My mom just had a MASSIVE FAIL with my tank................

Shinte305 · 03/29/2015, 03:25 PM

-Story for who is interested lol....

So my mom likes to over clean the floor.... I have a 6 gallon tank with RO water next to the stand for the auto top off...... My mother decided she needed to clean every inch of the floor sooooooo she saw that the tube going into the 6 gallon tank was super long so she picked it up and placed it HIGH up on the table ontop of my school books. What this created was a beautiful siphon... Yes the tank was full.

So slowly it all drained down into my tank flooding the sump when i saw this i immediately yeah turned off the entire system witch......sucked because once the water drained from the display it created a huge splash and water went everywhere long story short everything is back to normal.

-Question part

My salinity went from 1.026 to 1.017 in a matter of minutes.....its a 55 gallon tank with 30 gallon sump 3 clown fish and i forgot the name of the other one......tank is only 4 months old I'm new to the hobby how do i safely raise the salinity and would that drop of salt hurt my live rock or fish???

Shinte305 · 03/29/2015, 03:27 PM

Oh and i use a refractometer and i have calibrating liquid so im sure of my salinity levels.

Sk8r · 03/29/2015, 03:30 PM

You're all right. Use topoff to make up the salinity. Just top off evaporation with salt water only until it's back to normal.. FIsh tolerate a rapid salinity FALL, but do not tolerate a rapid salinity RISE safely, so do this over several days.

Shinte305 · 03/29/2015, 03:32 PM

Thanks for the quick reply, um question do i make the water for the top off at 1.026? Untill i see the tank reach that right? Sorry probably stupid question lol

Sk8r · 03/29/2015, 03:33 PM

And give your mom a guided tour of the tank. Tell her everything's cool, but give her a couple of things to watch, like your water level, and such, and tell her that you're not upset and nothing got damaged, but explain about freshwater and salt water, etc. If you come down with the flu, she'll be your first line of defense, feeding, etc, so keep her well disposed.

gone fishin · 03/29/2015, 03:34 PM

Lets see here, The rock should be fine. now for the salinity I would mix myself up some 1.026 water and use that for top offs until you get back to normal. The fish can handle downward swings much better than rapid increase. Good luck and do something with that hose so you do not have this problem again.

Fast typers LOL

Sk8r · 03/29/2015, 03:34 PM

Just top off with regular salinity: it may take a week or more to get back to normal---a 55 evaps about a gallon a day. But everybody in there should be just fine. I've had this happen with corals and everything was ok. Just best not have it happen TOO often.

Sk8r · 03/29/2015, 03:35 PM

Mmm---a thought. Maybe you should take over cleaning in the half of the room the tank is in. Get her to show you how, and what and how often she wants, and you'll probably have a very happy mum.

Shinte305 · 03/29/2015, 03:37 PM

Lol perfect thanks for the advice i really appreciate it!! Im still cleaning up the water lol ill definitely give my mom a saltwater tank 101 after this hahaha

deleau · 03/29/2015, 03:40 PM

In regards to prevention, does your ATO have any time of "notification" of problems? Obviously, your ATO/pump didn't fail since your mom accidentally created the syphon, but some ATOs (like the Tunze 3155 which I use) will beep, scream and yell when you get too much water in the sump. If nothing else, that could alert your mom to get you to investigate before too much fresh waters gets into the sump.

But as others have said, things should be okay as you gradually raise salinity back to normal levels.

gone fishin · 03/29/2015, 03:47 PM

I got a $10 water sensor on the floor. It has saved my bacon a few times.

Shinte305 · 03/29/2015, 03:50 PM

A buddy of mine gave me this auto top off system it is simple a float hanging on a bar i set the height of the float and once it gets too low it starts the pump. It has no beeping no notification nada. Maybe i should look into a water sensor so when water raises to high it sounds or something and ill let my mom and aunt know what to watch out for and to turn it off. That sounds like a good prevention just incase

CuzzA · 03/29/2015, 04:01 PM

In the future or for anyone reading this the best thing to do is to not remove any water. Simply let evaporation remove the fresh water and consequently slowly raise the salinity back to the desired level. Of course remember a power failure or turning off your return could overflow your sump.

Also it's a good idea to always have any source of water from an ATO, rodi unit, etc. hooked to a float valve. You can buy one that mounts to a tank or sump from fish-street.com for very cheap or purchase one from a name brand like Eshopps. I own and use the latter.

