Power went out while on vacation, lost everything

[D'sreef]

Once the dead live stock is removed, I would take a plastic kitchen brush to remove some of the dead material on the rock, and throw them in a bin with fresh salt water and a power head and heater. They should be ready to go, I bet there is a lot more alive in the rock than you think.

 

[thefeds]

Thank you, in fact there were a couple snails still alive. I have the rock in my tank now cycling with lights out.

 

[exnisstech]

The newer portable ACs with inverters are better at not tripping breakers but it can still happen. I probably would've left it off or moved it to a different circuit. I have mine on a 12 ga extension cord...

I ran a dedicated circuit for all life support devices when I started my 330.

 

[Reef Puncher]

Came home from "vacation" and my aquarium was completely dark and no power. All my fish, coral, crabs, shrimp, live rock is dead. I am crushed! I have no idea what do and am seeking some advice on how I can possibly save my TBS rock. It must have been 3-4 days with temps running in the upper 80's and low's 60. It smelled really bad, and my wife helped me empty the tank and move it outside overnight. I have my rock in a bucket with fresh salt water, but I don't know if it will be saved. This were turning the corner, and now this.

please invest in a tank control center, or at the very least, a simple inkbird wifi. it will tell you the min your temp drops below 77 and you will know theres a problem. maybe you could call a friend to go to house? also a battery backup system isnt a bad idea either.

 

[gigshark]

The worst nightmare!

 

[thefeds]

Thanks, yep lesson learned. Will enlist someone to come by next time we go out of town

 

[BryanM]

Brutal.... Just brutal.

Already received lots of advice, I'd be inclined to test more often once you think the tank is cycled, but I'm glad that the consensus is the rock should be fine. And its a nice kick start to getting re-set up.

 

[gman6369]

Came home from "vacation" and my aquarium was completely dark and no power. All my fish, coral, crabs, shrimp, live rock is dead. I am crushed! I have no idea what do and am seeking some advice on how I can possibly save my TBS rock. It must have been 3-4 days with temps running in the upper 80's and low's 60. It smelled really bad, and my wife helped me empty the tank and move it outside overnight. I have my rock in a bucket with fresh salt water, but I don't know if it will be saved. This were turning the corner, and now this.

Sorry for your loss mate. Don’t want to be a downer here but this is why everyone should have a UPS or generator for their tanks. I don’t know about other folks but I’ve invested more than a $1500 in my livestock and several years of sweat equity. To see it all go down the drain for a power outage would be tragic. I’ve lost power twice for more than a day in the past year and I would’ve lost everything without backup power. I always have someone check on my tank, daily if possible, whenever I’m away. I also have a Ring indoor camera trained on my tank so I can check in on it at my leisure.

 

[thefeds]

Light has been fixed and set back up. Reefi is pretty good if you ask me. This weekend I plan on doing a 50% water change and then will run tests. I dont have any inhabitants, other than the live rock. I do see some small zoas and other things opening up. Will probably run like this for the next few weeks for some algae to start up, then I will order CUC and pods. Fish will go in last,

Tail Spot Blenny
cryptic wrasse (if i can find another)
2x purple firefish

 

[D'sreef]

Light has been fixed and set back up. Reefi is pretty good if you ask me. This weekend I plan on doing a 50% water change and then will run tests. I dont have any inhabitants, other than the live rock. I do see some small zoas and other things opening up. Will probably run like this for the next few weeks for some algae to start up, then I will order CUC and pods. Fish will go in last,

Tail Spot Blenny
cryptic wrasse (if i can find another)
2x purple firefish

I hope things go better for you now.

 

[swmj]

Came home from "vacation" and my aquarium was completely dark and no power. All my fish, coral, crabs, shrimp, live rock is dead. I am crushed! I have no idea what do and am seeking some advice on how I can possibly save my TBS rock. It must have been 3-4 days with temps running in the upper 80's and low's 60. It smelled really bad, and my wife helped me empty the tank and move it outside overnight. I have my rock in a bucket with fresh salt water, but I don't know if it will be saved. This were turning the corner, and now this.

Just thinking about it sounds terrible. I can only imagine how upsetting this must be for you. I guess your biggest concern is whether the bacteria survived, and I understand how painful it must feel to lose established rock. In situations like this, I’d recommend trying Bacter Genesis. It’s a nitrifying bacteria product, and I’ve used it myself to reseed both rock and sand. I’m not sure if international shipping is available, but it’s worth checking. If not, the slower path is to keep adding nitrifying bacteria and give it time. By the way, do you have an air pump running in the bucket? To keep the bacteria alive, you’ll need to recreate conditions similar to when you first cycle a tank. I know it feels overwhelming right now, but don’t lose hope, with some patience, your reef can come back to life. Stay strong, you’re not alone in this.

 

[thefeds]

Take a look at my build thread if interested - Feds 25 Lagoon and EVO

Reef is "humming" along now. I just changed about 5 gallons of water, but prior to that I had 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites. I haven't tested anything else yet. I am seeing a bunch of algae starting to grow on the rocks, and glass. Uglies here we come. I ordered these just now.

1 × 25 Gallon Standard Reef Cleanup Crew​

1 × Tigger Pods, Apex Pods & Phyto LIVE Pack (6 oz Each) - Reef Nutrition​

 

[BonnieB]

Reef is "humming" along now. I just changed about 5 gallons of water, but prior to that I had 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites. I haven't tested anything else yet. I am seeing a bunch of algae starting to grow on the rocks, and glass. Uglies here we come. I ordered these just now.

1 × 25 Gallon Standard Reef Cleanup Crew​

1 × Tigger Pods, Apex Pods & Phyto LIVE Pack (6 oz Each) - Reef Nutrition​

I’m late to the conversation but I can say with confidence there are quite a few of us out here that have had devastating losses. Mine was walking up one morning to find that a hitchhiking mantis shrimp had taken out everything in my tank…evil destructor!!! I’m so glad to read you didn’t give up and that things are coming back around for you!

 

[thefeds]

Thank you.