In mourning... word of warning

FriendToNemo · 07/06/2006, 09:53 AM

We went away for the July 4th weekend with the normal instructions for our normal "fish sitter".

One thing we forgot... have the sitter check the water temp daily.

We had heard that the Mandarin Dragonet died. We got back home late last night to find out that our Refugium pump filter had gotten clogged (I just cleaned it a week prior, but it's sitting in the refuge portion of the sump... stupid... I KNOW NOW). The pump overheated...

The tank was WHITE... fried.... so far the tangs and clowns have made it through... but it's very sad. All corals... most the inverts gone and of course HIGH ammonia... we're SO bummed. I now see a very GOOD argument for external pumps. Guess I should put a poll out there, but do most of you guys have your pumps external?

Ugh.

simion3 · 07/06/2006, 09:56 AM

mine are all external except for my one tunze in my display.

Alarmguy66 · 07/06/2006, 10:29 AM

My return pump is internal, but its in its own seperate section of the sump where no macroalgea can get to it to clog.

godoggo · 07/06/2006, 10:29 AM

I have both my skimmer and return pump in-sump in my 54 corner, bow front because of limited space.

I had a rio melt-down about a year ago, spewed burnt parts throught my entire system, I'm still rinseing black out of my system.

Additionally, I have a heat problem, caused by the pumps. I tried to blame my lights, but that wasn't it. I added a "blizzard" fan to my sump - you can but them at Home Depot. It is a thermostat controlled fan, turns on and off by temperature.

It brought my temperature down from 80 - 83 to 76 - 78.

Good Luck!

FriendToNemo · 07/06/2006, 12:01 PM

Just checked in on the "kids"... the tangs and clowns are happy (as can be). Ammonia's still spiked... but coming down.

My big question... do I have to recondition the LR? Is there still life there? The hermits made it through the trauma... any chance the beneficial microbacteria made it through the spike?

I'm moving the skimmer pump TONITE!

gfk · 07/06/2006, 12:14 PM

im running internal, but the pump is in its own section, and i only have a sump, not a refugium

Fuegofish777 · 07/06/2006, 12:33 PM

i have two internal powerheads, and skimmer pump is internal but those are all small guys. my return is external. sorry to hear about your losses. your live rock should be fine, remember, in nature some live rock is completely exposed to air for hours on end, i think a little spike is fine. just get the water back to normal stats ASAP and you shold be ok. goodluck

07/06/2006, 09:53 AM	#1
FriendToNemo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 52	In mourning... word of warning We went away for the July 4th weekend with the normal instructions for our normal "fish sitter". One thing we forgot... have the sitter check the water temp daily. We had heard that the Mandarin Dragonet died. We got back home late last night to find out that our Refugium pump filter had gotten clogged (I just cleaned it a week prior, but it's sitting in the refuge portion of the sump... stupid... I KNOW NOW). The pump overheated... The tank was WHITE... fried.... so far the tangs and clowns have made it through... but it's very sad. All corals... most the inverts gone and of course HIGH ammonia... we're SO bummed. I now see a very GOOD argument for external pumps. Guess I should put a poll out there, but do most of you guys have your pumps external? Ugh.

07/06/2006, 10:29 AM	#3
Alarmguy66 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Madison, Va Posts: 340	My return pump is internal, but its in its own seperate section of the sump where no macroalgea can get to it to clog. __________________ And this all started with a betta? Current Tank Info: 180 gallon, 55 gal sump, mag 18 return, Yellow Tang, Coral Beauty, 2 Perc Clowns, Bicolor Blenny, Yellow Watchman Goby, Niger trigger, Blue devil damsel, Clown Goby

07/06/2006, 09:56 AM	#2
simion3 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 238	mine are all external except for my one tunze in my display.

07/06/2006, 10:29 AM	#4
godoggo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Weld CO Posts: 198	I have both my skimmer and return pump in-sump in my 54 corner, bow front because of limited space. I had a rio melt-down about a year ago, spewed burnt parts throught my entire system, I'm still rinseing black out of my system. Additionally, I have a heat problem, caused by the pumps. I tried to blame my lights, but that wasn't it. I added a "blizzard" fan to my sump - you can but them at Home Depot. It is a thermostat controlled fan, turns on and off by temperature. It brought my temperature down from 80 - 83 to 76 - 78. Good Luck!

07/06/2006, 12:01 PM	#5
FriendToNemo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 52	Just checked in on the "kids"... the tangs and clowns are happy (as can be). Ammonia's still spiked... but coming down. My big question... do I have to recondition the LR? Is there still life there? The hermits made it through the trauma... any chance the beneficial microbacteria made it through the spike? I'm moving the skimmer pump TONITE!

07/06/2006, 12:14 PM	#6
gfk Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Benicia, CA Posts: 1,601	im running internal, but the pump is in its own section, and i only have a sump, not a refugium

07/06/2006, 12:33 PM	#7
Fuegofish777 Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: S. California Posts: 1,191	i have two internal powerheads, and skimmer pump is internal but those are all small guys. my return is external. sorry to hear about your losses. your live rock should be fine, remember, in nature some live rock is completely exposed to air for hours on end, i think a little spike is fine. just get the water back to normal stats ASAP and you shold be ok. goodluck