PLEASE help with tank disaster!!!!!!!!!

[Naperville Reef]

I went to Scottsdale for a long weekend. My in-laws stayed home with my kids and had no responsibility for my tank with one exception. Keep my 16 month old son out of my office where the tank is located.

Well...... i came home last night and after spending some time with my kids i decided to check out the tank. the tank was 2/3 full and the temp was 70d. after trying to figure out what went wrong i realized the power center was turned off and a sippy cup was sitting next to it. :mad2:

the return pump, a circulating pump, skimmer, lights and heater were turned off for 2 days. fortunately i had a pump in the tank and it is set at an angle. when the water level dropped the pump shot water above the water level and provided O2.

last night i wasn't sure what to do with my SPS. 3 of them (green slimer, blue tort and purple digi) were sticking out of the water. i decided to leave everything alone and nothing much has changed this morning. the parts of the SPS sticking out of the water are dead but the rest of those SPS are alive. will this cause RTN or STN? should i frag off the dead parts or leave it alone and allow the SPS to grow back?

all my zoas, fish and RBTA are still alive and look well. besides multiple water changes what else should i do?

thanks for the help/advice....

rob

 

[Pufferpunk]

Why did you just leave it alone? Did you start mixing salt for it? Did you do any water testing?

 

[Naperville Reef]

i was refering to the SPS when i said i left everything alone. once i realized the problem i got the tank up and running again. i started to mix salt last night and will do some water changes today. i am not going to bother with testing the water b/c of the upcoming water changes.

 

[Sk8r]

I had a digi fall on a small blue staghorn---which bleached white in one arm. Every day since, pale blue is creeping up the bleached arm, and algae seems to be held at bay. So far I've gained back 1/3 inch up that branch and recovery is still proceeding. It's very slow, but give it a little time and give it what it needs to build new skin. Much the same story with the stylophora caught in the accident: it's healing.

Hint: get a bathroom lock for that door, lock it from the inside and pull it to, and put the key somewhere nobody but you knows. [on the molding above the door is a good spot, so if there is a crisis that has to be seen to, you can easily describe to parents where the key is.]

 

[pk1]

Stroke of luck with that power head keeping the tank oxygenated! I'd say leave the SPS alone for now, IMO, if they where so stressed out by the outage they would have died already. After they have had a few days to recover then decide if you want to trim the dead part or let it encrust over it, like Sk8tr said. I just bought a deadbolt on the door leading to my fish room for this exact reason, easy for me though since it's an in wall.

 

[Soggy Pockets]

if the purple digi or green slimer doesn't make it, I can frag a piece off and give to you.

good luck and let me know if you need anything.

bill.

 

[jmcmahon66]

I would cut off the dead upper branches of the SPS. While tissue may regrow under optimal conditions, your tank is probably going to be slightly stressed at least in the short term. In addition, my SPS have made multiple branches at sites that have been cut/fragged, so the end result is even better. Good luck with you tank and I have tons of those corals if one doesn't make it. I would be happy to set you up with some.

 

[hansnfrans]

1. Get new in-laws

2. I'd run carbon on the system in addition to the water changes

3. Watch the SPS closely to see if the bleached parts develop algae on them. As soon as the start to develop algae (usually a dull green algae) then I would frag off the bleached parts slightly below the bleached part into the healthy tissue.

Sounds to me like your kid messed with the powerstrip. Glad to hear that a few pieces of coral were the only casualties in this situation. Definately get a lock on that door corals can be replaced, kids can't. Good Luck and please keep us posted.

 

[Evolley1]

If you need any replacement frags let me know.

 

[Rod Buehler]

I agree taht you should frag anything that doesnt have living tissue. It would take longer for it to "re-encrust" with new tissue that it would to grow a new branch.

 

[Naperville Reef]

thanks for all the advice and help. i truely appreciate it. the corals that were bleached seemed to have made it and did not bleach any further with the exception of one acro that is dead. the tank looks a little funny because everything in the top 1/3 of the tank is white.

i decided to frag off the dead portions of the SPS, hopefully everything will fully recover from this.

for those suggesting a lock, i actually have one but did not lock it because my son is too small to open the door and my daughter knows better. my mother-in-law opened the door and, well, you know the rest of the story. i don't blame her, in fact i did not even tell her what happened. but next time the door will be locked......

all things considered i do feel very fortunate that my tank was not completely wiped out. i am amazed that it wasn't considering what happened.