Are marine aquariums too dangerous and a liability?

[Oscaror]

OK so that might sound a stupid question to most but there is a message in the stupidity.
I have lost count of the spillages, leaks , floods and electrocutions I have had over the 37/38 years I have been keeping marines. Some have been through negligence I guess, some just unlucky some failure of equipment and some because my tank was annoyed at me for leaving and going on holiday just waiting to get it'sown back soon after I left to go on holiday which was the case a few month back.

Getting a shock after a heater failed or powerhead decided to allow water into it is no joke either. I love this hobby although it can be a nightmare esp if you live in an upstairs apartment. Marine reef aquariums are also a money pit and difficult to control the urge to buy just one more coral or fish. We won't go into the latest must have piece of equipment. So with that in mind are our aquariums something of a liability or should I ask your other half that question?

Once my check valve failed, tank overflowed in living room, basement wall had huge bubbles of water behind the paint that had to be popped open. It was a nightmare

 

[TheHarold]

A glass box of water is no more dangerous than a cup of water... if you're dumb someone can get all cut up

 

[fish farmer]

I watched my dad fall off a scaffold when I was a kid. As my dad lay on the driveway writhing in pain the old drunk guy we were paint for came out and said “I’d have given you a 10 if you had kept your feet together”. He didn’t have as much damage to himself as you did though. I bet that hurt!

It actually didn't hurt at all...well I was probably in shock. I got up, felt my face, knew I had messed up something, walked into the house, put the paint scraper down and called 911, ambulance was there within 5 minutes.

 

[Dburr1014]

All I can say is... I was glad I was home when my Reo pump was "boiling" in my Tank. Lights were flickering and the noise of electricity humming... Scary. That was a good 18 years ago.

 

[vlangel]

I still ride a motorcycle! In fact have ridden my bike in all the lower 48 and hope to ride to Alaska before I decide I am too old.

Yes, I have been shocked a couple of times, (as recent as last week by a rio powerhead), and had a couple of floods, (although not for a very long time so are probably due) and even got bit and cut to the bone by an eel at the lfs I used to work at but I have never considered the aquaria hobby a liability.

One only goes through life once and I say, "make it count for Jesus and go for the gusto!"

 

[JeepTj]

Can Be a liability if 150 gallons ish that I have ends up in apartment below cause the tempered glass imploded
otherwise its insured on the tenants policy for such,(doubled cost of my tenant policy) aswell as being older building(concrete built in the 60's) its still old screw in fuses so had to get panel updated at my expense got everything via work including the electrician lol) so I can run ground faults, as Landlord's only request, no big deal, looking at the 135 gallon (40 gallon sump) its well worth it after adding that 5~ inch sailfin dang eats right out of my hand has made the tank so much more interactive..

then right beside it is the original 60 gallon that got repurposed for my 4 Axolotl's

 

[DBR_Reef]

I wouldn't say reefing is particularly dangerous, but we do have a fairly high tolerance for stupidity But really it is the amateur nature and DIY culture that I love about reefing; what other hobby encourages dabbling in engineering, electrical, construction, biology, chemistry, etc, etc.

I think most of the danger that does exist comes from a lack of knowledge- No electrician would allow a non GFI plug anywhere near water (and now they would want a AFCI), and yet we have people who claim they are tank killers. No competent (or risk averse) biologist would handle some of the creatures we do without protection (gloves, etc.) but we do. No engineer would allow half the stands we use to be utilized anywhere with earthquakes. No chemist would blindly add elements to a sensitive system.

The one great fear I have is a catastrophic tank failure- this is one area I have little control over unless I order a custom tank, and I think the safety factors are way to low on store bought tanks, probably because we have somehow allowed manufactures to forego liability on poorly or under built tanks, where they only take responsibility for the loss of the tank (which is basically nothing), not the damage to the home or organisms we keep. I know tank prices would sky rocket, but I think I would prefer to buy a tank from a company that stood fully behind their tanks, even if the cost was many times what it currently is.

 

[Tamberav]

I have my tanks plugged into gfci outlets and it's always tripped when there was stray current and never fausly tripped in the 10 years I have has tanks.

Tripped from a cracked heater and from a ATO container leaking water onto a power cord and from my own spills before.

I handle palys without gloves like an idiot though and then get a headache and dizzy so I really need to stop that crap.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

Of the hobbies that I currently have (which are not many I will say), but this one is the most dangerous for me. I’m short and tiny and have to drown myself in order to clean my tank. My work however is hazard zone waiting to happen (work in the er and specialize in trauma).

