Well,it happened.

[56longroof]

Eventually if your in the hobby long enough you will have to deal with some kind of tramatic experience. Mine happened last week and,as always,was a complete shock. As I was preparing to leave Wednesday morning I checked my tank over before I stepped out the door. Little did I know what I would find just a few hours later. When I got home I went in to feed the tank and there was no power in the bedroom the tank is in. I figured probably just tripped a breaker so I went downstairs to check it. Water on my daughter's bedroom floor. The first thing that came to mind was the tank or sump failed shorting something out. I ran back upstairs to check and no tank or sump leaks. A return line I have been neglecting to fix a slow drip had finally popped off but it only lost about 5 gallons on water. So back downstairs I went somewhat relieved the tank didn't crack. Nothing electrical had gotten wet so it had to be a breaker. I checked and none were tripped. After about 45 minutes of running up and down the steps I figured the breaker must have went out given it was probably the same one that was put in when the house was built in '93. A trip to the hardware store and everything was back and running. I thought "good nothing too expensive or complicated". Until the lights came on. Every fish was laying on its side gasping. Cleaner and peppermint shrimp laying on their backs and brittle stars everywhere trying to get out of the tank. My heart sank. 3 Ignitus anthias were already dead. My choati,Ornate,and black leopard wrasses barely moving and no sight of my female maroon stripe clown or either of my flame angelfish pair. The only fish that even looked halfway healthy were the blue green chromis. All the corals looked good and most still had PE so that was a relief. In the end I lost 4 anthias and the two flame angels. All the other fish and shrimp bounced back rather quickly. If it would have been a hour later I dont think that would have been the case. Now, the return line has been fixed properly and I'm in the works of upgrading the electric supply for the tank. And at least 3 or 4 new breakers on hand after I change out ALL of them.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

im really sorry. glad you caught it that soon

 

[samcob]

It's a shame, but fortunately you arrived in time to prevent a bigger tragedy.

 

[56longroof]

Thanks. My friend had just picked up a used 400 gallon and the bottom cracked on it the week before. That was tge first thought I had when I saw the wet floor.

 

[BryanM]

ooph, that sucks, sorry to hear.

 

[SaltyBear]

Invest in an APC battery back for the pump and or powerhead. Can keep them running for a while for oxygen

 

[JumboShrimp]

A very sinking, pit-in-the-stomach feeling any time we walk into our tank rooms and know immediately that something is just not right!

 

[TraMatic]

Eventually if your in the hobby long enough you will have to deal with some kind of tramatic experience. Mine happened last week and,as always,was a complete shock. As I was preparing to leave Wednesday morning I checked my tank over before I stepped out the door. Little did I know what I would find just a few hours later. When I got home I went in to feed the tank and there was no power in the bedroom the tank is in. I figured probably just tripped a breaker so I went downstairs to check it. Water on my daughter's bedroom floor. The first thing that came to mind was the tank or sump failed shorting something out. I ran back upstairs to check and no tank or sump leaks. A return line I have been neglecting to fix a slow drip had finally popped off but it only lost about 5 gallons on water. So back downstairs I went somewhat relieved the tank didn't crack. Nothing electrical had gotten wet so it had to be a breaker. I checked and none were tripped. After about 45 minutes of running up and down the steps I figured the breaker must have went out given it was probably the same one that was put in when the house was built in '93. A trip to the hardware store and everything was back and running. I thought "good nothing too expensive or complicated". Until the lights came on. Every fish was laying on its side gasping. Cleaner and peppermint shrimp laying on their backs and brittle stars everywhere trying to get out of the tank. My heart sank. 3 Ignitus anthias were already dead. My choati,Ornate,and black leopard wrasses barely moving and no sight of my female maroon stripe clown or either of my flame angelfish pair. The only fish that even looked halfway healthy were the blue green chromis. All the corals looked good and most still had PE so that was a relief. In the end I lost 4 anthias and the two flame angels. All the other fish and shrimp bounced back rather quickly. If it would have been a hour later I dont think that would have been the case. Now, the return line has been fixed properly and I'm in the works of upgrading the electric supply for the tank. And at least 3 or 4 new breakers on hand after I change out ALL of them.

That had of been terrible.

 

[56longroof]

Invest in an APC battery back for the pump and or powerhead. Can keep them running for a while for oxygen

Checking on that now. Thanks

 

[JGT]

While not great, it could have been a lot worse. Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today esp in reefing.

