This isn't really a question,more of a commentery, and a warning. I'm sure many of you have had similar occurences but this was a first for me.
When I set up my new 135 gallon tank, one of my main goals was easy maintenance. As a result, everything was hard plumbed. The sump, skimmer, charcoal canister, UV sterilizer, storage vats for salt and fresh water as well as a freshwater supply and drain. I did all of the plumbing myself with the exception of tapping into the freshwater line and the waste water drain. For this I hired a local plumber who has done work for me before and always has seemed quite competent. Unfortunately, when he tapped into the waste water drain he cracked one of the fittings. I didn't find this until about a week later when I did my first water change. It was quite obvious when the drain water was spraying onto the floor instead of going into the waste line. While at work today, I called my trusty plumber and he assured me he would be down in an hour to fix it. My daughter let him in and it seemed like all was well. What could possibly go wrong, right?
I was overjoyed when he called me at work to inform me that the repair had been completed and it worked fine. He even reassured me "I tested it for you and there are no leaks." My breathing stopped. Cautiously, I asked "what exactly do you mean by you tested it for me"? He replied, "I opened the valve that leads to the drain line and pumped water through it to make sure there were no leaks." Now my heart stopped also.
As you can see, the plumbing in my equipment room is fairly complex.
Some here would say that it looks like a bootleggers still on steroids. It really works well and is very simple to use IF you know what you are doing. I couldn't imagine that someone would actually look at this maze of pipes and valves, knowing that it is connected to a very expensive looking saltwater tank, and begin turning valves indiscriminately without triple checking with the owner, me, to make sure they weren't going to mess anything up. But, alas, my imagination wasn't up to the task because that's exactly what he did. He then went on to inform me that "the water level in that plastic tank on the floor looks a little low, and something is making a lot of noise ". I thumped my chest a few times to get the pulse going again. I thought, "OK, calm down. He's a plumber, he should be able to follow some directions". I directed him as to where to find the fill mark on my sump and the drain valve on the salt water storage tank. I told him, "all you have to do is open the valve on the salt water storage tank and wait until the water level reaches the mark on the sump and then turn the valve off". He informed me he would have to call me back because his cell phone did not have service in my basement and he had to make the call to me from the first floor. The next five minutes were among the longest in recent memory. When my cell phone rang again I took a deep breath, pushed the send button and hoped for the best. It just wasn't to be. His voice was much more hesitant this time. "Well Doc, it looks like your tank may be flooding over onto the floor, and there is a really funny smell down there.". Breathing and heart beat stopped simultaneously. I started getting that tunnel vision that pilots describe when they're in a high-g turn and about to lose consciousness. "Pull yourself together I thought. You are not going to faint in front of all your employees". With as much control as I could muster I whispered into the phone "Stop everything! Go back down there and turn off every switch you see and close every valve you can see. Do it now!" My cell phone didn't ring again. No matter how much I tried there was no way I could concentrate on work at this point and told my staff I had to leave because of an emergency. Somehow I didn't get a speeding ticket on the way home. The sight of my still, motionless tank and the water soaking into the carpet below it sent a chill down my spine. I could smell of ozone in the air. He had pumped so much water out of the system that the skimmer lost its prime and had been running dry and the ozone injector had been pumping raw ozone into the air. The overflow on the tank had lost its siphon and when he began pumping water back into the tank he just kept on pumping until he heard splashing noises in the other room. The splashing water tripped the GFI and the entire system was dead. Oh, by the way, the plumber was gone, but at least he didn't leave a bill! After about four hours of cleanup, water testing, resetting of valves and bringing equipment back on line 1 piece at a time it looks like no permanent damage was done other than to my emotional stability. As I write this, my resting heart rate still climbs to about 20 beats above normal as I recall the details.
If you have had a similar experience, my heart goes out to you. If you have not, let this be a warning. You built the system, you know it inside out, and no matter how simple a routine adjustment may seem to you, never, ever let someone touch your stuff unless you have personally checked them out on it and are sure they know what they're doing. They'll screw it up every time, and it's just not worth the expense of all the Valium you have to take for the next couple of weeks afterwards.
