Why did your "tank" crash?

[Paul B]

This hobby was started back in the seventees and there were thousands of tanks started then. Very few of them are left and I think it would be interesting to find out why people had problems, why they crashed, what died, for what reason.
I don't mean that your orange spotted filefish died, I mean why did the entire tank crash.
What type of filtration were you using? What substrait? What were you feeding? What was Paris Hilton's dog wearing?
How long did it run before it crashed? Did you use all ASW?
Did it get a disease like ich or was it a mechanical issue?
Inquiring minds want to know. :smokin:

 

[mg426]

I had a couple tanks in the early eighties. UG filter Dolomite (I seem to recall) as the substrate. No skimming, no water changes, no knowledge of the nitrogen cycle. Dead coral skeletons as decoration. It was a 55 gallon lighted by Two 40 watt flourescent shop light bulbs. I think I kept an anemone alive for 6 months. Its a bit hard to remember.Cant really say that the tank suddenly and totally crashed, more of a(it just wore me down) kind of a thing. Always cleaning the Decorations scraping algae, Was quite the chore.

 

[reefworm]

I blame the crushed coral substrate and an inadequate cleanup crew. Crushed coral is made up of large, sharp-edged pieces, which discourages much benthic life, and so become a massive detritus trap with all the cup-shaped pieces. Did fine for 2 years or so, but once the nitrates began showing up things went downhill quickly. New system has sand [the Southdown that HD used to sell] and a sizeable population of snails - cerith varieties, nassariuss and also limpets and chiton. No crabs - except for one elusive hitchhiker - that I know about

 

[GSMguy]

Around a year Ago My tank "crashed"(only the sps died) because Of nutrient limitation, I went from an undersized skimmer and canister filter(nitrate factory) to an oversized skimmer and zeovit system it made my tank so sterile that my SPS never recovered and one after another they RTN'd on me. My nutrient levels will never get that low again even if I have to dose aminos and other wacky stuff to make sure of it.

 

[SeanT]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13962573#post13962573 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
it made my tank so sterile that my SPS never recovered and one after another they RTN'd on me.

That's a bold statement. :smokin:

 

[PUGroyale]

...Cuz some idiots convinced me to go BB :uzi:

Ah, just kidding... although I never was happy with the BB setup.

My major crash... Poorly set up system, deep CC substrate, no skimmer then upgraded :lol: to a terrible skimmer, lousy flow... all = ticking time bomb

 

[PoukieBear]

My 30g eclips system crashed after a power outage.

I had no filtration other than the origional hood. No backup power, no backup airstone.

The tank had no power to it for 12 hours. It killed everything.

 

[64Ivy]

After running for nearly 11 years without a major problem, my 500g barebottom reeftank suffered a major crash due to light, or more correctly, PAR shock. I have no scientific evidence to back this up but about 6 weeks after I upgraded my lighting system, I noticed a few of my SPS (specifically my uppermost acros and my Seriatopora) lightening then bleaching out completely. Once the necrotic tissue spread throughout the tank, the damage was done and over the next few weeks, every single colony, many of which I'd maintained for years, pretty much just melted before my eyes.

For this reason, I tend to go against conventional wisdom and maintain that the 'older' or more mature a reeftank is, the LESS tolerant it is to change.

 

[RyanMcLaughlin]

My tank crashed while i was on vacation because a check valve failed and drained half of my tank.

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

uh....no crash yet! Two months and going strong! lol

 

[reefergeorge]

A guy at my work tried telling me that if you are in the hobby long enough, you will have your tank crash. I hope to prove him wrong.
He refuses to use any of the new gadgets, has a cc dsb, undersized skimmer, and IMO not enough flow. In that situation you are set up to fail. He has lost his entire 200 twice.

 

[downhillbiker]

auto top off stuck and ph rose to 9.3, and i caught it shortly after. i decided to hook CO2 tank to skimmer for a couple minutes hoping it would drop below 9.0 and then drop it slowly from there, but pH dropped to 6.3 in a matter of 3 minutes. most of the stuff lived including all fish and inverts, all LPS, all zoas, all softies, and 90% of the SPS, but i did lose a couple of my favorite SPS.

 

[downhillbiker]

sorry, didn't see the original specification of total tank crash experience. either way this may be good info for someone to know to help prevent a similar crash.

 

[woodiecrafts]

My first tank was a 55 gal fish only with I beleive 2 whole live rocks in 1990 (I did have a green brittle star and a purple lobster). Crushed coral and a UG filter like alot of others. Had no idea what a skimmer was back then and ran a Triton and Blue moon bulb light. I had a Hippo as well as a Yellow Tang, a Mandarin, Coral Beauty, a Valentini Puffer and a Dog Face Puffer (goes to show how little I knew then, but hey, they all looked good.

Then the LFS got in a Sea Apple and just jumped at the opportunity in selling it to the fool that always came in on payday, so I got him cause he looked cool. I don't guess I have to say what happened in about a month. The apple went south and took the tank with it. I do beleive I have learned a little bit since then...LOL

 

[psteeleb]

I guess this would be considered a crash. I lost all but my moray eel do to poisoning brought on by my lion fish attacking my grouper. It's a post I made in the reefkeeping mag a couple months ago.


I'll try and make this short - Feeding an aggressive tank; Lionfish zeros in on a kill; Moray eel steals Lion's prey; Lion is not happy and turns to attack; stabs innocent Miniatus grouper with dorsal spines; Miniatus dead in 3 seconds. Wake up the next morning; half of the tank is dead; do a water change and carbon change; go to work. Come home from work; all fish dead except the Moray eel who started it all. Stupid Lion (or smart Moray who has the entire tank to himself now)!

that was in 1977 or 78. the tank had a UG filter with dolomite as a sand bed. I also ran carbon 24/7.

 

[Paul B]

Well we do have a diverse thread as to why tanks crashed.
I am surprised no one said the heater stuck on.
Power outages are always a problem especially if you are out of town.
Also, no one's tank cracked and leaked out all the water.

 

[agreeive?fish]

NO CHOICE Fast tank tear down/move from house to house in freezing /icy weather then fast setup.. STUPIDITY ON MY PART