Frustration!

[klaytos]

Hi all, long time lurker, recent member here. Never posted cause I never had much to add as I was just starting up, rather I just chose to soak in the info. Now I have reason to post, mostly looking for some moral support lol.. This is going to be long.

Here's my sad tale; About 2 months ago I went out and got a new 90g RR tank, stand, lights, the whole shebang. It was a package deal and came with a wet/dry filter ( was going to ditch bioballs to use as sump. ) This wet/dry would prove to be the devil. more on that to come...

So I set everything up, sand, live rock (around 70lbs), etc etc. and I throw in 3 cocktail shrimp to start my cycle. All is well. Ammonia spikes...nitrites... Then finally nitrates. I get diatoms and know from reading to wait them out. They pass. Then hair algae.. ugh! I guess this is from all my brand new nitrates. So I make plans to do a big water change and get them down, then I am going to order my clean up crew! Here's where the fun starts...

I wake up the next day and my return pump is blowing big bursts of air occasionally. "Odd, I just topped off yesterday".. I get by the tank and *squish* *squish* So I kill power to the pump and dash for towels. I finally get most of that up and check for the issue. My spiral drain hose has sprung a leak!? I take it off and find the hole easily enough. A small tear between two of the ridges. I flex it a little to see how bad it is and *riiiip* each friggin section for 3 inches tear apart! W.T.F. It was as if it was dry rotted or something. I had just gotten this thing like 3 - 4 weeks ago!

Needless to say I am quit angry. Email the company (Eshopps? I think) and they apologize and say they are sending me a new hose. Ok. But I need one now. I want fishes and the tank is ready! So I just go buy a new one (flexing it like mad in the store I am sure the thought I was nuts the way i was checkin this hose.) I get home and put the hose on and fire everything up. We're in business. (I will mention here I also received my 2 koralia 3's and my Protein Skimmer from DF&S this day. more on this later.)

Ok, got my new hose on, and everything is doing like it should. I put in my new koralias and tinker with the PS which i will mess with tomorrow as its getting late. I am awoken 2 hrs later to a very odd sound.. Like..an air compressor.. or something. As soon as I hit the stairs I can tell where it is coming from. Return pump. -_- This will not be good.. *SQUISH* *SQUISH* :mad2: I say A LOT of things that cant be repeated here. What happened? Well, Mr new hose apparently didnt fit as snug into the top of the wet dry as it felt he did. The pressure had slowly worked it off. and it drained I guess 7? 8? gallons of water onto my carpet! @ 1am! towels towels and more towels later I am satisfied it can wait for morning when I KNOW I now have to break this tank down and move it off that spot.

Fast forward to the next day. Today. I took alot of totes and moved the rock to one (covered with water), sand to another (also with some water to cover), drained all the rest of the water (I was going to do that huge water change anyway remember?) and moved the whole lot to the dining room. Where I am leaving it! (had an empty wall and hey tile floor!) Carpet is bad! more towels, shopvac, and 3 fans later it is getting dry to touch. ( I know I am going to have future issues here but...)

OK! thats handled. Lets set this tank back up. Goodbye bioballs, make room for skimmer! I run the drain hose straight down into first chamber with skimmer. No way thats poppin out! Its in there. I hook all my connections up, fill with new water ( its tap I admit it . *shame* RO unit is in the mail) new salt. Ok time to check for leaks....none. I wait awhile. None. ok. good. Lets play with this skimmer. I fire it up and hey no bubbles!? I check the air line.. its good. wth? I open up the pump and pull the impeller out... and the shaft is broken in half. WHY!??? So, I just finished emailing Coralife (it was a super skimmer 125 I know it isnt top o the line but I was currently fund depleted from the other stuff I just got. And I had read decent reviews)

Anyway, as I was saying, I just finished emailing them and HAD to get some of this off my chest. I am beaten down. Badly. Morale is shot. Probably gotta re-cycle this tank, got to wait for a new impeller, and I feel like I am sitting on a ticking time bomb with that sump. Stressed doesn't cover how I feel now lol.

If you made it through all that, congrats! I didn't mean to go so long but alot of junk happened and I really needed to semi-vent. Hopefully, things go a wee bit smoother from here. I'm not going to let this aquarium win! But I could certainly stand to hear some others set backs or encouragement! Thanks for reading




:rollface:

 

[Aquarist007]

[welcome]

You just completed your initiation--now your a reefer--don't quit

The bright side--these first happenings did not cost you money

 

[nikon187]

welcome. don't give up it will get better

 

[tdp22]

Same Problem

Same Problem

I bought an Eshopp refugium and the same thing happened to me. Luckly I had already hard-plumbed into my tank. That sounds like no fun.

 

[lockekeyy]

wow... that is a good amount of stuff to just go thru with setting up. At least it'll all be worth it when you can finally cycle, and start adding whatever you like. Don't give up, it'll be worth it!

 

[Mr. Brooks]

We've all gone through mishaps like that. Just think of it as adding another chapter to your bank of knowledge and experience. You might want to consider re-doing your plumbing with PVC.. It's much more solid.

 

[jjlove]

sorry...i had to LOL.....at least Wifey wasn't on your tail!

