URGENT: Unexpected water change...

[HumblePie]

OK, so it's not a water change as that indicates a two way exchange. This is more of a one way trip to disaster... I came home to my controller alarm going off and the smell of hot electrical equip. Don't ask me how it happened because I have no freaking idea.

WHAT I NEED:
Anyone that is in the Seattle/Redmond, etc. area that wants free live rock. Come and get it ASAP. I have a single heater that can't heat two buckets of live rock. Most of the rock has a ton of Neomeris annulata and what I believe is Halimeda incrassata. There's also some other softer macro algae, a couple hitchiker green Zoas, green star polyps...and some hair/bubble algae... just for good measure... I really want to find this a new home. It has been in my tank for 6 years (almost to the day).

EXTRA INCENTIVE:
If you can take the tank AND hood away tonight as well, you can have your pick of a) an Iwaki 30RLT + 250W Ice Cap electronic Halide ballast or b) my AquaLogic 1/4 HP chiller or c) my two channel Medusa controller.

I've spent the last hour cleaning my room and still have a lot more to go. I need this stuff moved ASAP. PM or reply. I'll be checking my email in between salvage operations...

 

[iroll253]

Holy crap!! Thats terrible! Are you leaving the hobby for now or is this just and office system? Bump for your generosity!

 

[HumblePie]

Nope. I love this hobby too much....probably going to be my downfall...

I have a little pico tank I started up a few months back and has been doing fantastic. I'll keep that going until I can do something else down the road. For now, my 29g (and any replacement) are out of the question...at least short term. It is just too overwhelming for me to even thing about starting up another tank right now.

 

[beoks]

where in redmond?

 

[iroll253]

Yeah i understand. When mine crashed to the ground i wouldn't have started my 29 if it wasn't already in its cycle. Anyways good luck.

 

[HumblePie]

where in redmond?

I'm off of Novelty Hill. I have one person interested but not sure what they can pickup. Will reply in a bit once I know more... Thanks,

 

[HumblePie]

Yeah i understand. When mine crashed to the ground i wouldn't have started my 29 if it wasn't already in its cycle. Anyways good luck.

I remember that. It was early on a Sat if I remember correctly. Not sure when mine imploded as I didn't make it back home until 6PM...

 

[DolphinLVR]

Sorry to hear of your Loss! Wish I was closer and in a position to help

 

[returnofsid]

Ahhh that's awful!! If you want to save the live rock, go get yourself a large tote from Walmart. The pump should keep the water warm enough, for a few days. I'm really sorry to hear about this and hope the best for you, and that everything works out!!

 

[TJL]

Hey,

sent ya a e-mail let me know if you still need help.

Todd

 

[Redseadan74]

man, sorry to see that happen, to anyone

 

[HumblePie]

Hey all,

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone. I just had a couple folks swing by and pick everything up. I can't tell you how appreciative I am for all the kind words and offers for assistance. You guys are fantastic...

Stay tuned ther ewill be a fire sale for the remaining equip in the next few days. Thanks again everyone!

 

[Chichas01]

man that sux!! how did that chunk of acryllic just fail like that?

 

[HumblePie]

I looked at this a long time and the best guess I have is the following:
1) the structure looked like it might have pulled apart at the bottom
2) the water pressure forced the crack to expand pulling more water out
3) the flow of the water then caused the rocks to fall into the front breaking it
4) the rest of the front failed spilling most everything else out

What a mess..

Now for the cleanup part. Anyone know of a service that can clean up the water damage and what something like that might cost?

 

[moto826]

do you want to sell your chiller or controler thanks

 

[bigblue141]

First, I'm very sorry to hear about your loss.

I'd call up some carpet cleaners and let them use their commercial vacs to suck most of the water up.

Heat the room to about 75 degrees and get a lot of air flow (Big Box Fans) in there for a few days. as the carpet dries, it will pull the moisture up from the carpet padding and the subfloor. It will get hot and muggy in there during this process. It's just something that happens. You can also use a shop vac to suck up excess moisture that is left behind from the carpet cleaning company.

Also, if you have renter's insurance, most of them with pay for the clean up and replacement of your equipment that was lost. My insurance company will cover the replacement of my tank and livestock if it were to fail.

 

[jrgilles]

I might be interested in some of the equipment. I'll let you know when you post it, or send me a pm.

I can also house some stuff for you temporarily if you need, just let me know.

All the LR is gone now?

rob

 

[tuanp]

I second what bigblue said, except that I'd use carpet fans instead of box fans. I have experience with not one or two, but THREE floods (not involving tanks though), and learned a lot. You need to get the air to flow underneath the carpet. So you'd need to pull up the carpet from one or two corners, then put a carpet fan under it and let run for a couple of days. You can rent the carpet fans from homedepot or AA. Now, this is important: leave the windows open or leave a crack if you're concerned about security. You need some opening (as much as possible) to the outside for the moisture to be pushed out; otherwise, it hang around the house and nothing will dry. Also, you don't need to heat the room beyond what's normal. It's the airflow that dries it, not the heat.

First, I'm very sorry to hear about your loss.

I'd call up some carpet cleaners and let them use their commercial vacs to suck most of the water up.

Heat the room to about 75 degrees and get a lot of air flow (Big Box Fans) in there for a few days. as the carpet dries, it will pull the moisture up from the carpet padding and the subfloor. It will get hot and muggy in there during this process. It's just something that happens. You can also use a shop vac to suck up excess moisture that is left behind from the carpet cleaning company.

Also, if you have renter's insurance, most of them with pay for the clean up and replacement of your equipment that was lost. My insurance company will cover the replacement of my tank and livestock if it were to fail.

 

[jrgilles]

Yea, I've gone through several floods, what tuanp said is correct. You want a carpet fan, sometimes called a squirrel fan:

http://www.cleanfreak.com/cardry1.htm

You'll have to pull the carpet up from the tack strip, and put the fan UNDER the carpet. It will blow some with a wavelike motion. That will dry it out.

If its really wet, you can also remove the pad underneath it and wring it out/dry it separately.

That would be for a very hard core floot.

Another option I've seen for less minor floods is getting a BUNCH of towels, putting them down, and walking on the carpet to suck the water from the carpet/pad into the towels. Then try the towels, and repeat until minimal water is coming up.

You can get it dry that way, but probably a bigger risk of the 'mildew' smell.

good luck

 

[HumblePie]

Thanks all! Your recommendations worked like a charm. On the night of the disaster I was able to use a Shop Vac to suck up all the debris and a few gallons of water. Once I was able to get the floor reasonably clean, I switched to a carpet cleaner which I used to suck up about 20 more gallons from the carpet. I did this for about four hours over two days. The whole time I used a number of oscillating fans (I wasn't able to get the carpet pulled up). As of today the carpet feels dry. I can put a paper towel on the carpet and walk on it and it comes up dry. I'm going to wait about a week or so then I am going to clean the carpets to try and get as much of the salt out of it as possible.

Thanks again for the recommendations!