The death of my tank 5 year old tank.

Palting · 10/11/2014, 03:55 PM

Left for 3 days, came back to a dark tank. The GFI had tripped, and shut the tank down. Here is the tank after what I assume to be 3 days worth of stagnation.

All the SPS are melted, all the fish are dead. My favorite fish, an 8" Naso, and my show fish, a full grown Purple tang, and the whole rest of the gang... gone. Moved what still seemed alive to my FOWLR. A few LPS mostly, and my old hardy clam. Several softies like shrooms seem to be alive in old the tank, but are stuck on rocks and I don't want to move dying rocks to my pristine FOWLR.

Mixing 40 gallons, my whole RODI stock, for the largest one time water change I can do. Will do another one tomorrow.

Man, oh man, oh man.

Coelli · 10/11/2014, 04:00 PM

Oh man.

I am so, so sorry.

Did you have an Apex or anything? This has me thinking it would be a good idea to hook up my Apex and the wireless for it to a UPS - so if anything happens, at least the Apex would have power long enough to send an alert.

I'm really sorry. How devastating.

biggles · 10/11/2014, 04:08 PM

Came home to the same thing years ago mate, gutted for you

Palting · 10/11/2014, 04:14 PM

Thanks, Coelli and Biggles. The GFI has not tripped once in these 5 years. The one time it trips, I am not home. **sigh**

Anyway, I don't want the above pictures to be the last picture I post of the tank. Here is the tank in better days just a few weeks ago:

anbosu · 10/11/2014, 04:37 PM

Man that really stinks - sorry to hear

Nina51 · 10/11/2014, 04:47 PM

every reefers worst nightmare. so very sorry for such a terrible loss.

Aussie_00 · 10/11/2014, 04:48 PM

That is tough mate. It can happen so quickly.

AdamNC · 10/11/2014, 04:53 PM

That sucks man, had that happen about 8 years ago while living in Florida just after a hurricane hit West Palm Beach.

usmc121581 · 10/11/2014, 04:58 PM

Sry, i had something like that happen last year, glad it was only my 40 gal. Sad thing was i lost my basketball sized frogspawn. Dont know what i would do if it was my 180.

slief · 10/11/2014, 05:23 PM

Wow. What a tragedy. I'm so sorry for your loss. Your tank was beautiful & I hope you restore it to all it's former glory.

Any clue what caused the GFCI to trip? Unfortunately, this is exactly why I don't keep my tanks on GFCI outlets. GFCI's are always touted as a must have but I've seen this story all too often. Unfortunately GFCI's fail and can trip prematurely. In 17 years since buying my new home, I've had a couple GFCI outlets go bad despite their limited use. While they do offer great protection, I'm not willing to risk my tank with them. If one of the powered devices on any of my tanks short, the circuit breaker will trip. I've been in this hobby about 27 years now and never had an issue that a GFCI would have prevented but I always run quality equipment and keep all my power devices away from water and off the ground to insure they don't get wet. Even my pumps are elevated off the ground on 3/4" thick rubber mats.

Again, sorry for your loss and I hope you get things back to the tanks former glory sooner rather than later.

AcroporAddict · 10/11/2014, 05:29 PM

Sorry for your loss, man what a shame. If I can give some advice, since you have moved what is alive elsewhere, you might benefit better from completely draining the tank first, then fill it from empty with new water. You are just diluting the taint with consecutive water changes, whereas you might get rid of most of it at once if you drain the old water completely, then refill over a couple-three days.

Dduval · 10/11/2014, 05:58 PM

Sorry for your loss as well, that is just terrible.

I am new here and learning, how does one prevent this? Or can it be prevented? Sounds like something that would happen to me with my luck...

kmbyrnes · 10/11/2014, 06:02 PM

Really sorry for your loss. Can't imagine how I would feel if I lost all that work.
Keep a positive attitude and bring it back, better than ever!

reefkeeper2 · 10/11/2014, 06:07 PM

Sorry for your loss. It really sucks to lose your tank due to an equipment failure. You really need a GFCI though for safety sake. When you reboot your tank, put the main pump and one of your heaters on their own GFCI. Then put your powerheads and another heater on another. This way if one trips your tank will survive and you still have the safety a GFCI provides.

cthedaytrader · 10/11/2014, 06:16 PM

So sorry same thing happened to me years ago, I feel your pain. I hope you will bring it back!!!

Palting · 10/11/2014, 06:42 PM

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

I can't drain the tank completely, acroporAddict. There are still some surviving coral in there that I cannot take out without further damaging them. Total system volume is 200 gallons, and I don't have that much RODI around. I'll just keep diluting things down as I make more RODI to make into salt water. Next 40 gallon water change is tomorrow, then another the day after, then another. I am hoping something more in there survives.