 

[otrlynn]

Hang in there. You seem like you are good at problem-solving and you obviously did your reading re setting up your tank. You are in much better shape than the poster who says, "I just put two clownfish in my two week old tank and one has died..." Congrats on your decision to put your tank on the tile floor of the dining room. I'm sure there are reefers on here who have their tank on carpet, but I'm not one of them. I have mine in the dining room on a tile floor and find it to be a great location. We enjoy watching the tank while eating, it is close to the kitchen sink, and Waaaaay easier to clean up spills than on a carpet. Speaking of which--I think I'd have that carpet cleaned ASAP and try to find a company that is willing to put some extra effort into the area around the "spill".

 

[stingythingy45]

[welcome]

My advice to you would be to do a search and locate a local Reef club.It is a great advantage in this hobby to have fellow reefer's that can lend a hand,give advice and borrow equipment from.
I know I have seen many emergencies happen to members in mine and others have stepped up to help.
Not sure why you would need to recycle your tank?

Good luck....
And don't give up,we all had set backs.

 

[kokaneejr]

klaytos, I feel your pain. My tank is newly set up and in the hair algae stage and I have had a whole bunch of issues. Luckily no overflows..yet. I think my wife would kill me if I did. I have a sump that I have filled to where I have to top off every day or I will have it sucking air. I probably could fill it more but I am just a chicken.

Don't give up and I am right there with you. Craig.

My misadventures here

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1464776

 

[Sk8r]

well, you have had a year's worth of grief condensed into a couple of weeks, for sure.

You can get hose from Lowe's or Ace, for many applications. It's safe to use: the clear particularly, or the reinforced clear.

The broken skimmer---what a pita! If it's any possible consolation, I've been at this 40 years and I've never seen that happen.

You've coped very well, however, and I hope you'll persevere: you sound like an intelligent sort who's capable of punting when the situation goes crazy, and you should do fine when you get some decent stuff.

My own online source of choice tends to be foster/smith (in our sponsors' list): I've gotten things that didn't work too well (a fish trap that caught everything in my tank BUT the cussed rabbitfish I was after, and an in-tank refugium that mostly slid down the side when loaded) but I can't claim it fell apart when handled.

{watch the hair algae when it begins to turn loose: it WILL clog overflow teeth: a devoted-to-that-purpose new toothbrush is a good de-clog tool.)

 

[klaytos]

First, thanks for all the welcomes and words. It is good to be able to tell someone and them actually relate and understand what this can be like.

Anyway, it's a new day and a lot of the gloominess has passed. Still a bit bummed but oh well. I am definitely not giving up! Going to take a step back for a day or two, let the tension level drop and then refocus. I am now going to quote people at random lol;

sorry...i had to LOL.....at least Wifey wasn't on your tail!

No need to apologize. It IS pretty funny how this stuff snowballed. I had to laugh at my luck as well. My wife not so much. Surprisingly she didn't say much. Probably cause she could tell how much I was already bothered. It was really her "recommendation" that the tank should go onto the tile floor.

I think I'd have that carpet cleaned ASAP

It's going to come to that I am afraid. I plan to call first thing Monday. There is a slight mildew smell already and I know thats not a good sign. I am going to try all the remedies I have found online to kill the mildew and remove the odor. Including carpet cleaning. But I am bracing myself the fact I may have to pay to re-carpet this room. The shame is, it's a rental and had brand spanking new carpet when I moved in.

You might want to consider re-doing your plumbing with PVC.. It's much more solid.

I am certainly entertaining that idea. These hoses really suck. Would I need to replace my barbed bulkheads? How does one attach the PVC to the drain, return, and pump? I will research this some, as I never really considered the PVC until these "situations" presented themselves.

Not sure why you would need to recycle your tank?

I may not have to. But, I ditched my bioballs completely since I had no fish/inverts (and was going to remove them eventually anyway.) So, I am not sure what quantity of bacteria I have on the rock and sand, and I am not sure if there is enough to handle a fish or two yet or not.

 

[Sk8r]

On the carpet: Stanley Steemer has the kind of machines that can pull moisture from carpet and pad. Hope it's concrete underneath.

I use hose and have never had any trouble. You SHOULD use a hose clamp (little metal thing) on any non-submerged hose connection, even WITH a barb...and a plastic one in the submerged ones. Ask your hardware store. same stuff as holds the hoses on in your car.

it will probably come up with a 5 day cycle, given all new water and a total sandbed overturn. Continue your fish in qt.

 

[sohal1025]

[welcome]
welcome to the headaches of saltwater!!!!!!

 

[Mr. Brooks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13301194#post13301194 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by klaytos


I am certainly entertaining that idea. These hoses really suck. Would I need to replace my barbed bulkheads? How does one attach the PVC to the drain, return, and pump? I will research this some, as I never really considered the PVC until these "situations" presented themselves.

Depends, if the hose barbs are threaded then you'd just unscrew them and replace with a male thread/female slip adapter. If they're glued then you'd need to replace the bulkheads (not as hard as it sounds). Spend some time looking at the large reef tank builds. Just about all of them use PVC on their tanks.

 

[ILoveReefer]

Welcome to RC
The hose Sk8r is referring is Vinyl. I prefer the vinyl reinforced but the clear stuff without reinforcements would probably work just as well. If using the Vinyl hose, the barbed bulkheads that you already have are good, no need to replace.

 

[Captinshinyside]

All I can Say is I feel your pain, one day soon I will post my story for you all to get a good laugh and make me feel better.

I will offer you a group hug in the mean time!