Tank disaster!!!

[Sunshine518]

So without going to much into my backstory, I'm new to the hobby and have a few months under my belt with SW and years of FW experience. I have 3 SW tanks - a 5, 10, and 29g which are currently set up and a 14, as well as a 33 which aren't.

Anyway, in the interest of saving time, here is an email sent to a close local guy who I've made a coral deal with recently. He seems like a decent dude and I'm sort of desperate for options.

"Jim!!!

I heard a squealing noise and then a pop...ran out into my living room and smoke was pouring from the top of my 29g tank with my mated clowns. It was the heater...must have leaked water on the element and boiled it and burned it and exploded. I aired it out thinking they'd be fine and that if I pick up a heater tomorrow they'd be okay until then. So I aired out the tank and let it be for 5 minutes.

I came back out and MY CLOWNS WERE CHOKING for breath. They were seconds from death. I rushed them into my 5g and figured all was lost since they seemed to be knocking on deaths door but they recovered quickly. Tough little bastards they are!

Now I'm kind of in a tough spot. I can't keep them there permanently but they should be fine over night. So tomorrow I'm going to stop and pick up a new heater(I want to buy a new one, the one I had was used.) and some premixed water.

Worst case scenario - could you baby sit them for a week? At least until I get the new water half way cycled? The female is 4-5in and the male is 3-4in long....

(ARGH. So frustrating! It was so close to being cycled and dosed and full of corals!!!)"

What the hell just happened!? And what should I do here? Is the tank safe to clean and use?

 

[Tripod1404]

So without going to much into my backstory, I'm new to the hobby and have a few months under my belt with SW and years of FW experience. I have 3 SW tanks - a 5, 10, and 29g which are currently set up and a 14, as well as a 33 which aren't.

Anyway, in the interest of saving time, here is an email sent to a close local guy who I've made a coral deal with recently. He seems like a decent dude and I'm sort of desperate for options.

"Jim!!!

I heard a squealing noise and then a pop...ran out into my living room and smoke was pouring from the top of my 29g tank with my mated clowns. It was the heater...must have leaked water on the element and boiled it and burned it and exploded. I aired it out thinking they'd be fine and that if I pick up a heater tomorrow they'd be okay until then. So I aired out the tank and let it be for 5 minutes.

I came back out and MY CLOWNS WERE CHOKING for breath. They were seconds from death. I rushed them into my 5g and figured all was lost since they seemed to be knocking on deaths door but they recovered quickly. Tough little bastards they are!

Now I'm kind of in a tough spot. I can't keep them there permanently but they should be fine over night. So tomorrow I'm going to stop and pick up a new heater(I want to buy a new one, the one I had was used.) and some premixed water.

Worst case scenario - could you baby sit them for a week? At least until I get the new water half way cycled? The female is 4-5in and the male is 3-4in long....

(ARGH. So frustrating! It was so close to being cycled and dosed and full of corals!!!)"

What the hell just happened!? And what should I do here? Is the tank safe to clean and use?

You are lucky you didnt blow up the tank. Heaters can explode and crack the glass. It probably leached metals to the water, it is probably why clowns got stressed. Any inverts you have there will probably be dead.

 

[thegrun]

I would not reuse any of the sand or rock in the tank, copper contamination is almost certain.

 

[top shelf]

I agree I wouldn't reuse anything due to contamination. Heaters are fairly cheap and a good reason now to install a used one. I would like to ask, if I understand your post correctly, why did you have fish in an uncycled tank?

 

[sde1500]

Lucky you were around to catch this when it happened. If the heater itself broke open, you likely have metals in the water that will contaminate the rocks and sand. I would replace it all.

Also, as top shelf points out, fish should not be added to a tank that isn't fully cycled.

 

[j.falk]

Have you recently changed the water? I ask because, when changing water, you need to unplug your heater 15 - 20 mins before the water change so the glass has time to cool down. If you don't and the hot glass hits cool air, then you run the risk of cracking the glass on the heater which can lead to the problem you just encountered.

 

[Rover88]

So without going to much into my backstory, I'm new to the hobby and have a few months under my belt with SW and years of FW experience. I have 3 SW tanks - a 5, 10, and 29g which are currently set up and a 14, as well as a 33 which aren't. WElcome to the hobby!

Anyway, in the interest of saving time, here is an email sent to a close local guy who I've made a coral deal with recently. He seems like a decent dude and I'm sort of desperate for options.

"Jim!!!

