fishmon
New member
Just wanted to post on something that happened to my store display that could have been prevented. I had a pretty big coral bleaching in my display a few weeks ago and luckily only killed a few corals (2 I didn't like anyway) regardless. I noticed it starting but had been busy w/ so many other projects that I kinda overlooked it for a few days. Did a couple water changes over 2 days and checked all parameters, everything checked perfect. Looked at my chiller, temp was 76 everything seemed great except for the bleaching. I was working in another tank in the store, then I reached into my display and noticed it felt pretty warm for 76 so I put a digital thermometer and it read 87 despite what my chiller said, come to find out my chiller output that re enters my tank through a seaswirl which gets light hitting it from my halides had grown algae inside the clear tube running to it clogging its outflow so my chiller was right actually....it was 76 inside the chiller, just not in my tank, most all this coulda been prevented w/ a cheap extra thermometer, normally I have a controller running w/ a temp readout but it is kinda unhooked (long story in itself moral buy a AC3 not a reefkeeper for big lights) like I said most of this coulda been prevented because on top of the heat problem I came in one morning at 8:30am and my lights were on, the problem is my lights are set from 9am to 9pm. Turns out my timer for my lights went bad and they were on 24/7 for about 3-4weeks! I didn't notice it because I usually get here at 9-9:30 and leave at 8-8:30 so I don't see when they come on/go off. (They wouldn't have been on that crap timer if it wasn't for the controller crapping out on me too) So the moral of the story.....back up your equipment, especially on the heat/cool side. oh and my lights come on at 9:30 now too.