Between, all the blood, needles, and what have you, it’s kinda scary lol. However, my stupid Jeep, is hazard also because twice now lol stupid air bag has been faulty and deployed on me. Those do not feel good when your still child sized as an adult.

 

[DMG Reef]

My home backs up to a golf course. I feel safer inside playing with water and electricity than I do walking through my backyard. ;Jawdrop

 

[rkpetersen]

Wouldn't the GFCI trip if the water was electrified?

Yes. And it would trip before you even touched it if you were also using a grounding probe. There are pros and cons to both situations.

getting washed off the deck in storm in the middle of the nigh 500 miles off shore is a greater risk than getting shocked by my heater

The famed Edmund Fitzgerald sank at 7:15 PM on November 10, two nights ago. Although it had been struggling in a horrendous storm, it sank virtually instantly, no distress call, all hands lost. I found myself thinking about the actual historical data and picturing what probably happened. Beyond frightening. The sea is unforgiving.

Once my check valve failed, tank overflowed in living room, basement wall had huge bubbles of water behind the paint that had to be popped open. It was a nightmare

In a previous house, we had water intrusion once, where it came down along the inside of the wall. You never forget the sinking feeling when you see that gigantic water-filled painted bubble on the wall.

 

[wesman42]

Yes. And it would trip before you even touched it if you were also using a grounding probe. There are pros and cons to both situations.



The famed Edmund Fitzgerald sank at 7:15 PM on November 10, two nights ago. Although it had been struggling in a horrendous storm, it sank virtually instantly, no distress call, all hands lost. I found myself thinking about the actual historical data and picturing what probably happened. Beyond frightening. The sea is unforgiving.



In a previous house, we had water intrusion once, where it came down along the inside of the wall. You never forget the sinking feeling when you see that gigantic water-filled painted bubble on the wall.

As a Michigander I feel the need to step in and let you know the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in freshwater on Lake Superior. Probably more terrifying since the lake is deeper than most if the ocean. Lol

 

[rkpetersen]

As a Michigander I feel the need to step in and let you know the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in freshwater on Lake Superior. Probably more terrifying since the lake is deeper than most if the ocean. Lol

Oh absolutely terrifying, and also since the wind was from the NW and they were in the SE part of the lake (worst possible place), the fetch was huge and the waves were insane.

I use the term 'sea' generically. I believe I would drown similarly in either freshwater or salt.

 

[Bugsy_Barboza]

Everything is risky, and anything can be unsafe.... I like this post but honestly you can’t put a saltwater tank on nice new hardwood floors. You can but is that smart? Sometimes we are the stupid ones not the tank or should I say we ARE the stupid ones. You can deff up the risk ratio by adding all that we do. It doesn’t always have to be so risky.

 

[hart24601]

I have not heard many reports of reef keepers or FW keepers getting long term injuries or killed by this hobby.

Now other hobbies, motorcycles, autocross, boating (even fishing)- now people die doing those. Biking might be overall healthy but every year a few people are hit by cars while recreationally biking. Heck even gardening exposes one to lacerations and soil bacterial infections along with posion ivy and other concerns.

I guess this conversation is more along the lines of safety proofing one's life and the pro/cons that go along with it. Something that isn't unique to our lifetime. My mom told me about her father, born in late 1800's lamenting the exact thing and changing coddling world.

Far as hobbies go this one seems pretty safe at least until you get shanked during a lighting debate... But many of us survived the great sand bed wars so there is hope.

 

[Lasse]

We don't have a helmet law either, but we do have a seat belt law. Does that mean the bikers have better lawyers?

Or turn it upside down - are the bikers more stupid? I crash a bike in rainy weather once - I´m glad that I had a helmet even if I was only 20 and immortal

Sincerely Lasse

 

[madweazl]

[Knock on wood] I've made it without any tank floods or electrocutions the past 20-25 years. I have let the RO/DI overflow a couple times but they've been relatively small spillages. I had a bottom seam on a 50g start to let go but I caught it and was able to replace the tank before anything happened (finding a same day replacement in Okinawa wasn't easy but we lucked out at the third or fourth local shop).

 

[Awesome Dennis]

Call me crazy but being a commercial electrician for a living, I enjoy a nice jolt in the morning!
It's a daily risk for me at work but you have to manage the risk. The 120v at your houses feels like a light tickle after you've gotten zapped by 277v.

 

[Todvod]

spillages, leaks , floods and electrocutions.......Sounds like me getting my morning coffee.

The All-Father wove the skein of your life a long time ago. Go and hide in a hole if you wish, but you won't live one instant longer. Your fate is fixed. Fear profits a man nothing.

Words of wisdom!

 

[WVNed]

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