Aquarium fire

Ctownjlo · May 22, 2023

Hi all. I've been on these threads a while but unfortunately this is my first post. About a month ago I lost my tank to an electrical fire in my controller cabinet. Worst of all is I lost one of my dogs. I was pretty tidy with my electrical as I had made a controller board. Tank was up a year and a half never an issue. Went out to lunch on a Sunday and got a call from the neighbor. Our home and belongings are just about a total loss. It really hurts as I had so much time effort and love into my tank. Thousands of dollars in fish and coral gone in an instant. Other than knowing it came from my cabinet side of my red sea 525, everything was burned beyond recognition. I did run everything to my Apex. Other than my inkbird everything was a pretty small wattage pump for various reactors, WaveMaker and such. I'm so heartbroken over it all. Positive note my family is all ok and Insurance has been easy to work with. We will be out of our home for at least a year. I just can't stop thinking of what went wrong. I attached pics but the cabinet was not recent. I had a red sea doser and trident added since that pic. Be safe everyone.

Miami Reef · May 22, 2023

OH NO!!!

I am so glad you and your family is safe, and I’m so sorry about your dog and tank. This is so scary and sad.

Your tank was so pretty and your corals looked so colorful! You have great skills at reefing.

I hope you are doing okay. Thank you for sharing your story.

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · May 22, 2023

Ctownjlo said:
Hi all. I've been on these threads a while but unfortunately this is my first post. About a month ago I lost my tank to an electrical fire in my controller cabinet. Worst of all is I lost one of my dogs. I was pretty tidy with my electrical as I had made a controller board. Tank was up a year and a half never an issue. Went out to lunch on a Sunday and got a call from the neighbor. Our home and belongings are just about a total loss. It really hurts as I had so much time effort and love into my tank. Thousands of dollars in fish and coral gone in an instant. Other than knowing it came from my cabinet side of my red sea 525, everything was burned beyond recognition. I did run everything to my Apex. Other than my inkbird everything was a pretty small wattage pump for various reactors, WaveMaker and such. I'm so heartbroken over it all. Positive note my family is all ok and Insurance has been easy to work with. We will be out of our home for at least a year. I just can't stop thinking of what went wrong. I attached pics but the cabinet was not recent. I had a red sea doser and trident added since that pic. Be safe everyone.

That's terrible! I'm so sorry for your losses!

Ctownjlo · May 22, 2023

Miami Reef said:
OH NO!!!

I am so glad you and your family is safe, and I’m so sorry about your dog and tank. This is so scary and sad.

Your tank was so pretty and your corals looked so colorful! You have great skills at reefing.

I hope you are doing okay. Thank you for sharing your story.

Thank you for the kind words. My favorite thing about the tank was how colorful it was.

Kathy Floyd · May 22, 2023

I just cannot imagine. I am so sorry. Beautiful tank but thank God you and your family are ok. We will be here to help you again when it's time.

wjm6449 · May 22, 2023

Do yourself a favor. As you rebuild there’s a Reddit thread out there about homeowners insurance and how to make claims. As you rebuild they will try to replace your items, cheap as they can. You need to find receipts. Payments. PayPal. Photos. Proof. You need to print, document, and anything you can find. Whether it be a loved one in front of a tv with proof of the tv brand. Do your research now. The thread was eye opening. Also. Sorry for your loss. Good luck.

tmRoth · May 22, 2023

Sorry for your loss. My power strips and electrical connections are nowhere near as clean and organized as yours were in your before the fire photos. After reading your post, I'm going to make it a priority to check all of my electrical equipment around the tank, and I know I need to replace at least one power strip that has some corrosion on it. Thank you for sharing your story.

wjm6449 · May 22, 2023

tmRoth said:
Sorry for your loss. My power strips and electrical connections are nowhere near as clean and organized as yours were in your before the fire photos. After reading your post, I'm going to make it a priority to check all of my electrical equipment around the tank, and I know I need to replace at least one power strip that has some corrosion on it. Thank you for sharing your story.

Also GFCI those outlet kids.

JGT · May 22, 2023

That sucks. Too bad about your pooch. But good that you and family were OK. Things can be replaced. People can’t.
Is that 2nd pic your controller board? Looks like the main scorch is where the EB832 was mounted.

Ctownjlo · May 22, 2023

JGT said:
That sucks. Too bad about your pooch. But good that you and family were OK. Things can be replaced. People can’t.
Is that 2nd pic your controller board? Looks like the main scorch is where the EB832 was mounted.

Yes that was my board. I agree as it lines up with the door fire.

Salty_Northerner · May 22, 2023

I started to read this thread and was contemplating on not reading further. I paused for a brief moment as it brought back a memory of my best friend that worked in a body shop. Long story short, he finished work and some idiots put something in the burn barrel out back and he was leaning against the car when whatever was in the fire exploded. He burned 98% of his body and from the explosion you could see his outline of his body on the car's paint.

So to continue reading your thread I'm very sorry to hear about your pup and also your entire loss. At least you all are okay.

