. I got my skimmer working again. The water was so bad that the bubbles from the waste from the skimmer were skimming the water in the sump. The entire sump last night was like a giant skimmer.


Anyway thanks again for the moral support and I might take some of you up on some frags again once I get this thing back up again.

Kelly