Have no clue as to what caused the GFCI to trip, slief. I just pushed the reset button, and everything turned back on again. My fear is a house electrical fire, so I will still use GFCI. I my do it a little differently next time, though. I will use at least two GFCI outlets. One will be for the main pump, while the other will be for the in-tank powerheads. If the main pump GFCI trips, the powerheads will keep the water flowing and in-tank filtration going. And vice versa if the GFCI to the powerhead trips instead. I guess one REALY has to be unlucky if both GFCI's trip at the same time.

This whole thing feels so unreal, I still cannot believe it happened. Denial is the first stage of mourning, right? Bummer.

SCreeferGuy · 10/11/2014, 07:03 PM

Really sorry about the loss..

Too late I know, but there is an auto-reset GFIC (search - Tower Manufacturing 30334052 15 amp Auto Reset GFCI Protected Quad Outlet Box With Circuit Breaker).

The idea is that it will act like a regular GFIC but if power goes out, it will reset itself so you don't have to be there to push the reset button.

DavidinGA · 10/11/2014, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slief

Wow. What a tragedy. I'm so sorry for your loss. Your tank was beautiful & I hope you restore it to all it's former glory.

Any clue what caused the GFCI to trip? Unfortunately, this is exactly why I don't keep my tanks on GFCI outlets. GFCI's are always touted as a must have but I've seen this story all too often. Unfortunately GFCI's fail and can trip prematurely. In 17 years since buying my new home, I've had a couple GFCI outlets go bad despite their limited use. While they do offer great protection, I'm not willing to risk my tank with them. If one of the powered devices on any of my tanks short, the circuit breaker will trip. I've been in this hobby about 27 years now and never had an issue that a GFCI would have prevented but I always run quality equipment and keep all my power devices away from water and off the ground to insure they don't get wet. Even my pumps are elevated off the ground on 3/4" thick rubber mats.

Again, sorry for your loss and I hope you get things back to the tanks former glory sooner rather than later.

/this

I never run gfci's.

Sorry for the loss man....

Rob6311 · 10/11/2014, 08:01 PM

I'm sorry that happened to you, I'd hate for that to happen to me and I'd never wish that on anyone, it truly was an amazing tank and really hope you can recover it. But what is GFCI?

kelrn98 · 10/11/2014, 08:12 PM

Oh so sorry. Wow, makes me never want to leave the house for more than a day. Aside from not using GFCI (which is kinda scary in itself), what safety precautions do you all take to prevent such tragedy? I feel like I have become kinda numb and unresponsive to the emails from my RKE, guess I need to start paying more attention to it.

Again, very sorry for your loss, I couldn't imagine your devastation. Hopefully you will rebuild.

kga943 · 10/11/2014, 08:14 PM

That sucks real bad

moondoggy4 · 10/11/2014, 08:39 PM

Sorry for your loss, it is a gut wrenching experience. I keep almost everything on a GFI but not the tunze 6100 it is plugged into the wall, I would have at least circulation.

slief · 10/11/2014, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob6311

I'm sorry that happened to you, I'd hate for that to happen to me and I'd never wish that on anyone, it truly was an amazing tank and really hope you can recover it. But what is GFCI?

A GFCI is a power outlet with a built in circuit breaker. It stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. Commonly referred to here as a GFI. A GFCI is designed to shut off the outlet in the event that the circuit grounds out. They are often recommended for aquarium circuits in conjunction with a ground probe. The idea is that if a device in the water shorts out, the GFCI will trip and prevent the circuit from potential catastrophic failure. The problem with them is that like a circuit breaker, over time under heavy loads, they will trip arbitrarily under loads below their operating rating. Unlike a circuit breaker, they are much more sensitive to loads and not as robust. In my experience, a device that grounds out in an aquarium that is properly grounded will trip a breaker just like it trips the GFCI so a GFCI is in my opinion redundant protection but they aren't as reliable long term as a circuit breaker. Many people swear by them and say they are a must have however, stories like this are all to common and very often the cause isn't a short but instead an older or tired GFCI that tripped itself as a result of a load that happens to be below it's rating.

They are very common and required for most circuits as part of code for newer homes in the US. I have them all over my house but for my tank,I run a series of dedicated circuits with no GFCI outlets.
http://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GFCI

Pomacanthus1 · 10/12/2014, 12:36 AM

Such a senseless loss, I would never run a tank on one after hearing a few of these stories.

sirreal63 · 10/12/2014, 06:46 AM

I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Your tank has been a favorite of mine for a long time.

