Power strip fell in sump

[Kampo]

Came down stairs last night and walked into fishroom and one of my strips must of gotten knocked off the wall. I pulled it and did a water changc of the water in the sump and added a bunch of carbon. It did not trip the GFCI breaker for some reason so it was sizzling in the water when I found it. Was less than an hour since I was feeding a hour earlier in there.

Wasn't sure what else I could do at the time and called it a night.

Lights are coming up. Fish and inverts all seem good but all the coral is closed up tight. Torch and nem are kinda peaking out but everything else closed . Any thoughts?

 

[dantimdad]

Give it time and they should be ok. If it had gotten a huge jolt everything would be dead today.

Inspect all equipment for damage especially heaters. They can crack from some weird things. This may be one of them

@Brew12 please chime in on this!

 

[Kampo]

My concern is heavy metal from the power strip. I found a poly pad so thru that in the filter sock. Should have an idea from color is turns on if that is a problem

 

[jtl]

I would also be concerned the your circuit did not trip. You do have a GFIC don't you?

 

[Kampo]

I would also be concerned the your circuit did not trip. You do have a GFIC don't you?

I haven't used this circuit in my fish room before. everything up till now has tripped the bathrooms gfci so I wasn't concerned. thinking this one is now wired independent of the other 2 outlets. I orderd a gfci "cord" this morning to correct that problem should be here monday (amazon prime for the win)

 

[jgvergo]

Relocate your power strips or secure them much better. Critically examine the placement of all electrical equipment and ask yourself the question "What could possibly go wrong" and then address it. You were lucky you were home when it happened!

I use zip ties to secure all my electrical components and wires. Here is a picture of my strip that is above the tank. I'm pretty sure a bomb could go off without anything falling into the water!

 

[Brew12]

My concern is heavy metal from the power strip. I found a poly pad so thru that in the filter sock. Should have an idea from color is turns on if that is a problem

Between the Poly Pad and the carbon you have done the best actions I would know of. If your skimmer started acting up and skimming a little different I would also let it skim a bit wetter. If you didn't notice any change, I wouldn't bother adjusting it.

 

[Kampo]

skimmer isn't going nuts but tank is young and haven't had a chance to really dial it in yet, that was actually todays project to see if I could get that fully set up. but going to hold off for the moment. not sure if a BIG water change would help or hurt right now.

 

[Brew12]

not sure if a BIG water change would help or hurt right now.

So many pro's and con's. If I were positive there was a contamination problem I would do the large water change. If I thought things looked pretty healthy I would opt for stability and let the filters do their thing.

A small amount of copper isn't going to be a problem. Some people add products that contain trace amounts of copper to help improve their coral color. Obviously, that is a fine line to walk because too much will cause serious problems. All I can say is that it is your system and you have been the one observing it. You will know better than anyone if a big water change or stability is better. You may not end up making the best decision but all we can do is what we feel is best at the time.

 

[Kampo]

would running today dark for the lights be a good idea? bad idea? prolly doesn't matter?

were about 3 hours into my "ramp up" observations so far. normally tank is full open by this point. Right now my mushrooms are not shriveled up little dots anymore, there starting to stretch a bit. some of my really basic hardy palys are kinda starting to open, but look really ticked (these are palys that you usually can't kill lol so there hardy as f) I've seen all the fish they look find, clowns are "confused" because there favorite leather isn't as big as it usually is. I think my snails are toast. one asteria is on the glass but like "hanging" kinda weird. not noticing movement from many others, and found a couple on the floor that must of been trying to escape last night. put them back since I don't have any other salt tanks up right now. Peppermint shrimp seems fine. I haven't seen the pistol, but I've heard a few "snaps" this morning so I'm guessing its ok. emerald crab is really sluggish and just sitting in one spot in the middle of the sand bed.

going to go up stairs and stop stairing at it. making me so ticked at myself right now.

 

[Brew12]

would running today dark for the lights be a good idea? bad idea? prolly doesn't matter?

Doesn't matter. If anything, I would consider it a bad idea.

 

[Kampo]

well copper is whats ticking the corals off it seems. the poly is turning a very fain't baby blue. some of the hardier corals are starting to open up. i'm hoping for the best on the tank.

 

[Brew12]

well copper is whats ******* the corals off it seems. the poly is turning a very fain't baby blue. some of the hardier corals are starting to open up. i'm hoping for the best on the tank.

I feel for you. People who know me know I am a huge advocate of using GFCI's and grounding probes. Electricity itself isn't going to bother a tank too much but, as you are dealing with, copper will be released into the water more quickly if it is energized than if it turns off. I would rather deal with a power outage than copper introduction.
I know you are on the right track that way so hopefully you will never have to deal with this again. Keep those filters running, change the carbon out after 4 or 5 days and run it heavy for at least another few weeks. I'm pulling for ya!

 

[Captain Quint]

well copper is whats ******* the corals off it seems. the poly is turning a very fain't baby blue. some of the hardier corals are starting to open up. i'm hoping for the best on the tank.

I am so sorry. Hoping for the best right along with you.

 

[Captain Quint]

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going to go up stairs and stop stairing at it. making me so ****** at myself right now.

Don't beat yourself up.

I had a leg break off an MH fixture and fell into a BioCube several years ago.

I blame the tank gremlin.