Urgent Help Requested!
- Thread starter jtarmitage
- Start date
jtarmitage
Active member
Thanks Jeff, this has turned out to be a pretty crappy week.
BTW, when is the next meeting?
BTW, when is the next meeting?
Marc Daniels
Premium Member
Jeremy, I know exactly how you feel. 7-8 months ago I lost 80-90% of everything in my 300g due to "operator error" that pushed my pH to 12.3 for about 90 minutes. It took me until just recently to even get the heart to start the rebuilding process. What I found interesting was some stuff didn't even care, and of the fish loss I only lost 4, and 3 were of the same species.
It wasn't the money value lost that got to me, it was the lost time...some of the stuff I lost I have had for years, got as little 1" frags, etc. So my heart goes out to you and even though I don't have much to offer, you're welcome to frags of what I do have to offer.
It wasn't the money value lost that got to me, it was the lost time...some of the stuff I lost I have had for years, got as little 1" frags, etc. So my heart goes out to you and even though I don't have much to offer, you're welcome to frags of what I do have to offer.
jtarmitage
Active member
Thanks Marc, I really appreciate the offer. I love the fact that the members of this club, or even just the local non MARS members are so willing to help each other out. I think it's pretty safe to say that the only reason that I remained in this hobby is because I found a group like MARS. Thanks everybody for your generosity and support.
jtarmitage
Active member
Well, time for an update. Again, thanks to all those that have offered their help, condolences, and replacement frags to lessen the pain. I really appreciate it. I can't imagine how I stayed in this hobby for so long without the encouragement and support of other reefers.
On to the update:
Both the sinularia and nepthea are official DOA, as are 120 other frags that I pulled out, and 3 clowns. I've got another 15-20 frags that are basically dead, but have at least a tiny shread of tissue left on them, and at this point, I will give them time to see if they can hang on(I now have lots of room in what used to be a crowded system, so why not). I've got another 8-10 that seem OK and should make a full recovery.
Also, it looks like most, if not all, of my zoos will pull through. Nearly all of them were open and appeared normal.
The last WC that I did was on Saturday, another 40g, and as of today everything is inline where it should be. Rather curious that I did not get much of an amm. or nitrite spike, but I guess I curtailed that with the massive water changes starting less than 24 hrs after the earliest time the GFCI could have tripped. I'm checking levels daily for now while holding off on the water changes to see how stable the system is. If anything gets out of whack, I'll do another WC and put off adding frags a little longer.
On another note, has everyone tested their Reef Crystals? I did an alk test that I'm sure was bogus(will try again tomorrow), and my CA test showed 350!
On to the update:
Both the sinularia and nepthea are official DOA, as are 120 other frags that I pulled out, and 3 clowns. I've got another 15-20 frags that are basically dead, but have at least a tiny shread of tissue left on them, and at this point, I will give them time to see if they can hang on(I now have lots of room in what used to be a crowded system, so why not). I've got another 8-10 that seem OK and should make a full recovery.
Also, it looks like most, if not all, of my zoos will pull through. Nearly all of them were open and appeared normal.
The last WC that I did was on Saturday, another 40g, and as of today everything is inline where it should be. Rather curious that I did not get much of an amm. or nitrite spike, but I guess I curtailed that with the massive water changes starting less than 24 hrs after the earliest time the GFCI could have tripped. I'm checking levels daily for now while holding off on the water changes to see how stable the system is. If anything gets out of whack, I'll do another WC and put off adding frags a little longer.
On another note, has everyone tested their Reef Crystals? I did an alk test that I'm sure was bogus(will try again tomorrow), and my CA test showed 350!
jtarmitage
Active member
Just bought 2 boxes from YR, so it depends on how long they've had it.
jtarmitage
Active member
Just a brief update: Water parameters are holding and I haven't done a water change in over a week, so things appear to be back on track. I will be taking a water sample over to YR on Monday just to verify that my tests have been accurate.
Thanks again to everyone. I now have more than 120g RO/DI water on hand at all times, as well as 40g of mixed SW. The Icecap battery backup and cables finally came back from the shop, so I have those attached to the Vortechs, as well as another elec line run to an additional heater, just in case the main line trips again. So, lessons learned, time to move on.