 

[MPCReefer]

Sorry for your misfortune. Really unusual for circuit breakers to go bad like that. Have not heard of that happening, but I guess it does. Really highlights the importance of a backup! Thanks for sharing!

 

[SaltyBear]

Checking on that now. Thanks

Have one on both tanks to run only essential equipment

 

[W31Olds]

Are you sure the breaker was bad? I would be measuring the current draw on that circuit. Probably best to a least split the load between 2 circuits and a consider a battery backup. Nice looking Tank BTW.

 

[Miami Reef]

I’m sorry you went through this. I can only imagine how you felt when you saw almost all your fish gasping for breath. You must’ve thought they all would’ve died in that moment.

 

[VintageReefer]

Checking on that now. Thanks

No. Don’t buy an apc ups. This is for computer monitors you won’t get any decent runtime with a tank your size. Even for a computer the runtime is like a hour tops

You want what’s called a LiFePO4 power station. They have ups and auto cutover, and modern batteries that last longer and have 10 yr lifespan. Oupes makes good ones and is one of the best priced. Check out their website everything is on sale for prime day. They make small ones up to massive ones that could run your house

OUPES: Affordable Power Station & Portable Solar Generator

Low to $0.20/Wh! Unlock OUPES Early Prime Day savings with flash deals, up to 62% off power stations.

oupes.com

My power went out yesterday. My battery backup on my pico projected 99 hours of run time.

The battery backup on my 75g reef was 50+ hours runtime.

Get the biggest you can afford and connect return pump and wavemakers to it

 

[56longroof]

Are you sure the breaker was bad? I would be measuring the current draw on that circuit. Probably best to a least split the load between 2 circuits and a consider a battery backup. Nice looking Tank BTW.

Im fairly confident it failed. The tank has been running unchanged for a year. I do admit I'm at the upper limit though. Im planning on putting in 2 separate dedicated lines just for the tank asap.

 

[56longroof]

I’m sorry you went through this. I can only imagine how you felt when you saw almost all your fish gasping for breath. You must’ve thought they all would’ve died in that moment.

Yeah, it wasnt fun at all. What sucks is it was my wife and I favorite ones that died.

 

[56longroof]

No. Don’t buy an apc ups. This is for computer monitors you won’t get any decent runtime with a tank your size. Even for a computer the runtime is like a hour tops

You want what’s called a LiFePO4 power station. They have ups and auto cutover, and modern batteries that last longer and have 10 yr lifespan. Oupes makes good ones and is one of the best priced. Check out their website everything is on sale for prime day. They make small ones up to massive ones that could run your house

OUPES: Affordable Power Station & Portable Solar Generator

Low to $0.20/Wh! Unlock OUPES Early Prime Day savings with flash deals, up to 62% off power stations.

oupes.com

My power went out yesterday. My battery backup on my pico projected 99 hours of run time.

The battery backup on my 75g reef was 50+ hours runtime.

Get the biggest you can afford and connect return pump and wavemakers to it

Thanks. Im glad you posted this. I had the other unit in my Amazon cart.

 

[JGT]

No. Don’t buy an apc ups. This is for computer monitors you won’t get any decent runtime with a tank your size. Even for a computer the runtime is like a hour tops

You want what’s called a LiFePO4 power station. They have ups and auto cutover, and modern batteries that last longer and have 10 yr lifespan. Oupes makes good ones and is one of the best priced. Check out their website everything is on sale for prime day. They make small ones up to massive ones that could run your house

OUPES: Affordable Power Station & Portable Solar Generator

Low to $0.20/Wh! Unlock OUPES Early Prime Day savings with flash deals, up to 62% off power stations.

oupes.com

My power went out yesterday. My battery backup on my pico projected 99 hours of run time.

The battery backup on my 75g reef was 50+ hours runtime.

Get the biggest you can afford and connect return pump and wavemakers to it

How do you figure out what size you need? I have a genny but may get one of these for short outages. I saw the prices on some of them and was like “ouch” but then came across the smaller, more reasonably priced ones.

 

[56longroof]

How do you figure out what size you need? I have a genny but may get one of these for short outages. I saw the prices on some of them and was like “ouch” but then came across the smaller, more reasonably priced ones.

Trust me. Even the one for $1800 is worth it. I lost $600 in fish and there's alot more $$ that made it through.