MJ 900 Melted - Damage Control

PrangeWay · 10/03/2013, 01:02 PM

I had a circa 2004 MJ 900 go bad on me and melt down in a nuvo 8. The tank literally smells like shorted electricity and plastic.

Luckily there is no livestock in it yet, unluckily it arrives tomorrow.

I installed the backup pump and threw in a bunch of carbon, tonight I should be able to do a 75% wc or so.

Is this sufficient? Anyone know anything on the construction of the original MJ 900,s? Is this a "rio" bomb quality disaster, or just usual pump melting shenanigans?

1SlickFish · 10/03/2013, 02:47 PM

Hard to say but I would go to the store and buy a $5 pep shrimp and throw him in while having the incoming inverts in a holding tank. If the shrimp makes it for a week, then you know your golden. You need that much time to QT anyways. You are ....ahem....QT'ing, right?

oscarinw · 10/03/2013, 08:39 PM

I think a large water change and the carbon should be enough... I had a heater explode in a holding tank, the wire caught fire , the temperature spiked though the rook and it had a mated pair of cinnamons, as well as a damsel and a large brittle star. Surprisingly, they all made it.
Good luck with things!

alton · 10/04/2013, 05:17 AM

Just asking did you have the pump plugged into a GFCI outlet and a grounding probe installed? As a electrical product underwater goes bad it leaks current into the tank and uses more power until it burns up or trips the circuit breaker. I have seen wall receptacles melt and short out before tripping the breaker.

PrangeWay · 10/04/2013, 07:06 AM

Quote:

GFCI outlet

Nothing hooked to a tank should ever NOT be on a GFCI, been doing this for 13 yrs with no major incidents or tank crashes and I think that is one of the cardinal rules to live by

And it looks like the WC and burning through a 6 month supply of carbon might have done the trick, will find out over the weekend.

PW

alton · 10/04/2013, 09:30 AM

You did not mention a grounding probe? Without it there is no way for an imbalance in the ungrounded and grounded circuit to follow, so the GFCI will not trip until you (your hand) provides that path. And please don't think I am picking on you it is just I have been keeping records of this type of thing for about ten years. I had got a K4 from a fellow reefer that was shorting out and shocking him. I placed it in a bucket of water and plugged it into a GFCI outlet and it would not trip until I dropped a grounding probe into the bucket. And yes it was a very painful shock to me and it did not trip the GFCI either. Remember it takes 4 to 6 milli-amps to trip a GFCI plug

10/03/2013, 01:02 PM	#1
PrangeWay Duke of Monte Fisto Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 722	MJ 900 Melted - Damage Control I had a circa 2004 MJ 900 go bad on me and melt down in a nuvo 8. The tank literally smells like shorted electricity and plastic. Luckily there is no livestock in it yet, unluckily it arrives tomorrow. I installed the backup pump and threw in a bunch of carbon, tonight I should be able to do a 75% wc or so. Is this sufficient? Anyone know anything on the construction of the original MJ 900,s? Is this a "rio" bomb quality disaster, or just usual pump melting shenanigans? __________________ Dumbest Quotes Ever..... "Great color, great growth" closely followed by "all water parameters fine" Last edited by PrangeWay; 10/03/2013 at 01:29 PM.

10/03/2013, 02:47 PM	#2
1SlickFish Registered Member. Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 242	Hard to say but I would go to the store and buy a $5 pep shrimp and throw him in while having the incoming inverts in a holding tank. If the shrimp makes it for a week, then you know your golden. You need that much time to QT anyways. You are ....ahem....QT'ing, right?

10/03/2013, 08:39 PM	#3
oscarinw Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,091	I think a large water change and the carbon should be enough... I had a heater explode in a holding tank, the wire caught fire , the temperature spiked though the rook and it had a mated pair of cinnamons, as well as a damsel and a large brittle star. Surprisingly, they all made it. Good luck with things!

10/04/2013, 05:17 AM	#4
alton Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Zuehl, Texas Posts: 4,460	Just asking did you have the pump plugged into a GFCI outlet and a grounding probe installed? As a electrical product underwater goes bad it leaks current into the tank and uses more power until it burns up or trips the circuit breaker. I have seen wall receptacles melt and short out before tripping the breaker.

10/04/2013, 09:30 AM	#6
alton Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Zuehl, Texas Posts: 4,460	You did not mention a grounding probe? Without it there is no way for an imbalance in the ungrounded and grounded circuit to follow, so the GFCI will not trip until you (your hand) provides that path. And please don't think I am picking on you it is just I have been keeping records of this type of thing for about ten years. I had got a K4 from a fellow reefer that was shorting out and shocking him. I placed it in a bucket of water and plugged it into a GFCI outlet and it would not trip until I dropped a grounding probe into the bucket. And yes it was a very painful shock to me and it did not trip the GFCI either. Remember it takes 4 to 6 milli-amps to trip a GFCI plug