Bad tank day...

ChadTheSpike · 11/02/2009, 06:35 PM

I have a semi-complicated setup in that it requires thought and knowledge of my system to understand what is going on, what it means when water is too high or too low in a given spot.
My refugium is the high point in my system set physically higher than my DT by about 4 inches, a 2 inch siphon runs from the refugium to the DT then through an overflow box into my sump, which pumps water back to my fuge.
This morning I wake up and noticed 'odd' sounds coming from my first floor... The last time I noticed 'odd' sounds my house was flooding (non-tank related) and I had about 4" of water throughout my downstairs area, so needless to say, I ran downstairs to investigate.
I notice something is awry with my tank imediately as the level in my fuge, which is usually the same as my DT at about 4" from the top is filled almost all the way to the top and my sump pump is making noise but pushing no water, next check the sump, which was almost empty!!
Well, a really long story short what happened is that the overflow from my DT became clogged, which then overflowed about 3-4 gallons of water onto the floor and caused my sump level to drop down to a point where my return pump was returning bubbles to the fuge... bubbles in the fuge are bad as they accumlate in the 2 inch siphon and slow the flow, hence the really high level in my fuge when I came downstairs this morning...
Damage: both my return pump and my skimmer pump are causing stry voltage in the tank and are bad, luckily my seahorses and corals are all ok and there doesnt appear to be any water damage to my floor or other equipment.
The lesson learned here: always drill tanks, it is one less thing that can go wrong with our systems and cause problems.

noahm · 11/02/2009, 06:48 PM

bummer.

Playa-1 · 11/02/2009, 08:17 PM

Sorry to hear about your bad day.

ChadTheSpike · 11/02/2009, 08:32 PM

Its all good, it happens sometimes, I just try to learn from them. And hopefully someone else does too

upster · 11/03/2009, 01:47 PM

That's a bummer dude. Thanks for sharing, I hope your post will help future reefers.

luther1200 · 11/03/2009, 02:58 PM

Do you know how the DT siphon got clogged?

ChadTheSpike · 11/03/2009, 03:05 PM

Thanks for the replies all.
Im not sure what caused it to happen as suddenly as it did, but that clear siphon from the DT to the overflow box (its old school, I think Ive had that overflow setup since about 1990!) is the only place in my system that hair algae grows. I normally clean it out every month or so and it was due for a cleaning, but still not sure why it slowed to that point.
Usually I notice when it needs to be cleaned because the water level in the DT rises a little bit and catches my attention.
Bottom line is, no, I dont know why it suddenly clogged, sucks though!

BeanMachine · 11/03/2009, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luther1200

Do you know how the DT siphon got clogged?

I was thinking the same thing.

11/02/2009, 06:35 PM	#1
ChadTheSpike Reef Engineer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Washington DC Posts: 1,526 Blog Entries: 1	Bad tank day... I have a semi-complicated setup in that it requires thought and knowledge of my system to understand what is going on, what it means when water is too high or too low in a given spot. My refugium is the high point in my system set physically higher than my DT by about 4 inches, a 2 inch siphon runs from the refugium to the DT then through an overflow box into my sump, which pumps water back to my fuge. This morning I wake up and noticed 'odd' sounds coming from my first floor... The last time I noticed 'odd' sounds my house was flooding (non-tank related) and I had about 4" of water throughout my downstairs area, so needless to say, I ran downstairs to investigate. I notice something is awry with my tank imediately as the level in my fuge, which is usually the same as my DT at about 4" from the top is filled almost all the way to the top and my sump pump is making noise but pushing no water, next check the sump, which was almost empty!! Well, a really long story short what happened is that the overflow from my DT became clogged, which then overflowed about 3-4 gallons of water onto the floor and caused my sump level to drop down to a point where my return pump was returning bubbles to the fuge... bubbles in the fuge are bad as they accumlate in the 2 inch siphon and slow the flow, hence the really high level in my fuge when I came downstairs this morning... Damage: both my return pump and my skimmer pump are causing stry voltage in the tank and are bad, luckily my seahorses and corals are all ok and there doesnt appear to be any water damage to my floor or other equipment. The lesson learned here: always drill tanks, it is one less thing that can go wrong with our systems and cause problems. __________________ ~Chad "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Current Tank Info: 195 gallons of fun

11/02/2009, 08:32 PM	#4
ChadTheSpike Reef Engineer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Washington DC Posts: 1,526 Blog Entries: 1	Its all good, it happens sometimes, I just try to learn from them. And hopefully someone else does too __________________ ~Chad "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Current Tank Info: 195 gallons of fun

11/03/2009, 01:47 PM	#5
upster Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 143	That's a bummer dude. Thanks for sharing, I hope your post will help future reefers. __________________ "I've fixed it, it'll work this time." Just upgraded to a 58g Oceanic and the only thing I broke was the old tank.

11/03/2009, 02:58 PM	#6
luther1200 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NJ, shore Posts: 4,376	Do you know how the DT siphon got clogged? __________________ Matt, 65G reef tank Current Tank Info: 65g reef, mix of sps, lps, few softies. Hoping to upgrade within the year.

11/03/2009, 03:05 PM	#7
ChadTheSpike Reef Engineer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Washington DC Posts: 1,526 Blog Entries: 1	Thanks for the replies all. Im not sure what caused it to happen as suddenly as it did, but that clear siphon from the DT to the overflow box (its old school, I think Ive had that overflow setup since about 1990!) is the only place in my system that hair algae grows. I normally clean it out every month or so and it was due for a cleaning, but still not sure why it slowed to that point. Usually I notice when it needs to be cleaned because the water level in the DT rises a little bit and catches my attention. Bottom line is, no, I dont know why it suddenly clogged, sucks though! __________________ ~Chad "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Current Tank Info: 195 gallons of fun

11/02/2009, 06:48 PM	#2
noahm Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 2,736	bummer.

11/02/2009, 08:17 PM	#3
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	Sorry to hear about your bad day.