10/11/2014, 03:55 PM	#1
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	The death of my tank 5 year old tank. Left for 3 days, came back to a dark tank. The GFI had tripped, and shut the tank down. Here is the tank after what I assume to be 3 days worth of stagnation. All the SPS are melted, all the fish are dead. My favorite fish, an 8" Naso, and my show fish, a full grown Purple tang, and the whole rest of the gang... gone. Moved what still seemed alive to my FOWLR. A few LPS mostly, and my old hardy clam. Several softies like shrooms seem to be alive in old the tank, but are stuck on rocks and I don't want to move dying rocks to my pristine FOWLR. Mixing 40 gallons, my whole RODI stock, for the largest one time water change I can do. Will do another one tomorrow. Man, oh man, oh man. __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

10/11/2014, 04:14 PM	#4
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	Thanks, Coelli and Biggles. The GFI has not tripped once in these 5 years. The one time it trips, I am not home. sigh Anyway, I don't want the above pictures to be the last picture I post of the tank. Here is the tank in better days just a few weeks ago: __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

10/11/2014, 04:47 PM	#6
Nina51 biggliest cofveve champ Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: 5th floor, Illinois, gewgaw expert Posts: 3,506	every reefers worst nightmare. so very sorry for such a terrible loss. __________________ of all the things i've lost, i miss my gary the most. Never hold your farts in. They travel up your spine into your brain, and that is where crappy ideas come from. Current Tank Info: i gave my reef away and i feel like a bird out of a cage!!

10/11/2014, 04:58 PM	#9
usmc121581 Where am I? Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Abingdon, maryland Posts: 1,671 Blog Entries: 1	Sry, i had something like that happen last year, glad it was only my 40 gal. Sad thing was i lost my basketball sized frogspawn. Dont know what i would do if it was my 180. __________________ I prefer not to think before I speak, I like to be just as surprised as everyone else by what comes out of my mouth. Current Tank Info: I have a 180 gal mostly LPS corals, it contains 1 Val. Tang, 1 yellow striped clown fish, 3 percula clownfish, a blood shrimp, cleaner shrimp and a sand shifting goby, 5 pajama cardinals, 1 green chromis. Also a 75 gal. sump/fug.

10/11/2014, 05:23 PM	#10
slief RC Sponsor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 14,173	Wow. What a tragedy. I'm so sorry for your loss. Your tank was beautiful & I hope you restore it to all it's former glory. Any clue what caused the GFCI to trip? Unfortunately, this is exactly why I don't keep my tanks on GFCI outlets. GFCI's are always touted as a must have but I've seen this story all too often. Unfortunately GFCI's fail and can trip prematurely. In 17 years since buying my new home, I've had a couple GFCI outlets go bad despite their limited use. While they do offer great protection, I'm not willing to risk my tank with them. If one of the powered devices on any of my tanks short, the circuit breaker will trip. I've been in this hobby about 27 years now and never had an issue that a GFCI would have prevented but I always run quality equipment and keep all my power devices away from water and off the ground to insure they don't get wet. Even my pumps are elevated off the ground on 3/4" thick rubber mats. Again, sorry for your loss and I hope you get things back to the tanks former glory sooner rather than later. __________________ Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476

10/11/2014, 04:00 PM	#2
Coelli Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Tujunga, CA Posts: 1,443	Oh man. I am so, so sorry. Did you have an Apex or anything? This has me thinking it would be a good idea to hook up my Apex and the wireless for it to a UPS - so if anything happens, at least the Apex would have power long enough to send an alert. I'm really sorry. How devastating.

10/11/2014, 04:08 PM	#3
biggles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Australia Posts: 3,907	Came home to the same thing years ago mate, gutted for you

10/11/2014, 04:37 PM	#5
anbosu Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Mount Juliet, TN Posts: 4,528	Man that really stinks - sorry to hear

10/11/2014, 04:48 PM	#7
Aussie_00 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 1	That is tough mate. It can happen so quickly.

10/11/2014, 04:53 PM	#8
AdamNC Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Winston Salem, NC Posts: 849	That sucks man, had that happen about 8 years ago while living in Florida just after a hurricane hit West Palm Beach.

10/11/2014, 05:29 PM	#11
AcroporAddict There is no substitute. Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Southeast Posts: 2,269	Sorry for your loss, man what a shame. If I can give some advice, since you have moved what is alive elsewhere, you might benefit better from completely draining the tank first, then fill it from empty with new water. You are just diluting the taint with consecutive water changes, whereas you might get rid of most of it at once if you drain the old water completely, then refill over a couple-three days. __________________ Recovering LED User, now Certified Skimmer Whore.

10/11/2014, 05:58 PM	#12
Dduval Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 7	Sorry for your loss as well, that is just terrible. I am new here and learning, how does one prevent this? Or can it be prevented? Sounds like something that would happen to me with my luck...

