BRS members Reefing catastrophes
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My worse crash was probably around 12 years ago a year or two after I first started reefing. I was reaquascaping and used a bunch of DD epoxy stick to glue rocks in a 15g tank. It ended up turning the water cloudy, crashed the tank, and killed most of my coral. Maybe there was more to the crash than the putty, but ever since, I only use putty in small quantities at a time.
MikeG
Non-member
Last Crash for me was about two years ago. 80 Gallon Deep Blue set up as Peninsula. I had some automation on this tank using a reef Keeper for a controller and was dosing the tank primarily through a calcium reactor. After doing a refil on the calcium reactor, I must not have seated the rubber seal for the top very well. My reactor was sitting in my sump in the basement and eventually the top cap started leaking so instead of a drip into my tank from the effluent there was a small stream of overflowing water coming from the reactor so it just kept dumping CO2 in to try to maintain my set point. By the time I noticed my corals looking off, my alkalinity had gone from 8 to about 20dkh, no clue for how long. This was about a week after the reactor maintenance. This was a sps only tank and most things dies within the next couple days. Limped along for a bit and then eventually decided to use the opportunity to upgrade and completely re design the system.
Best the tank was looking right before it crashed
Best the tank was looking right before it crashed
thrillreefer
Well-Known Member
So sad. I must have seen it right before the crash when I came to pick up a few frags. Tank was fire!! But now you got that monster fired up so I guess could be worse outcome
MikeG
Non-member
Yeah just hard starting all over. One thing I have done with all my tanks that maybe this is worth sharing as I am curious of other opinions. I always spread my coral around to a few member with this type of situation in mind. HopingnI can get most things back without having to buy all new coral. This has never really planned out and in most cases this people either also had a crash or are no longer in the hobby.
So how many people spread their coral around among other hobo eats with the understanding that you can get frags if you lose yours?
BiGGiePauls33
Current BRS President
I try to do it with a couple members as well.
MikeG
Non-member
So I guess my question is have you ever needed to come back and try to get stuff after a crash and ever had any luck doing so? Wondering if I should try to do that again as so far it hasn’t really ever helped me out. Have about 130 different acros in the current tank and with stuff starting to take off, I will be making that decision again soon
Duds
Formerly Known as SrDudley25
I did this with one coral back in the day as I had a feeling I would be back. I was a teenager when I was last in the hobby and my favorite was a tyree pink watermelon chalice. Unfortunately it did not work out when reaching back out for a potential frag, but to be honest I would still try again if I had to sell everything or to try to keep the colony alive sort of speak. But like you said maybe they will have a crash or get out of the hobby in the mean time always worth a shot in my eyes.
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BiGGiePauls33
Current BRS President
It's definitely worked out in the past. I'm just about a year in since I spiked my salinity and wiped out any SPS that I may have wanted to bank in other's tanks. I do have a few good friends here that we swap stuff on the regular.
MikeG
Non-member
Maybe Ill give it another shot. I definitely have some stuff that I dont want to lose like my RR Rainbow splice...
FishieBusiness
Well-Known Member
OK so the first 1 was the same old "I went on vacation". We went away to Mexico for our Honeymoon. The BEST VACATION EVA!!!!!! 3 different snorkel tours 3 different reefs EPIC dives. We saw a purple tip condi nem the size of a manhole cover and a huge garden of long spiked sea urchins.
My brother-in-law was watching the house while we were gone. He had a party believe it or not!!! After several complaint calls from the neighbors we called the Police.
We came home to a trashed house. It smelled like dead fish and the bottom of a recycling bin. Cigarettes stomped out on the floors. Empty containers of all types alcohol.
The tank was a 4 year old well established mixed reef. Entire system crashed. The tank water was completely white. Empty beer cans and a bottle of Jayger floating in the tank.
3 years a ago I started a new 90gal mixed reef tank. getting into more lps and sps corals. I got into dosing for Cal. Alk. and Mag. with ESV and using the reef calculator for adjustment. Shooting for 8.6 for Alk. and 420 for Cal. I didn't test Mag. at the time as I didn't think was necessary. Learned better and started testing for Mag. It was in the low 1300s and was looking for low 1400s. So went to the reef calculator and got my dosing requires. It did say to only do a third of the required dose at a time. However the required amount was roughly 3 cups. Not knowing any better I added 1 cup of the Mag, it is 1/3 of required amount right should be fine. It began to snow in the tank almost instantly as I poured in the dose. Did a 25% water right away. Didn't make a difference. Over the next several hours to a 1.5days I watched the flesh of all corals just melt away to bleached out skeletons.
Living is learning.
h
My brother-in-law was watching the house while we were gone. He had a party believe it or not!!! After several complaint calls from the neighbors we called the Police.
We came home to a trashed house. It smelled like dead fish and the bottom of a recycling bin. Cigarettes stomped out on the floors. Empty containers of all types alcohol.
The tank was a 4 year old well established mixed reef. Entire system crashed. The tank water was completely white. Empty beer cans and a bottle of Jayger floating in the tank.
3 years a ago I started a new 90gal mixed reef tank. getting into more lps and sps corals. I got into dosing for Cal. Alk. and Mag. with ESV and using the reef calculator for adjustment. Shooting for 8.6 for Alk. and 420 for Cal. I didn't test Mag. at the time as I didn't think was necessary. Learned better and started testing for Mag. It was in the low 1300s and was looking for low 1400s. So went to the reef calculator and got my dosing requires. It did say to only do a third of the required dose at a time. However the required amount was roughly 3 cups. Not knowing any better I added 1 cup of the Mag, it is 1/3 of required amount right should be fine. It began to snow in the tank almost instantly as I poured in the dose. Did a 25% water right away. Didn't make a difference. Over the next several hours to a 1.5days I watched the flesh of all corals just melt away to bleached out skeletons.
Living is learning.
h
BiGGiePauls33
Current BRS President
jazzsam
Well-Known Member
Same as everyone else........... "I went on vacation". I had a friend watching a 210 with VERY established fish and corals. I got the tank and livestock from a guy that had them many years and got them from someone else that had it many years. I have never seen fish this large other than public aquariums!
On the way back driving from NYC, I get a call from my friend. "Isn't there supposed to be water in the tank?" Well the tank was so old that it broke a seal on the bottom of the tank and emptied all the water right onto the wall socket. Of course that made a little fire and so much water coming out that it put the fire out but also tripped all the circuits......... Of course as I got home to clean up the mess I was sure to have a bottle by my side. It was a sad day.
On the way back driving from NYC, I get a call from my friend. "Isn't there supposed to be water in the tank?" Well the tank was so old that it broke a seal on the bottom of the tank and emptied all the water right onto the wall socket. Of course that made a little fire and so much water coming out that it put the fire out but also tripped all the circuits......... Of course as I got home to clean up the mess I was sure to have a bottle by my side. It was a sad day.
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