I electrocuted my tank

Thanks for everybodys help. I just checked again and all my water parameters seem to be good:

Ph- 8.3
Calcium-460
temp- 78
no detectible nitrates, nitrites, amonia

I do not have a copper test kit and the only LFS around here sucks and does not carry much. Maybe I should overnight one. MH's just came on and some of the zoo's and palys opened up. also my acans are showing no stress. they were all open last night begging for food as usual. I sadly took some pics and I'll try to post tonight.
 
oh and when I say 1.5 watts thats the power of the led's..... they are .5 watts each and there are 3 of them. Thanks
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15409373#post15409373 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xtm
Merek,
I'm absolutely, positively sure that electricity has nothing to do with it. For SPS to RTN/strip off their flesh in a 24-hour time span, something drastic has to happen. I would test for Alkalinity first. Do you have a doser? Perhaps it malfunctioned? What is your temp like? Maybe one of your pumps seized up and released tar into the water? I highly doubt the tiny electricity from that LED harness killed your tank. You need to look elsewhere IMO.

good luck
Click to expand...

sps bleaching and RTN are totally different. I took it as the flesh bleaching....did the corals actually RTN or bleach?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15408963#post15408963 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by evsalty
If it is for moonlights then it was DC current and not AC so all it should do is stop working. Water completely stops DC current from being able to flow, well fresh water does anyway, perhaps salt is different but I would think it would still just stop any flow of current.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that Saltwater conducts electricity of either AC or DC :eek1:
 
Hey jbird. If bleaching means they loose color and turn brown, the they RTNed. they turned white.


Jim, I no longer have a alkalinity test kit. Used to but sold everything with my old set up to move. Ill call the lsf and see if my wife can grab one on the way home. I'll post when i find out. thanks Merek
 
I just called the LFS and no test kits for CH and none for copper but he can test my water there for $4 per test but he closes at 5:30 and I live 20 minutes from Durango. I'll be there in the morning.

I have a nano set up with nothing but live rock, snails, and copepods in it and the water parameters are the same. Should I transfer my sps(the ones i can) or would that just be additional stress. please give your opinion on this. thanks
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15410921#post15410921 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by merek123
Hey jbird. If bleaching means they loose color and turn brown, the they RTNed. they turned white.
Click to expand...

a coral with rtn loses its flesh (rapid tissue necrosis). Have your corals benn reduces to bare skeleton? Were any of them visibly losing their flesh? Are there pits in white skeleton where there used to be polyps on flesh?

While RTN does happen fast, I think you would have observed the shedding of flesh over a couple days.

If they simply bleached, there is definitly hope for them.
 
No they all looked perfect wednesday night. My father was in town and we spent over a hour studying the tank and I definately would have noticed. It definately has something to do with the cord off the LEDs falling off and landing in the water. I'M thinking towards the copper or zinc but how else do you remove heavy metals than with carbon? Thanks
 
I meant since the incident.... I doubt they would have rtn'd that fast without you seeing flesh coming off.
 
I hope there's hope for them. theres a couple of LE's. I was up most of the night and home till one and never saw shedding of flesh. Plus they are still trying to push polyps out. Should I transfer them to the nano?
 
I would vote for a big water change, skim wet and run carbon. I would also treat your sps like new frags and re acclimate them to your lighting. I believe a bleached, vulnerable coral can be very sensitive to light. I would do this by shortenning your photoperiod and gradually increasing it over 10-14 days.

Also, observe your corals at night with a flashlight, se if they are extending polyps, this could be a sign that they may make it.
 
jbird, the best advise I've heard yet. I have already opened the ev 180 air valve fully, carbon's now running, and when the MH's came on today, when I got home the polyps that were trying to come out receded. I turned the MH's off and they are trying to come back out. I will do a 75% change tonight. Thanks for your support. Merek
 
merek123

I cant guarantee anything...this IS reefkeeping LOL.

I may be too late on this but 75% is BIGBIGBIG! One thing corals hate more than anything is sudden DRASTIC change. A big water change IMO is like 40-50% Make sure the sg and temperature are a perfect match to what your livestock is used to.
 
Your not too late. I'm planning on pumping out as I pump in. We will see if there are improvements come morning. Any word on transfering to the nano?
 
Hope all turn out well for you. I know the felling when things get out of wack fast and all your babies in the tank are hurting and you can't fix it fast enough.
 
Having SPS corals and no alkalinity test kit is asking for trouble. Get a good one asap.

I have had something like this happen to me. One of my Tunze streams was messed up so I disconnected it so I could send it in to Roger. The Midi Plug that connects to the multi controller fell into the sump without me knowing. I was standing next to the tank putting the stream into the box and I litterally saw the polyps all retract and the color drain out of the SPS within 2 minutes. I went over to look at the sump and the cord was sparking on top of the water and the plugs on the inside melted.

I hope you get it all figured out. Get some test kits and some poly filters. Poly filters will turn certain colors depending on what they are pulling out of the tank. I believe they turn blue when pulling out copper.
 
update: There may be hope

update: There may be hope

Well, I thought I'd update: Yesterday I went on a mission to my LFS first, but as I said they have nothing. So then I got on the road and drove 2hrs each way to farmington NM. They dont have a LFS but do have a Petco. I was able to aquire nova aqua and bio Zorb but they didnt have any quality test kits. I placed an order overnighted from DF&S for poly pads, salifert test kits for copper and alkalinity, rid metals, chemi pure elite, etc.

A 50% water change was done and lighting cut back.

Update: (As of late last night) The Acans are still perfect. My Lava Flow Chalice was out and eating well as was the Dendro. My fish are all still well. The heteractis anemone looks much better if not perfect. All zooanthids and palys are out and seem to be happy. My SPS are still looking terrible, but are showing polyp extention. All copepods, amphipods, starfish, snails, crabs, and shrimp are well. Thanks for everybody's help. I'll keep you posted when the test kits arrive. Merek
 
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