480 System Crash! Help!

[charcharodon]

An electronic float valve failed, flooding my flagship system with kalkwasser and fresh water, dropping the SG from 1.025 to 1.016, shooting the pH through the roof and killing every fish in the system (there were over 50!) Eventually, when the reservoir ran dry, so did the sump, so the pump feeding the cooling system failed and the temperature climbed to 88 degrees F. The owners were out of town for the weekend. I've never suffered this kind of crash before. It appears some corals have survived. Beyond massive water changes, removing dead animals, using tons of carbon, RowaPHOS, etc., is there anything else I should be doing? Is it a total loss? Should I just tear it down and start from scratch because of the huge amounts of phosphate that will end up in the rocks and sand? Any help, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Attached is a shot of the system just last week and what I saw yesterday. Truly heartbreaking.

 

[zens]

Did it flood the place?

 

[Bebo77]

Sorry to hear that...

There is no need to start over... but keep up the water changes and run lots of carbon...

 

[coralnut99]

Been there, done that. More than once. I stay away from ATO's because of scenarios such as yours, so that just leaves my own stoopidity to re-create it. Frustrating, exasperating, just don't seem to say enough. While water changes will certainly help, you have to consider the shock the system has already had, and duplicating it in the other direction doubles the damage. The temperature isn't totally off the chart and easing it back down gradually shouldn't be tough. Water changes of the right temp. and sg will bring the sg up, as will topping of with sw.

Aside form eliminating the visible losses such as dead fish and corals, you need to take a look under some fo the rocks. In most cases, mature systems will have good sponge growth which will most likely add to the list of dead inhabitants fouling the water. Depending on the age and level of sponge growth, it may be worth pulling a few medium size pieces and inspect the undersides.

Fwiw, I didn't tear my systems down when this happened to me, but you have to understand the tank is basically starting over anyway, with the added complication of easing sg up, and dead and decaying matter that may spike ammonia, even in a system that large.

Good luck.

 

[chef.lewis]

Gosh!... I am so sorry.
I hope that you can save what is left.

 

[charcharodon]

Thanks for the responses and kind words, everyone. Regrettably, the system was a near total loss, with the exception of a couple of large, basketball-sized colonies of Montipora digitata, and a few intrepid hermits and snails. The owner, fortunately, sees this as an opportunity for me to improve and upgrade the original installer's design. I'll keep you posted.