10/11/2014, 06:02 PM	#13
kmbyrnes Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Mesa AZ Posts: 2,055	Really sorry for your loss. Can't imagine how I would feel if I lost all that work. Keep a positive attitude and bring it back, better than ever! __________________ 125g Mixed Reef 5/26/2015; 350 Butterfly Dominated FOWLR 11/26/2015 - 11/17/20217 & 07/31/18 to ??? ; 100g Mixed Reef 11/16/2013 to 06/16/2017 Current Tank Info: Too small

10/11/2014, 06:07 PM	#14
reefkeeper2 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Bridgewater, MA Posts: 1,234	Sorry for your loss. It really sucks to lose your tank due to an equipment failure. You really need a GFCI though for safety sake. When you reboot your tank, put the main pump and one of your heaters on their own GFCI. Then put your powerheads and another heater on another. This way if one trips your tank will survive and you still have the safety a GFCI provides. __________________ Paul Dec 08 TOTM Current Tank Info: Envisions 427gal

10/11/2014, 06:16 PM	#15
cthedaytrader Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: LI Posts: 1,328	So sorry same thing happened to me years ago, I feel your pain. I hope you will bring it back!!! __________________ Chris Current Tank Info: 75G Rimless 40x24x18

10/11/2014, 06:42 PM	#16
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I can't drain the tank completely, acroporAddict. There are still some surviving coral in there that I cannot take out without further damaging them. Total system volume is 200 gallons, and I don't have that much RODI around. I'll just keep diluting things down as I make more RODI to make into salt water. Next 40 gallon water change is tomorrow, then another the day after, then another. I am hoping something more in there survives. Have no clue as to what caused the GFCI to trip, slief. I just pushed the reset button, and everything turned back on again. My fear is a house electrical fire, so I will still use GFCI. I my do it a little differently next time, though. I will use at least two GFCI outlets. One will be for the main pump, while the other will be for the in-tank powerheads. If the main pump GFCI trips, the powerheads will keep the water flowing and in-tank filtration going. And vice versa if the GFCI to the powerhead trips instead. I guess one REALY has to be unlucky if both GFCI's trip at the same time. This whole thing feels so unreal, I still cannot believe it happened. Denial is the first stage of mourning, right? Bummer. __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

10/11/2014, 07:03 PM	#17
SCreeferGuy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: South Carolina Posts: 236	Really sorry about the loss.. Too late I know, but there is an auto-reset GFIC (search - Tower Manufacturing 30334052 15 amp Auto Reset GFCI Protected Quad Outlet Box With Circuit Breaker). The idea is that it will act like a regular GFIC but if power goes out, it will reset itself so you don't have to be there to push the reset button. __________________ DSA 135 w/40 gal custom sump/fuge, Apex, Tunze powerheads and ATO, RO DCS 170 Skimmer, Waveline DC 10000 return pump Occupants: Rock...bacteria...fish...still working on it!

10/11/2014, 08:01 PM	#19
Rob6311 Registered Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 704	I'm sorry that happened to you, I'd hate for that to happen to me and I'd never wish that on anyone, it truly was an amazing tank and really hope you can recover it. But what is GFCI?

10/11/2014, 08:12 PM	#20
kelrn98 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Biloxi, MS Posts: 856	Oh so sorry. Wow, makes me never want to leave the house for more than a day. Aside from not using GFCI (which is kinda scary in itself), what safety precautions do you all take to prevent such tragedy? I feel like I have become kinda numb and unresponsive to the emails from my RKE, guess I need to start paying more attention to it. Again, very sorry for your loss, I couldn't imagine your devastation. Hopefully you will rebuild. __________________ ~Kelly~ Current Tank Info: 96x24x30 -300g mixed reef: 75g sump, 35g fuge, 2x MP60, 4x Radion Pros, reef octopus X5000 skimmer, way too much LR and a few fish

10/11/2014, 08:14 PM	#21
kga943 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 504	That sucks real bad

10/11/2014, 08:39 PM	#22
moondoggy4 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: menifee So cal Posts: 11,042	Sorry for your loss, it is a gut wrenching experience. I keep almost everything on a GFI but not the tunze 6100 it is plugged into the wall, I would have at least circulation.

10/12/2014, 12:36 AM	#24
Pomacanthus1 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Colorado Posts: 2,489	Such a senseless loss, I would never run a tank on one after hearing a few of these stories.

10/12/2014, 06:46 AM	#25
sirreal63 Go Spurs Go!!! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Meadowlakes Texas Posts: 13,357	I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Your tank has been a favorite of mine for a long time. __________________ Jack No One has ever been seriously injured by using the search function. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency. Current Tank Info: Reefing the Pentagon.