I heard a squealing noise and then a pop...ran out into my living room and smoke was pouring from the top of my 29g tank with my mated clowns. It was the heater...must have leaked water on the element and boiled it and burned it and exploded. I aired it out thinking they'd be fine and that if I pick up a heater tomorrow they'd be okay until then. So I aired out the tank and let it be for 5 minutes. While its not unsafe to leave a tank unheated overnight depending on your room temperature and such, a heater going off and exploding requires much more care.

I came back out and MY CLOWNS WERE CHOKING for breath. They were seconds from death. I rushed them into my 5g and figured all was lost since they seemed to be knocking on deaths door but they recovered quickly. Tough little bastards they are! That 'explosion' leaches into the water. Contaminants and the like are dangerous to all living things within the tank.

Now I'm kind of in a tough spot. I can't keep them there permanently but they should be fine over night. So tomorrow I'm going to stop and pick up a new heater(I want to buy a new one, the one I had was used.) and some premixed water. I recommend Eheim Jager heaters. I use 5 and only that brand across my tanks.

Worst case scenario - could you baby sit them for a week? At least until I get the new water half way cycled? Water does not cycle. A tank cycles. The actual things that do the magic of converting the bad ammonia into the less bad nitrite/nitrate lives within the sand and the rock, not the water column. The female is 4-5in and the male is 3-4in long....

(ARGH. So frustrating! It was so close to being cycled and dosed and full of corals!!!)" Why did you have a fish or corals in a tank not done cycling? ESPECIALLY corals. They tend to require more specific water parameters. Also, if your tank isn't cycled you shouldn't really be dosing. Don't fall into the trap of doing too much at once.

What the hell just happened!? And what should I do here? Is the tank safe to clean and use?

No, the tank is not safe and clean to use. As others have said there is a good chance stuff leached into the rock from the heater, especially if it was left with all the old water. If that were me it happened to I would have taken out anything alive and put it in a quarantine tank before pulling as much water out as possible and replacing it with freshly mixed salt water.

Obviously you may not have the room/space to do such a task. But I just want to say, go slow. Take your time. Good things happen to those with patience, and having 3 tanks on the go with 2 more planned in your first few months is ambitious.

 

[mcgyvr]

Just so you know.. You can setup a tank in one day and immediately put fish into it..
People do it all the time with quarantine tanks..
You just need to monitor it and change water as needed... Throwing a bit of rock or whatever from your other tank can also prevent any ammonia problems..

You can also pick up some "cured live rock" at the local fish store and have no cycle at all.. Thats how people are able to buy nemo and a tank and rock/water from the LFS and set it up that day..

 

[ImTacticool]

I will second all the opinions above. Better to be safe than sorry. I would not reuse anything.

 

[OrQidz]

Sorry to hear that happened. Adding to the advice, this is a good time to review your set up, safety wise. Salt water and electricity are a dangerous combo and people have actually burned their houses down by heaters exploding, cracking tanks, which pours onto a power strip, etc.

Fortunately, the damage was limited "only" to the tank - I know, it's bad but you could have had a leak and a fire as well. Hopefully you already have things plugged into GFCI outlet. Also make sure power strips are safe from water and that water can't run right down cords into outlets.

Anyway, be safe and have fun! Hope the clowns are doing ok. They are tough little fish.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Hopefully you already have things plugged into GFCI outlet.

This was the first thing I thought of that would have helped. If you had your hand in the tank at the time without a GFCI, you wouldn't be here to tell the story.

Lesson learned for sure. Good thing it was only 2 clowns and not a full on mature reef tank.

Don't let it persuade you, we all have these sort of things that happen, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger

 

[Vmazz]

Really clean the tank, I would get new sand and rocks. When you are ready to put the fish back in, put a test fish/invert in to see if it can survive. If it lives well for a week then you should be good. Don’t buy used stuff anymore and for heater make sure they are completely submerged accept for the very top or they will explode.

 

[Sunshine518]

Ah! Don't you just hate when you type up a 20 minute post and you get auto-logged out and lose it? I digress...

A bit late on the reply, but here goes nothing....

The cycling went as follows-
Week 1 - Set up tank with saltwater (1.025), sand, and live rock.

Week 2- Added 1 and only. Once a day for about an hour I would take out enough water to allow small amounts of air to pass through the return pump and create microbubbles. Probably not the best for the pump but it kept the water oxygenated - something I've found is needed when using 1 and only.

Half way through week 2/week 3- Found a guy selling a mated pair of clowns for 25$...I couldn't say no to a deal like that. So I added them and a few hardy corals to the tank.

