Heartbroken Setback

[M Woodhill]

because of my absence in Asia for 3 weeks, my tank almost broke down. the purple tip ritteri melted the red carpet barely survived:facepalm::facepalm:

after a month's rescue since my return in feb, it finally got back on track. got this gorgeous ritteri from a local reefer, cool

orange/red base, pink/purple tentacles with yellow/green tips

MH off but actinic remains on

the hard red

 

[OrionN]

Sorry.
a good reefer friend is really great

 

[addictedreefer]

What happened?

 

[M Woodhill]

What happened?

overfeeding

after my intensively torturous interrogation of my tanksitter, the whole accident has been outlined:

1, she overfed so much that the bottle for at least three quarters was poured within three days

2, algae and cyano broke out and the skimmer exploded with bubbles. the malice loop started.

3, algae and cyano clogged the overflow and the topoff adds fresh water in so that salinity and alkalinity became unstable and fluctuated

4, sps were tip burnt for those that survived and lots of them bleached with the ritteri melted

5, to my surprise, more presumably sensitives ones like strawberry shortcake survived, some presumably hardies failed like ora purple plasma

in short, it sucks and as orion states: it's so important to have a reefer buddy in proximity:headwally:

 

[addictedreefer]

Wow that's terrible, sorry for your loss man. I'm thinking of hooking up a webcam to my controller so that I can check in on my tank regularly while away. Would go a long way toward preventing horror stories like this.

 

[asudavew]

I use a DropCam when I'm away. You can turn them off and on as needed from any phone.
They are easy to set up.

They do use a lot of bandwidth if left running.
They are expensive.

But the last time I was out of town my skimmer needed to be emptied and I could tell by using my camera.
I could also tell that the person who emptied it also knocked the pump off, so bubbles were shooting everywhere.
With my Apex I was able to turn the skimmer off.
Not sure the camera saved my tank, but it sure didn't hurt knowing that the skimmer was full and that it wasn't working properly.

I was also able to direct the person on what to do by watching the camera.

 

[M Woodhill]

I use a DropCam when I'm away. You can turn them off and on as needed from any phone.
They are easy to set up.

They do use a lot of bandwidth if left running.
They are expensive.

But the last time I was out of town my skimmer needed to be emptied and I could tell by using my camera.
I could also tell that the person who emptied it also knocked the pump off, so bubbles were shooting everywhere.
With my Apex I was able to turn the skimmer off.
Not sure the camera saved my tank, but it sure didn't hurt knowing that the skimmer was full and that it wasn't working properly.

I was also able to direct the person on what to do by watching the camera.

i was too far away in Japan. because of the time difference, it was really hard for me to monitor :sad2::sad2::sad2:

 

[OrionN]

When I have someone looking out for my tank, I always show them exactly what I do, including how I put the Nori on the clip.
I always portion out the food, each day individually pack and the amout of frozen food portioned out for each day.
I would forgo adding any chemical manually. I marked the level of water should be clearly, and how much to add it needed.

Over feed disaster is the number on disaster for reefer on vacation.

 

[joshky]

Sorry for your loss, but it looks like you're getting back on your feet. :beer:

When I have someone looking out for my tank, I always show them exactly what I do, including how I put the Nori on the clip.
I always portion out the food, each day individually pack and the amout of frozen food portioned out for each day.
I would forgo adding any chemical manually. I marked the level of water should be clearly, and how much to add it needed.

Over feed disaster is the number on disaster for reefer on vacation.

Very good tips.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

So sorry to hear this.I am planning on a vacation this year,I will most likely have the Lfs owner to help out.

 

[garygb]

Any time I go on vacation I don't have anyone feed the tank. I think a couple of weeks with no food is not a problem. If top off water reservoirs need to be filled, that's something I would trust someone to do, but nothing going in the aquarium.

 

[BeanMachine]

When I have someone looking out for my tank, I always show them exactly what I do, including how I put the Nori on the clip.
I always portion out the food, each day individually pack and the amout of frozen food portioned out for each day.
I would forgo adding any chemical manually. I marked the level of water should be clearly, and how much to add it needed.

Over feed disaster is the number on disaster for reefer on vacation.

That's what I do as well. Normally I will feed pellets and flakes with frozen, but when I'm gone I individually bag the frozen in snack bags. I will hide any flake or pellets as a pinch to me can be different to someone else.

Sorry to hear about losing your babies, but you will bounce back. Nice new anemone its really pretty.

 

[DasCamel]

I would cry if my tank sitter dumped all that food in. Goodluck on the recovery.

 

[M Woodhill]

things are coming back slow but strong

the ritteri :0 finally settled on a rock. removed from the glass few times

from above throug the ripples haha

 

[hotelbravo]

Oh man. Ive had my bad luck with tank sitters in my short amount of time in this hobby. Im sorry for your loss and frustration. Hope you can fully recover and find a more reliable sitter for the future.

 

[arashsheikhpoor]

Glad the rit. Survived..i actually travel just over a month every year and am quite nervous when ever I do. I think the best thing is to have someone service your tank, that way you at least know things are ok. In the past my brother and parents have done it and always lose a few coral. This time however I will be paying for service once a week so that I know everything g else will be fine.. my brother will still do the feedings and fill the ato with water as well.