My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics

Just got this nifty flush mount bezel for my Apex. Originally I had a 1st generation Neptune Aqua Conroller which served me very well for several years. I had an acrylic bezel made for it so it could be flush mounted. When I switched to my Apex a few years back, I had the display haning on the wall below my tank via a screw.

I recently came across a post here regarding an aluminum flush mount bezel for the Apex. It was designed to be mounted in a cabinet door which differed from my install as mine needed to be mounted into drywall and held in place by screws in the front as opposed to the retainer plate used for a cabinet door style mount. The manufacturer was nice enough to add some tapered holes so I could mount it as I needed to. None the less, the fit and finish is very nice and the price was right. If you are interested in one of these, I'd suggest checking it out HERE.

Here is a picture of it installed. Now I need to get my drywall guy here to texture the patch that was done to fill the void from my original aqua controller.

Here is the Apex display hanging above my flush mounted Aqua controller which has now been gone for a while.
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And my Apex which is now flush mounted in the bezel made by Lerusso Designs.
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h.cordero said:
Really great pictures and amazed they are from you're iphone. How old is that naso?
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Naso was not very old. Not exactly sure though. He disappeared in my tank recently which really came as a surprise as he was very healthy. Only thing I can think is that maybe he got stuck by the fox face. All my other tangs including the unicorn are happy and healthy.
 
This is a bad day... I'm F'n devastated. My 16 year old son was ditching a class and I found out and told him I was going to see his principle. He's on probation and a delinquent. An argument ensued and because I was threatening him with probation and the principle at school, he started threatening me. I bolted out of work arrived home to his standing on my ladder over the tank with a jug of bleach. I grabbed him and he dropped it. 1/2 gallon of bleach into the tank.

I panic, chicken without a head style for a phone and hoses. Call the police to deal with it so I don't have to punish him and get myself and get into trouble. I proceed to start changing water. Fire up the mixing pump in the shed and open the valves to pump mixed water straight into the tank. Grab a garden hose and get a siphon going out of the tank to the downstairs shower. Within minutes every fish is dying and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I'm tearing up as I write this. I call my buddy at the fish store a few blocks away to get me some big bottles of Amquel and NovAqua here stat. In the middle of all this, the police come. I've got to deal with my tank which they were VERY understanding about. His belligerent with them and gets cuffed within seconds. They were as shocked as I was and I was on the verge of hysterics trying to keep it together and do what I needed to in an effort to save my system.

Within 7 to 10 minutes of this going down, fish store shows up with big bottles of the NovAqua and Amquel and in it goes. All fish were pretty much dead at that point but I was racing to save the rest of the system. Within about 25 minutes from the bleach going in, I had changed about 120 gallons of water. Overflowed my sump on the floor. Thank god for my pond liner under my sump as that contained it. I'm gearing up to do another 100 gallon water change here shortly as it has been mixing. My RODI is making more fresh and I've got another 100 mixed and ready to go.

It's been a couple hours since this went down. The corals look like most if not all might make it. My two RBTA's seem to be hanging in there. My two coral bandits and my two cleaner shrimp seem to be a bit lost but still alive which I consider to be a good sign. Especially given the cleaner shrimp being alive. The water does not smell like bleach anymore and has not for a while. Protein skimmer is whacked out from the new water but pulling plenty of "weird" water out. Carbon reactor is going too.

PH is at 7.95 which is a good thing too as it still a safe number albeit a bit lower than normal. I think what ever damage was done is done and my water is safe again. I wish I had a chlorine test kit.. Might have to go hunt one down. None the less, I sick to my stomach. Fish I've had for years. Everything. Then again, I see my engineer goby is alive.

As for my son.. He will have some serious consequences as a result of this and they won't be mine. I'm not even sure he really meant to drop it in there but to stand over my tank with an open bottle of bleach. Damn straight he's going to be pulled away. Arggggh! I love my son but.. I'm speechless right now and really want to cry (more).
 
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All I can say is how sorry I am for your tank and having issues with your son.As a father of 5 and prior issues with 1 of my sons,my advice make him accountable for his actions.Never stop loving him but let him know there are consequences for all actions and they will be enforced.Good luck
 
Lights are coming on. All my coral seems to be OK. My tank is a tad bit cloudy. Not horrible but slight. My ORP is pretty low at 148. It's normally around 350 without ozone. I decided to turn my Ozone on this morning for the short term to see if it helps bring the ORP up.

I pulled my filter socks this morning to change them out. I noticed several live bristle worms and a couple snails in them which is good thing. At least I didn't loose all my inverts. My large bristle star is still alive as is at least one of my 2 coral bandit shrimp. I did end up loosing my 2 cleaner shrimp too. My engineer goby also made it.
 
Most devastating things I've read in a while....Sorry about your tank, but I wish you more luck with your son...Mine would be in a wheelchair and I would be in jail....Thank god I have a daughter..hehe
 
I'm sorry to hear about this scott. I've been following your build in silence for awhile and I'm sorry to hear about this unfortunate circumstance. I wish you the best and I hope you can clear things up with your son. Raising kids isn't easy especially when they get out of line, in my opinion he needs to be taught a valuable lesson and I hope you can get things straightened out with him. Best wishes Scott
 
I feel the same as siptang and everyone else. I've raised 8 kids (4b&4g) all are grown but the last 2 still in HS. I soooo get it! But there is hope. One of mine spent a few years behind bars over behavior like that, however he has become a good man, husband and father. Kids can be so awfully selfish to get what they want sometimes. You did the right thing. If you had not done what you did it would only have gotten worse. Now he knows not to mess with you OR the tank. I'm very happy that it's bouncing back :)
 
Thanks guys!! I just did some tests. My PH is around 8.2 now, no Ammonia and no Nitrates.
The water is still a bit hazy. ORP has dropped to 145 in spite of the fact that the Ozone is on. I suspect that may have to do with the water being cloudy and the fish that died behind or under rocks. Fortunately, there were only a handful of fish that I could not find to remove.