Week 4-ish - Added 2 torch corals

A few days later the heater blew - mass evac, everything survived

The mated pair of clowns have been in my 10g cube for the majority of time since then. My baby juvenile that I had in my cube is now in my 5g since it wouldn't make sense to have it the other way around.

I've been doing 1/2 gallon water changes with nutra-sea since the incident in the 10g. The filter sock was filled with activated carbon. The return pump was swapped out with the one from my 29g(after cleaning of course) for a much needed bump up in the tank flow.

-The 29g biocube has since been cleaned and shut down-

The clowns are now perky and happy in the 10g, even though it is way to small for them. Today they got a 2g water change after I fed reef roids to my corals for the first time and muddied up my tank. The parameters are great for the most part...a little ammonia, barely reading on the chart - but that's to be expected. They'll have to hold tight for now until I can scrap up the cash for a 48" current pro/powerhead combo and a skimmer and set up my 33g long tank.

Thanks for the replies. They are much appreciated.

PS- I don't think bringing calcium up to 450 and dosing a little trace elements can ever be too soon, especially with live rock/coraline in the tank. Then again I'm just a noob, so I could be wrong.

-Sunny

 

[Sunshine518]

I would not reuse any of the sand or rock in the tank, copper contamination is almost certain.

I figured it was some sort of metal contaminant.

I agree I wouldn't reuse anything due to contamination. Heaters are fairly cheap and a good reason now to install a used one. I would like to ask, if I understand your post correctly, why did you have fish in an uncycled tank?

I presume you mean a new one?

The tank wasn't fresh out of the box. As I said in the OP, it was well on it's way to being fully cycled.

Have you recently changed the water? I ask because, when changing water, you need to unplug your heater 15 - 20 mins before the water change so the glass has time to cool down. If you don't and the hot glass hits cool air, then you run the risk of cracking the glass on the heater which can lead to the problem you just encountered.

I really appreciate the tip! I didn't know that.

No, the tank is not safe and clean to use. As others have said there is a good chance stuff leached into the rock from the heater, especially if it was left with all the old water. If that were me it happened to I would have taken out anything alive and put it in a quarantine tank before pulling as much water out as possible and replacing it with freshly mixed salt water.

Obviously you may not have the room/space to do such a task. But I just want to say, go slow. Take your time. Good things happen to those with patience, and having 3 tanks on the go with 2 more planned in your first few months is ambitious.

You misread my OP. I said safe to clean AND use, implying I'd clean it first. Either way, I'm a bit weary of setting it back up right now and I'm erring on the side of caution, even though I scrubbed it down really well.

Re Ambitious tank # - There are tons of people shutting down old tanks and most are in really good condition. This particular one is a 29G biocube which I bought for 100$. I bought another 14G biocube for 30$, as well as a nuvo fusion 10 for 100$. The only tank I purchased new was my fluval 5G, which I think cost around 100$ as well, heh.

Just so you know.. You can setup a tank in one day and immediately put fish into it..
People do it all the time with quarantine tanks..
You just need to monitor it and change water as needed... Throwing a bit of rock or whatever from your other tank can also prevent any ammonia problems..

You can also pick up some "cured live rock" at the local fish store and have no cycle at all.. Thats how people are able to buy nemo and a tank and rock/water from the LFS and set it up that day..

Finally a post that doesn't come off as a concerned neighbor ready to call CPS. (Poor analogy I know, but it's just the vibe I get from anyone who gasps at the thought of a tanks parameters being anything but perfect...) Live rock was added but I didn't feel the need to add that part since I was more concerned about what happened with the heater and how it would effect the tank.

 

[Sunshine518]

Here's a picture of the tank. (I know it's too small feel free to remind me though. )

 

[Sunshine518]

Direct upload

 

[sde1500]

Is that the tank now? Seems to have survived well, that is good. I don't think anyone here was being overly contentious. What do you mean by "œwell on the way to being cycled"? Some simply pointed out that a not fully cycled tank isn't a great habitat for fish. And we mean cycled as the ammonia cycle is finished, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and only nitrates left. Yes you can hold fish in uncycled tanks, most of us do it to QT. But we also tend to used water treatments that would inhibit your display tank from cycling fully.

 

[Cymonous]

I like how you say a little ammonia in the tank is ok. How about we fill your room with a little mustard gas? See how you feel.

You need to understand and fully read the proper ways on setting up and maintaining a saltwater tank. Adding fish to a tank still cycling is cruel and will shorten the life of your fish.

If you already had a smaller tank running or available when you wanted the clowns, they should have gone there first before going to a non-cycled tank.