Thanks again to everyone. I now have more than 120g RO/DI water on hand at all times, as well as 40g of mixed SW. The Icecap battery backup and cables finally came back from the shop, so I have those attached to the Vortechs, as well as another elec line run to an additional heater, just in case the main line trips again. So, lessons learned, time to move on.
jtarmitage
Active member
Another update: The GFCI tripped a couple of times last week, which didn't cause too much of a problem as I finally got my battery backups and cables back from Icecap. Decided it was time to replace the GFCI. Once done, all was good for a day and a half. Then, the new GFCI started tripping. I had already swapped out most of the previous equipment, so there were very few possible candidates causing the problem.
I started by shutting everything off, and then turning them on one at a time until the GFCI tripped. The only problem with this was that it was not tripping immediately. A grounding probe helped to isolate the culprit. The abuabee pump on my H&S skimmer! Leaving that off, the system runs perfectly. Turn it on and the GFCI trips within minutes. After a post on the FinsReef forum, I'll be sending the pump in for service. Hopefully I will not need to purchase a new pump, but it's quite possible.
In the meantime, I decided to break out the BK 200 deluxe that I've been sitting on waiting for my 250g to be set up. I guess I don't need to worry about not having a skimmer for a couple of weeks while the aquabee gets fixed/replaced.
Other than that, the water parameters are back to normal and what's left of the original corals, as well as the new ones, are all doing very well.
All I can say is "I'd rather not do that again!!!!" Thanks everyone for the support.
I started by shutting everything off, and then turning them on one at a time until the GFCI tripped. The only problem with this was that it was not tripping immediately. A grounding probe helped to isolate the culprit. The abuabee pump on my H&S skimmer! Leaving that off, the system runs perfectly. Turn it on and the GFCI trips within minutes. After a post on the FinsReef forum, I'll be sending the pump in for service. Hopefully I will not need to purchase a new pump, but it's quite possible.
In the meantime, I decided to break out the BK 200 deluxe that I've been sitting on waiting for my 250g to be set up. I guess I don't need to worry about not having a skimmer for a couple of weeks while the aquabee gets fixed/replaced.
Other than that, the water parameters are back to normal and what's left of the original corals, as well as the new ones, are all doing very well.
All I can say is "I'd rather not do that again!!!!" Thanks everyone for the support.
northbay-reefer
New member
Jeremy, sorry about your loss man, when your system is back I'll hook you up. btw, did you run carbon during this whole problem ? and did you either add another skimmer ? or increase your skimmer output ?
What i've found that when problem like this occur their's tons of ammonia in the system and one of the way to get rid of it fast is by adding additional skimmer, water changes(which you did), run Ozone if you can get a hold of it and then run carbon to help clean up some of the chemical that was released when the corals die.
What i've found that when problem like this occur their's tons of ammonia in the system and one of the way to get rid of it fast is by adding additional skimmer, water changes(which you did), run Ozone if you can get a hold of it and then run carbon to help clean up some of the chemical that was released when the corals die.
jtarmitage
Active member
Tom- I didn't run an additional skimmer, just the H&S, which was running full boare and was just replaced by the BK as I had to send the pump in for service.
I ran 2 phosban reactors and a filter sock full of carbon, as well as major water changes. Not sure how ozone would work, as it is used to kill things in the water, and ammonia can't be killed.
Steve- No problem. I completely understand, and I was busy this week anyhow. I do still want to look into adding an outlet on a different circuit when you get some time. I'll be out tomorrow and Saturday, but from Sunday on looks wide open. So, whenever you have time and want to come on over just let me know.
I ran 2 phosban reactors and a filter sock full of carbon, as well as major water changes. Not sure how ozone would work, as it is used to kill things in the water, and ammonia can't be killed.
Steve- No problem. I completely understand, and I was busy this week anyhow. I do still want to look into adding an outlet on a different circuit when you get some time. I'll be out tomorrow and Saturday, but from Sunday on looks wide open. So, whenever you have time and want to come on over just let me know.