You had a beautiful set up and your cable management looked exceptional and that's a hard one to swallow, like really what would have caused the fire? I would need to take a better look when I'm able to get on my PC or I have a larger screen to view your photos.

It's sad about everything but it's wonderful your insurance company is working with you where you and your family can have a new start in a beautiful home. I understand the loss and especially the way everything was set up and designed by yourself would also have me wondering what the heck happened.

I wish nothing but the best for you and your family and I pray that everything moves along quickly for you all so you can get back on with your normal day-to-day lives. God bless you all and stay well.

JGT · May 22, 2023

Ctownjlo said:
Yes that was my board. I agree as it lines up with the door fire.

Musta short circuited or overheated. GFCI mighta saved you. They can sometimes be a pain as they can be temperamental but in a sitch like this, it mighta shut everything down.

Nano_Man · May 22, 2023

Things can be replaced but at least you and your family are safe thank god . You must be gutted but if reefing is in your blood you will be back again . Take care you and your family

Ctownjlo · May 23, 2023

fullinfusion said:
I started to read this thread and was contemplating on not reading further. I paused for a brief moment as it brought back a memory of my best friend that worked in a body shop. Long story short, he finished work and some idiots put something in the burn barrel out back and he was leaning against the car when whatever was in the fire exploded. He burned 98% of his body and from the explosion you could see his outline of his body on the car's paint.

So to continue reading your thread I'm very sorry to hear about your pup and also your entire loss. At least you all are okay.

You had a beautiful set up and your cable management looked exceptional and that's a hard one to swallow, like really what would have caused the fire? I would need to take a better look when I'm able to get on my PC or I have a larger screen to view your photos.

It's sad about everything but it's wonderful your insurance company is working with you where you and your family can have a new start in a beautiful home. I understand the loss and especially the way everything was set up and designed by yourself would also have me wondering what the heck happened.

I wish nothing but the best for you and your family and I pray that everything moves along quickly for you all so you can get back on with your normal day-to-day lives. God bless you all and stay well.

Im sorry about your friend and to bring back those memories. I appreciate the kind words. If you do see something that looks wrong please let me know as I don't stop thinking about it. God bless.

C4ctus99 · May 23, 2023

That sucks man, I’m glad y’all are okay. This would have been devastating for me.

Out of curiosity, where was the controller in relation to the tank? Any chance of a leak or something getting in there?

GFCI or AFCI protection can help, but AFCI has bad nuisance tripping. As long as it is a newer GFCI and motor combo I think it should be okay, motors would have the potential to trip it though.

Ctownjlo · May 23, 2023

C4ctus99 said:
That sucks man, I’m glad y’all are okay. This would have been devastating for me.

Out of curiosity, where was the controller in relation to the tank? Any chance of a leak or something getting in there?

GFCI or AFCI protection can help, but AFCI has bad nuisance tripping. As long as it is a newer GFCI and motor combo I think it should be okay, motors would have the potential to trip it though.

If you are familiar with a red sea tank it is in the right cabinet side. It is basically enclosed from the rest of the tank minus a hole to the left to run wires and lines to the sump.

C4ctus99 · May 23, 2023

Ctownjlo said:
If you are familiar with a red sea tank it is in the right cabinet side. It is basically enclosed from the rest of the tank minus a hole to the left to run wires and lines to the sump.

Gotcha, didn’t realize it was a RS. Past gens have had leak issues so it would not be out of the realm of possibility I don’t think…but probably no way to know now. and you also said it’s a sealed compartment with the only hole being on the opposite side as the fire started so probably not likely

Definitely would be pretty crazy if it was just the electrical components shorted out after only a year though

Ctownjlo · May 23, 2023

C4ctus99 said:
Gotcha, didn’t realize it was a RS. Past gens have had leak issues so it would not be out of the realm of possibility I don’t think…but probably no way to know now. and you also said it’s a sealed compartment with the only hole being on the opposite side as the fire started so probably not likely

Definitely would be pretty crazy if it was just the electrical components shorted out after only a year though

Unless the tank let go I can almost assure there was no water getting onto the electric components. It will definitely be up there with the questions and answers I need to know in the afterlife lol.

tmRoth · May 23, 2023

wjm6449 said:
Also GFCI those outlet kids.

I agree, but GFCI will only protect against electrocution. A better option might be to replace the circuit breakers for the outlets around the tank with dual AFCI/GFCI breakers. The arc fault breaker is designed to protect against fires by shutting off power to the circuit if it detects arcing, (like could occur from corroded wiring around a tank), which can create enough heat to start a fire. They run about $60, but replacing circuit breakers isn't a DIY project for many people (and probably shouldn't be for most people). According to my electrician, AFCI breakers have been required in new construction for most living area circuits for a couple of decades.

I have State Farm insurance and they sent me a Ting device, which monitors all the circuits to detect arcing and other problems that could cause a fire. They pay for the monitoring the first 3 years, I think it is.