weakmonster 2k3: super blammo disaster

[Anonymous]

i went to work in the morning and the aquarium was a good. i came home later and it was a bucket of sludge, a total loss.

sometime during the day the little cat had gotten rowdy - i can see paw prints in key places - and knocked the little PC light fixture that lights my fuge down into the water. it appears to have shorted out and part of the fixture actually started on fire. the water in the fuge was foul and brown and every bit of macroalgae is toast. everything living in the big aquarium is dead too. all the polyps and sponges and soft corals are shriveled and disintigrating or just bleached and obviously lifeless. the anemones are toast, each covered in a thick coat of jelly. the firefish goby and cleaner shrimp which i just got on saturday are so dead, blah. i can even see a bunch of the good sized stuff that was in the DSB has crawled up to die - worms, starfish and other weird things I didn't even know I had. did the sea cucmber release some toxin in there too when it was getting zapped? side note: should i be cautious of the poison? ... anyhow, snails and hermit crabs and everything. all dead. i assume the live rock is now base rock etc.

so weak. i am lucky the apartment didn't burn down. FFS.

and ... i totally dont have the cashola to replace the bazillions of dollars of stuff - live rock, livestock, light fixture and of course, you know it, the one bit of hardware that was on my to-do list but I didn't get around to buying, the thing that could have prevented huge horribleness, the neato little gadget that cuts the power when there's a short ... ugh.

 

[hillbilly]

That stinks man! Sorry to hear that. Good luck
starting over. You may want to lock the cat in the bathroom while at work from now on.

 

[smlacy]

Oh man. I'm really really sorry to hear about all that. That totally blows.

But on the positive side, you may be surprised by the resilliance of some of the stuff on your rock. I don't have any experience with this sort of trauma, but my advice is to don't go siphoning all the water out just yet. Do a large water change (~50%), and remove anything that is obviously dead. (I assume you've done that already)

Take off the fuge, and put it somewhere dry. Leave the rest of everything else going, because remember: You still have a working system: filter, lights, powerheads, tank, stand, etc. Let it run for a week or two and see what happens. It might not be as bad as you think. I bet something has survived in there, and it'll just take a while for it to recover. Polyps and mushrooms may actually recover from trauma if they're not too severely bleached.

In terms of the $$, figure out how much of what you have is still usable, and way that against what you've lost. I think you may find that its not that bad to restock.

Remember all the fun it was, and know that you can have that back. Think of it as nursing it back to life! It'll take some TLC and some time.

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Dude that rots!!!

Your tank was seriously coming along

I wouldn't through everything away yet either.

lotsa water changes while siphoning out all dead stuff, then let it run for a while and see what happens from there.

That is such a shame.

Bryan

 

[Anonymous]

yeah i did a massive water change right away, used up the last of my RO to do it ... making more water while i'm at work etc ... it looks like one anemone survived. the thing that worries me most is the live rock though. all the crawlies and bacteria and everything is most likely dead. the polyps are so dead, all that remains is bleached skeletal structure. i guess i will keep hoping.

 

[ricky1414]

don't worry bro. i may be new to reefs, but i have been doing fw for about 15+ years. you did not waste all of your money. your equipment is what cost the most, as you and i know. the live rock will reseed itself, all you need new is livestock, and probably re-cycle your tank. not to be repetitive, but don't worry, it will all work out. it was a learning experience.

 

[Anonymous]

/blah.

*wallows a little*

i think the LR is all dead, i would need to get more of that. and the light fixture for the fuge is toast ... $120.00 ... and the livestock was worth like $300.

that's money i totally don't have. i had been saving for and planning this reef for like 4 months. my moolah for the forseeable future is all earmarked for a new car, martial arts training/supplies and car insurance ...

 

[Anonymous]

Dude that freaking sux. I would kill the cat or atleast sell him to make up for some of the damage he caused. Cats are bad news I dont like em. ONly when they are kittens can I tolerate them for short periods of time.

 

[Anonymous]

the cat did it but it's my fault for not securing the light / cords better ...

 

[Anonymous]

Even if you did, that huge, fat cat(s) of yours will figure out some other way to get your attention back...

Sorry to hear what happened.

 

[Anonymous]

lol david. how'd you know? it was the little one that did it ... but they both hate the fish tanks. i can't even sprinkle some flakes into my FW tank for two seconds w/o having kitties at my feet meowing all cranky like.

 

[Anonymous]

Before becoming the "PooMaster" and "PeeMaster", I used to be known as the "PurMaster."

(Don't get too far from the topic, otherwise, this thread going to be Sumped...) :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

CATS ARE TROUBLE!

 

[Anonymous]

so anyway ... do you guys think that all the bacteria and smaller life forms are toast? will i need to buy one or two more nice chunks of LR to re-seed my existing stuff (which is now basically base rock)?????????

 

[Anonymous]

The bacteria is having a good time there, but it is the worms and critter that I am worried, based on your description. More often than not, some of they will survive the ordeal, so I don't think you will need to reseed it like it is a sterile tank. Maybe asking some local reefer for a pound or two of live sand is all you needed.

 

[ChrisV]

That is a sad situation, hopefully you can nurse some of it back to life.

Good luck,
-ChrisV

 

[ChrisRD]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the rock. IMO, if an anemone survived the ordeal, most life forms in/around the live rock will recover in time.

 

[wade1]

Sorry to hear about the accident!

Your rock will be fine. It will take some time, but give current and water it will recycle itself and you'd be surprised at what will survive on it. As for the corals, look up local reefers and see if anyone trades or sells frags. I give away handfuls of corals every month to local people... great way to restock and a great way to save the coral reefs while you are at it.

In order to help your tank get started again, you can always take live sand from other nearby reefers/LFSs and seed your tank with it. Just be ready to do some water changes to get the ammonia and smell to a liveable level. AND go get yourself a GFCI plug. They are easy to install.

Wade

 

[Anonymous]

AND go get yourself a GFCI plug

TOTALLY.

 

[Anonymous]

ouch. that sucks alot.

Let me know when you're up and running again, I'll send you some ricordias and any other mushrooms I've got.

B