I just got back from the LFS and was really tempted to buy some new fish but I'm going to wait a week or so to let things stabilize. It breaks my heart to look at the tank and not see my fish. My eyes are tearing up as I type this. I only hope things continue to improve. While the corals and anemones are not fully open, nothing looks like it's dying or dissolving which I consider to be a good sign. Time will tell but I am optimistic that at the very least, I should be able to look back and say it could have been worse.

Frankly, I still don't know how I managed to save what I did in the face of the chaos and emotions. Things happened so quick and it's pretty much a blur to me. I've never felt so helpless. On the other hand, I'm glad I am always well prepared for the worst. Having 100 gallons of spare salt water and another 100 gallons of RODI along with cases of salt is priceless. Maybe I need to have some large bottle of Amquel and Novaqua on hand. While I have not used that stuff in 10 years or more, without my friends quick response in racing the big bottles over here, I think it would have been a complete loss.

As for my son, they called me today to tell me they were going to release him on house arrest with electronic monitoring until his court date. I said no way and that I would not take him which they understood. He is going to learn a tough lesson from this one because I can't trust him in my home anymore and I refuse to walk on egg anymore shells in my own house. They nailed him for felony vandalism. Personally, I think they should have thrown more at him but he has plenty of probation violations to go along with that.
 
slief said:
Thanks guys!! I just did some tests. My PH is around 8.2 now, no Ammonia and no Nitrates.
The water is still a bit hazy. ORP has dropped to 145 in spite of the fact that the Ozone is on. I suspect that may have to do with the water being cloudy and the fish that died behind or under rocks. Fortunately, there were only a handful of fish that I could not find to remove.

I just got back from the LFS and was really tempted to buy some new fish but I'm going to wait a week or so to let things stabilize. It breaks my heart to look at the tank and not see my fish. My eyes are tearing up as I type this. I only hope things continue to improve. While the corals and anemones are not fully open, nothing looks like it's dying or dissolving which I consider to be a good sign. Time will tell but I am optimistic that at the very least, I should be able to look back and say it could have been worse.

Frankly, I still don't know how I managed to save what I did in the face of the chaos and emotions. Things happened so quick and it's pretty much a blur to me. I've never felt so helpless. On the other hand, I'm glad I am always well prepared for the worst. Having 100 gallons of spare salt water and another 100 gallons of RODI along with cases of salt is priceless. Maybe I need to have some large bottle of Amquel and Novaqua on hand. While I have not used that stuff in 10 years or more, without my friends quick response in racing the big bottles over here, I think it would have been a complete loss.

As for my son, they called me today to tell me they were going to release him on house arrest with electronic monitoring until his court date. I said no way and that I would not take him which they understood. He is going to learn a tough lesson from this one because I can't trust him in my home anymore and I refuse to walk on egg anymore shells in my own house. They nailed him for felony vandalism. Personally, I think they should have thrown more at him but he has plenty of probation violations to go along with that.
Click to expand...

I know it's hard but do try to forgive him and take it easy on him. After all, he's your son and only 16. Try to go easy on him. Blood is thicker the salt water. No matter how much chlorine is infused with it.
 
Siptang said:
I know it's hard but do try to forgive him and take it easy on him. After all, he's your son and only 16. Try to go easy on him. Blood is thicker the salt water. No matter how much chlorine is infused with it.
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I hear ya and thanks for adding a bit of humor to that. You actually put a smile on my face which I needed. I will eventually forgive him but I won't forget. Trust however is a very difficult thing to repair when it's been broken so many times and until he grows up and learns to be accountable for his actions, I will not be able to trust him. My fish are dead because he was truant and I was going to have a conversation with his principle. His response to me before I raced home was and I quote him: "If I going down, I am going down with a Big Bang". Well he went down with a big bang all right and his life will be forever changed as a result.

For me, it wasn't until I was 18 that I actually became culpable for my actions and honest. I expect him to be similar in that regard and I can no longer put myself in a position to be hurt like that let alone be in a position to find myself in jail because I resorted to corporal punishment. This is very difficult for me as a parent but when your kid doesn't follow a single rule and thinks that everybody else is to blame for his actions, one has to draw the line someplace. My parents sent me to boarding school in Montana when I was 15 which was the best thing in the world for me. Unfortunately, I can't afford the $40,000 plus per year for him to do the same and really all it would do is protect him from himself at this stage of his delinquency. He just doesn't get the fact that what he is doing is wrong. He thinks everybody else including the laws are wrong which is a clear sign of his immaturity.
 
no worries buddy.

I'm glad that I was able to cheer you up a bit in this type of gloomy situation.
I completely get what you are saying. What I didn't want to see was father/son bond breaking that was all. :) Hang in there! Will be following along to see how things go.
 
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So sorry about the disaster, both with the tank and your son. As I visualized your son holding the beach over the tank, it screamed to me he wants your attention. (And he got it in a bad way).

What ever is going on, this tragic moment might be a blessing to save your son from a terrible future. Hope you guys can get some help and get back to a normal life.

Best of luck to you and your family...

Mark...
 
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