03/29/2015, 03:25 PM	#1
Shinte305 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 201	My mom just had a MASSIVE FAIL with my tank................ -Story for who is interested lol.... So my mom likes to over clean the floor.... I have a 6 gallon tank with RO water next to the stand for the auto top off...... My mother decided she needed to clean every inch of the floor sooooooo she saw that the tube going into the 6 gallon tank was super long so she picked it up and placed it HIGH up on the table ontop of my school books. What this created was a beautiful siphon... Yes the tank was full. So slowly it all drained down into my tank flooding the sump when i saw this i immediately yeah turned off the entire system witch......sucked because once the water drained from the display it created a huge splash and water went everywhere long story short everything is back to normal. -Question part My salinity went from 1.026 to 1.017 in a matter of minutes.....its a 55 gallon tank with 30 gallon sump 3 clown fish and i forgot the name of the other one......tank is only 4 months old I'm new to the hobby how do i safely raise the salinity and would that drop of salt hurt my live rock or fish???

03/29/2015, 03:30 PM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	You're all right. Use topoff to make up the salinity. Just top off evaporation with salt water only until it's back to normal.. FIsh tolerate a rapid salinity FALL, but do not tolerate a rapid salinity RISE safely, so do this over several days. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/29/2015, 03:33 PM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	And give your mom a guided tour of the tank. Tell her everything's cool, but give her a couple of things to watch, like your water level, and such, and tell her that you're not upset and nothing got damaged, but explain about freshwater and salt water, etc. If you come down with the flu, she'll be your first line of defense, feeding, etc, so keep her well disposed. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/29/2015, 03:34 PM	#6
gone fishin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Wyocena Wi Posts: 6,936	Lets see here, The rock should be fine. now for the salinity I would mix myself up some 1.026 water and use that for top offs until you get back to normal. The fish can handle downward swings much better than rapid increase. Good luck and do something with that hose so you do not have this problem again. Fast typers LOL __________________ Tony Current Tank Info: 180gal DT, BM NAC77 skimmer,3 Maxspect razors, Maxspect Gyre 150, 30g QT

03/29/2015, 03:34 PM	#7
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Just top off with regular salinity: it may take a week or more to get back to normal---a 55 evaps about a gallon a day. But everybody in there should be just fine. I've had this happen with corals and everything was ok. Just best not have it happen TOO often. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/29/2015, 03:27 PM	#2
Shinte305 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 201	Oh and i use a refractometer and i have calibrating liquid so im sure of my salinity levels.

03/29/2015, 03:32 PM	#4
Shinte305 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 201	Thanks for the quick reply, um question do i make the water for the top off at 1.026? Untill i see the tank reach that right? Sorry probably stupid question lol

03/29/2015, 03:35 PM	#8
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Mmm---a thought. Maybe you should take over cleaning in the half of the room the tank is in. Get her to show you how, and what and how often she wants, and you'll probably have a very happy mum. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/29/2015, 03:37 PM	#9
Shinte305 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 201	Lol perfect thanks for the advice i really appreciate it!! Im still cleaning up the water lol ill definitely give my mom a saltwater tank 101 after this hahaha

03/29/2015, 03:40 PM	#10
deleau Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 367	In regards to prevention, does your ATO have any time of "notification" of problems? Obviously, your ATO/pump didn't fail since your mom accidentally created the syphon, but some ATOs (like the Tunze 3155 which I use) will beep, scream and yell when you get too much water in the sump. If nothing else, that could alert your mom to get you to investigate before too much fresh waters gets into the sump. But as others have said, things should be okay as you gradually raise salinity back to normal levels. __________________ "The plural of anecdote is not data." Current Tank Info: 258g (72.5x30x27.5), 4x Radion Gen3 Pro, 2x Hamilton Aruba Sun V Series (4x Blue Plus 80W), 2x Vortech MP40WQD, Apex Gold + WXM, Dreambox 5d, Bubble King Supermarin 200, Red Dragon 3 150W, Tunze 3155, Finnex Ti 800W

03/29/2015, 03:47 PM	#11
gone fishin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Wyocena Wi Posts: 6,936	I got a $10 water sensor on the floor. It has saved my bacon a few times. __________________ Tony Current Tank Info: 180gal DT, BM NAC77 skimmer,3 Maxspect razors, Maxspect Gyre 150, 30g QT

03/29/2015, 03:50 PM	#12
Shinte305 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 201	A buddy of mine gave me this auto top off system it is simple a float hanging on a bar i set the height of the float and once it gets too low it starts the pump. It has no beeping no notification nada. Maybe i should look into a water sensor so when water raises to high it sounds or something and ill let my mom and aunt know what to watch out for and to turn it off. That sounds like a good prevention just incase

03/29/2015, 04:01 PM	#13
CuzzA Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Palm Harbor, FL Posts: 2,997	In the future or for anyone reading this the best thing to do is to not remove any water. Simply let evaporation remove the fresh water and consequently slowly raise the salinity back to the desired level. Of course remember a power failure or turning off your return could overflow your sump. Also it's a good idea to always have any source of water from an ATO, rodi unit, etc. hooked to a float valve. You can buy one that mounts to a tank or sump from fish-street.com for very cheap or purchase one from a name brand like Eshopps. I own and use the latter. Last edited by CuzzA; 03/29/2015 at 04:07 PM.