Complete Reeftank Disaster!!!!!!!

[Bob 1000]

I also use fans and room AC rather than chillers because pumps always have a chance of clogging.. Good idea Daceman.. I'll donate some SPS frags when your ready too.. Take your time and think everything out..

 

[ming]

Yes, a 90 degree temp can do all that damage.
And check to make sure they're not just bleached. If the polyps are still out, it could have just lost the zooxanthella, but still alive and can recover from a bleaching. If it RTN (losing its flesh), then its dead.

 

[jadakiss]

sorry to hear that

 

[JLAudio]

i don't see how during the 4 day period it could swing like that. in what the way the temp was brought down to 78? how long was the tank in 90

day 1. chiller fail, temp slowly goes up
day 2. temp at 90
day 3. temp back to 78
day 4. back but everything bleached

many of us don't have chiller, so i don't know how the temp reaches 90, the room must have been close to 100, this would be unlikely if there is someone in the house

something else much have cause the raise in temp besides chiller failure

I was in the Adirondaks and was called and told the chiller was reading 77 and that was odd and after a conversation the reason was that the pump was not feeding it. I told the person to check the tank temp and it was 90. This was on monday (I left Friday at 2:00pm and all was well). I told the person to put AC on and raise 400 watt MH light up. Than I was called tuesday night and tank temp was 77. My only thought is if the heater wasnt working and night temp dropped to low 70's high 60's as a result.

Still Ive had high temps Ive nevere seen a brain a total skelton all acros EVERYTHING! in 4 days. Im gonna post pics soon

 

[autoponicz]

oh man that sucks....sorry to hear that...you will bounce back...i know this incident wont take you that easily...

right now im in ny and my 50g is in philly...i wont be back there for another week....and just a few days ago i called to check on the tank and they found the return section has lost alot of water and the pump is spewing bubbles....
why is it so hard to keep the top-off container full?!:headache:
my younger cousin is watching the tank...and was told evrything is still alive...im scared

 

[marki24]

I had my temp hit 90 several of times this summer and once it was 90 for 3 days and no coral loss nor fish loss. I would investigate furthur and see what could have actually caused all this damage besides the change in temp. That is just my opinion. Sorry for the loss i could imagine how you feel.

 

[alfani]

I was in the Adirondaks and was called and told the chiller was reading 77 and that was odd and after a conversation the reason was that the pump was not feeding it. I told the person to check the tank temp and it was 90. This was on monday (I left Friday at 2:00pm and all was well). I told the person to put AC on and raise 400 watt MH light up. Than I was called tuesday night and tank temp was 77. My only thought is if the heater wasnt working and night temp dropped to low 70's high 60's as a result.

Still Ive had high temps Ive nevere seen a brain a total skelton all acros EVERYTHING! in 4 days. Im gonna post pics soon

this past weekend both Saturday and Sunday the weather was not that bad so even without chiller for couple days, i just don't believe from the result of the chiller failure alone your temp could gone up to 90 and i don't think your tank would go to low 70 without heater.

why do you still have heater on in the summer ???? but since you mention you have a heater, i think somehow your heater was on to cause the raise the temp and it might hit above mid 90s

 

[MikeyZO]

I dont have much, but I'm sure I can frag off a piece of my branching hammer when you're ready. I work in Flushing, where abouts are you?

 

[alfani]

well....with your chiller broken and you heater on..that could be the reason...these heater WILL NOT turn itself off like they suppose to. i kept my heater on a timer during winter

 

[D1J8Z]

Dude that sucks I am sorry about your loss BUT this is why you should always have someone who KNOWS what they are doing looking after your tank while you are gone even if it is for 4 days

let me know if theres something I can do to help


Dave

 

[stoneriff]

I just got home from a 4 day vacation up north and evryone of my corals is bleached completely white. EVen my sps corals are dead, EVERYTHING except for a cpl polyp rocks. They were some colonies I had for over a year and some since I started 5 years ago.

My gf's mother was tending to the tank and only told to add top off water when needed and given careful instruction on amounts. Also only told to add small pinch of food twice in 4 day period.

I am somewhat clueless. I know during the period there was a problemn with my tank and my chiller feed pump died, and my gf's mother ran AC in room in mean time. It was 90 when she called me tell emand the next day it was 78 with AC on and halide light 20" above tank to keep heat down.

Only other possibilities is one of the power stips with my t5 actiunics was off, could my landlord have turned them off in an attempt to save money?

What could completely beach corals from saturday to today like that

Must it have been a chemical or could temperature and inadequate lighting of did this,

PLEASE HELPPP!

Hey;
I'm sorry to hear about your loss. This is a challenging, and EXPENSIVE hobby we have chosen! This site is great, and we have to help each other out. Let me know when you're back up. I will donate something to help you get back on your feet. Jesse.

 

[boardryder]

I am sorry to hear. I can't stand hearing these stories. After being in the hobby for under a year and taking it slow I don't have too much. I just can't immagine losing something like some of the tanks I see on this board.

Sorry again. Good luck if you decide to get back in!

 

[Wes]

this past weekend both Saturday and Sunday the weather was not that bad so even without chiller for couple days, i just don't believe from the result of the chiller failure alone your temp could gone up to 90 and i don't think your tank would go to low 70 without heater.

why do you still have heater on in the summer ????

You must not have Metal Halides.

a 400w Metal Halide over a small tank can bring the temp up to 90 very quickly.

I use a heater all year. It comes on at night after the lights are off to minimize the temperature swing.

Sorry for your loss JLAudio. In the future, some kind of temperature controller that kills the lights when the temp goes up is a good idea.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Sorry for what happened.

I put my money on the heat. One of my nano cook my SPS frags in one night to the bones(all left are pure white sps skeleton) and most softies in a closed state. Even though all my shrimps are living happily.

 

[ILikeFish]

So sorry about your tank..

 

[jhale]

Jason sorry about your loss. Anything approaching 90 can be death for a tank.

One thing to remember about this hobby is how sensitive the animals we keep are. A tank crashing will happen to many of us, they are balanced on such a fine line that it does not take much to cause the worst to happen.

Take some time to get over it then figure out what you want to do. A similar thing happened to me recently, I decided I did not have the patience now to grow SPS again. I left my tank up and I'm happy with the fish and rocks for now. See where your head is at in a couple of weeks then decide.

 

[NYPDFrogman]

Been there, you need to take a step back and take some time to relax, i know it's hard, but try your best, as for you losing everything i'm sure once you get you tank up to the correct levels and it's stable, we can start a thread and get you back and running with some donations from the members on this site, they did it for me. I will be donating some sps frags to you when your ready, just let me know.
David

I'll help you also I have some nice size colonies that I can give you frags of

 

[JLAudio]

here are some pics of the grave yard

 

[JLAudio]

And thank you all for donation offers, but I dont know if have the energy to start over. As a result of this disaster I reacted horribly and now have a problem with my personal life. Im not sure what Im gonna do

 

[jackson6745]

Geez dude that sux. Salvage what you can and regrow. Thats part of them SPS game.