My heater cracked, but I was paying attention and caught it when it was only up to 85. Didn't lose anything (although EVERYTHING was ****ed, hence why I checked the temp in the first place) but when i stuck my hand in... got electrocuted and shot across the room. FYI, unplug first.
Tank Crash Causes
- Thread starter bassking16
- Start date
lucidheights
NYRC member
skimmer overflowing is a pain! thankfully the ATO has a feature that shuts the pump if its on for more than 3 minutes. since the pump i'm using is rated at 30 gal an hour i dont have to worry about adding too much fresh water.
Fizz71
FragSwapper
Actually it happened to me ONCE..kind of. I was re-acclimating my fish to a new tank (took down a 75g, put up a new 75g with rock from two systems combined). I made the mistake of storing fish and an anemones in the same tub. The anemone stressed and I watched my fish die in front of my eyes. I'll never do that again.
Also made the newbie mistake of owning a sea apple that got sucked into a powerhead and wiped out a lot. Lost A/C and the MHs burned a tank out (on two different setups). Left an RO topoff on and flooded the tank (and my capret) although surpisingly there was very little death there.
After about 20 years in this hobby I've learned a lot of "hard lessons".
superfirefly
New member
I had two stealth heaters break open in the tank within two months. You think I would have learned a lesson after the first one. I lost all but two fish, my BTA's and a few zoa's. The upside was it knocked out my vermatid problem. I still have a few left but they were 95% knocked out. What is left I am manually removing.
steevareno2002
New member
Were these the stealth heaters with the black plastic tube or glass?
JeF4y
El Conquistidor
I read a lot of crashes immediately following the OP blindly following advice they read on forums or are given by LFS without doing any additional research.
People trying to do things too quickly is a big contributor as well.
Don't add anything to your tank without knowing exactly what it is, how it will interact with everything you have and WANT in your tank, and how to care for it. Sure, that Cuke may eat some algae, but do you understand the risk of it nuking your tank? Etc...
Bottom line, blindly trust no one. Do your own research (and lots of it) from multiple sources. And don't expect anything to happen fast except for a crash...
People trying to do things too quickly is a big contributor as well.
Don't add anything to your tank without knowing exactly what it is, how it will interact with everything you have and WANT in your tank, and how to care for it. Sure, that Cuke may eat some algae, but do you understand the risk of it nuking your tank? Etc...
Bottom line, blindly trust no one. Do your own research (and lots of it) from multiple sources. And don't expect anything to happen fast except for a crash...
superfirefly
New member
They were the black plastic. On one the side blew out the other the top popped off.
ScooterMom
New member
Unexplained tank crash
Unexplained tank crash
I am devastated.
This morning I found everything dead in my tank, (with a few exceptions). Everything was fine last night at midnight. I lost three seahorses, one high fin goby and my cleaner shrimp. Also, there were a few dead worms in the tank (they looked like small earthworms) that I didn't even know were there, and many tiny thin white worms (never seen them before either) stuck on the glass.
The hermits crabs and tube worms survived, also my watchman goby is still hanging in there. I am not sure about the corals yet, they have shriveled up and I can't tell.
All the parameters are fine- no ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite, the pH (8.3) and temperature were good. The filter was working.
BUT I had just come home from vacation and the tank was pretty dirty when I got home. I cleaned everything out and changed about 30% of the water. I used saltwater that I had made up before I left.
I am at a loss to explain what happened. Does anyone have any ideas?
Unexplained tank crash
I am devastated.
This morning I found everything dead in my tank, (with a few exceptions). Everything was fine last night at midnight. I lost three seahorses, one high fin goby and my cleaner shrimp. Also, there were a few dead worms in the tank (they looked like small earthworms) that I didn't even know were there, and many tiny thin white worms (never seen them before either) stuck on the glass.
The hermits crabs and tube worms survived, also my watchman goby is still hanging in there. I am not sure about the corals yet, they have shriveled up and I can't tell.
All the parameters are fine- no ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite, the pH (8.3) and temperature were good. The filter was working.
BUT I had just come home from vacation and the tank was pretty dirty when I got home. I cleaned everything out and changed about 30% of the water. I used saltwater that I had made up before I left.
I am at a loss to explain what happened. Does anyone have any ideas?
Mavrk
New member
The biggest ones I usually read about are heaters sticking on, and disease from lack of QT.
One person said they had washed their hands in anti-bacterial soap before putting their hand in the tank. The soap killed the beneficial bacteria and caused a cycle. Many deaths, but not a full crash. I don't know if that was the true reason.
One person said they had washed their hands in anti-bacterial soap before putting their hand in the tank. The soap killed the beneficial bacteria and caused a cycle. Many deaths, but not a full crash. I don't know if that was the true reason.
onegreenray
Active member
My tank crash was due to a large clam spawning in the tank while out at a movie. in turn fouling the water and setting my sps to bleach and continue to foul the water. love coming home to the smell of low tide in the living room. first time in 8 years has this happened.
