snails as valves...or...it just gets better and better.

Sk8r · 06/14/2008, 06:41 PM

9 hours and 25 minutes by the clock that blipped to 00 this morning when the pricey Iwaki blew fuses and quit.

I went downstairs, realized the Iwaki 100, bulkheaded through the sump wall and connected by 15 feet of 1 inch hose via a ball valve to my tank---has stopped.
Panic. Iwaki 100's don't grow on trees in any sense.
I headed for the fish store.
Got a mag 18 and put it on, after disconnecting the hose at the ball valve. Worked for 5 minutes.
Quit. Everything quit.
Including the mag 5 skimmer pump.
We'd kicked up some calcium carbonate. It ate something it didn't like.
I then decided to take the ball valve out: to the store for a 1" hose barb twoended.
Still didn't work. Examination (thank goodness for clear lines) up in the ceiling showed that calcium carbonate (see my post on the alkalinity disaster) has run rampant through the hoses. They've blocked.
Well, the Iwaki had an excuse. But only it can push through clogged pipes. It just needs help. Drained a 30g sump refugium, with the 18 mag. Hoisted the sump up so I can unscrew the Iwaki. Two gallons of vinegar later, we have discovered, yes, a snail in the impeller. We now have the skimmer pump running, if we had any water.
We now ran one hose through the big hose, taking it apart joint by joint, and peeling out calcium carbonate. We put the Iwaki back together, and we installed everything joint by joint by joint.
Still no joy. Even an Iwaki 100 couldn't blast that stuff out.

So we got to the final pipes IN the corner!!!!tank. We got water pressure all right---it BLEW the pipe in the downflow orbital. But then we couldn't get water past that to the Sea Swirls. Their hoses had more clogging of the arteries.
More vinegar, scrubbing, reaming out.
We got down to the last bit and couldn't get flow past the T---and one last SNAIL was lodged in the T like a valve.

It is now running. I am headed for the bar.

Jen D · 06/14/2008, 07:42 PM

You've been having some luck lately, huh? Glad you were able to get it working again. Hope you're set for some smooth sailing for a while.

Sk8r · 06/14/2008, 08:09 PM

I'm sure hoping so! It's all interrelated. I think the low alkalinity caused the calcium precip, which messed with the pumps and hoses, and probably even drove desperate snails into 'new territory.' But what a pain. I just got back (from the bar) and at least everything is running---but I had to overturn (to say the least) the remote refugium sandbed, and that's a risk. All the corals look ok and the clam, while not happy, is not shut, either, so here's hoping luck holds for at least the survival of all that's made it through the other calamities. I SO hate to lose anything.

06/14/2008, 06:41 PM	#1
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	snails as valves...or...it just gets better and better. 9 hours and 25 minutes by the clock that blipped to 00 this morning when the pricey Iwaki blew fuses and quit. I went downstairs, realized the Iwaki 100, bulkheaded through the sump wall and connected by 15 feet of 1 inch hose via a ball valve to my tank---has stopped. Panic. Iwaki 100's don't grow on trees in any sense. I headed for the fish store. Got a mag 18 and put it on, after disconnecting the hose at the ball valve. Worked for 5 minutes. Quit. Everything quit. Including the mag 5 skimmer pump. We'd kicked up some calcium carbonate. It ate something it didn't like. I then decided to take the ball valve out: to the store for a 1" hose barb twoended. Still didn't work. Examination (thank goodness for clear lines) up in the ceiling showed that calcium carbonate (see my post on the alkalinity disaster) has run rampant through the hoses. They've blocked. Well, the Iwaki had an excuse. But only it can push through clogged pipes. It just needs help. Drained a 30g sump refugium, with the 18 mag. Hoisted the sump up so I can unscrew the Iwaki. Two gallons of vinegar later, we have discovered, yes, a snail in the impeller. We now have the skimmer pump running, if we had any water. We now ran one hose through the big hose, taking it apart joint by joint, and peeling out calcium carbonate. We put the Iwaki back together, and we installed everything joint by joint by joint. Still no joy. Even an Iwaki 100 couldn't blast that stuff out. So we got to the final pipes IN the corner!!!!tank. We got water pressure all right---it BLEW the pipe in the downflow orbital. But then we couldn't get water past that to the Sea Swirls. Their hoses had more clogging of the arteries. More vinegar, scrubbing, reaming out. We got down to the last bit and couldn't get flow past the T---and one last SNAIL was lodged in the T like a valve. It is now running. I am headed for the bar. __________________ 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%.

06/14/2008, 08:09 PM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	I'm sure hoping so! It's all interrelated. I think the low alkalinity caused the calcium precip, which messed with the pumps and hoses, and probably even drove desperate snails into 'new territory.' But what a pain. I just got back (from the bar) and at least everything is running---but I had to overturn (to say the least) the remote refugium sandbed, and that's a risk. All the corals look ok and the clam, while not happy, is not shut, either, so here's hoping luck holds for at least the survival of all that's made it through the other calamities. I SO hate to lose anything. __________________ 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%.

06/14/2008, 07:42 PM	#2
Jen D Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Central IA Posts: 165	You've been having some luck lately, huh? Glad you were able to get it working again. Hope you're set for some smooth sailing for a while.