Joe
When I set up my new 135 gallon tank, one of my main goals was easy maintenance. As a result, everything was hard plumbed. The sump, skimmer, charcoal canister, UV sterilizer, storage vats for salt and fresh water as well as a freshwater supply and drain. I did all of the plumbing myself with the exception of tapping into the freshwater line and the waste water drain. For this I hired a local plumber who has done work for me before and always has seemed quite competent. Unfortunately, when he tapped into the waste water drain he cracked one of the fittings. I didn't find this until about a week later when I did my first water change. It was quite obvious when the drain water was spraying onto the floor instead of going into the waste line. While at work today, I called my trusty plumber and he assured me he would be down in an hour to fix it. My daughter let him in and it seemed like all was well. What could possibly go wrong, right?
I was overjoyed when he called me at work to inform me that the repair had been completed and it worked fine. He even reassured me "I tested it for you and there are no leaks." My breathing stopped. Cautiously, I asked "what exactly do you mean by you tested it for me"? He replied, "I opened the valve that leads to the drain line and pumped water through it to make sure there were no leaks." Now my heart stopped also.
As you can see, the plumbing in my equipment room is fairly complex.
Some here would say that it looks like a bootleggers still on steroids. It really works well and is very simple to use IF you know what you are doing. I couldn't imagine that someone would actually look at this maze of pipes and valves, knowing that it is connected to a very expensive looking saltwater tank, and begin turning valves indiscriminately without triple checking with the owner, me, to make sure they weren't going to mess anything up. But, alas, my imagination wasn't up to the task because that's exactly what he did. He then went on to inform me that "the water level in that plastic tank on the floor looks a little low, and something is making a lot of noise ". I thumped my chest a few times to get the pulse going again. I thought, "OK, calm down. He's a plumber, he should be able to follow some directions". I directed him as to where to find the fill mark on my sump and the drain valve on the salt water storage tank. I told him, "all you have to do is open the valve on the salt water storage tank and wait until the water level reaches the mark on the sump and then turn the valve off". He informed me he would have to call me back because his cell phone did not have service in my basement and he had to make the call to me from the first floor. The next five minutes were among the longest in recent memory. When my cell phone rang again I took a deep breath, pushed the send button and hoped for the best. It just wasn't to be. His voice was much more hesitant this time. "Well Doc, it looks like your tank may be flooding over onto the floor, and there is a really funny smell down there.". Breathing and heart beat stopped simultaneously. I started getting that tunnel vision that pilots describe when they're in a high-g turn and about to lose consciousness. "Pull yourself together I thought. You are not going to faint in front of all your employees". With as much control as I could muster I whispered into the phone "Stop everything! Go back down there and turn off every switch you see and close every valve you can see. Do it now!" My cell phone didn't ring again. No matter how much I tried there was no way I could concentrate on work at this point and told my staff I had to leave because of an emergency. Somehow I didn't get a speeding ticket on the way home. The sight of my still, motionless tank and the water soaking into the carpet below it sent a chill down my spine. I could smell of ozone in the air. He had pumped so much water out of the system that the skimmer lost its prime and had been running dry and the ozone injector had been pumping raw ozone into the air. The overflow on the tank had lost its siphon and when he began pumping water back into the tank he just kept on pumping until he heard splashing noises in the other room. The splashing water tripped the GFI and the entire system was dead. Oh, by the way, the plumber was gone, but at least he didn't leave a bill! After about four hours of cleanup, water testing, resetting of valves and bringing equipment back on line 1 piece at a time it looks like no permanent damage was done other than to my emotional stability. As I write this, my resting heart rate still climbs to about 20 beats above normal as I recall the details.
If you have had a similar experience, my heart goes out to you. If you have not, let this be a warning. You built the system, you know it inside out, and no matter how simple a routine adjustment may seem to you, never, ever let someone touch your stuff unless you have personally checked them out on it and are sure they know what they're doing. They'll screw it up every time, and it's just not worth the expense of all the Valium you have to take for the next couple of weeks afterwards.
Joe
