ysanford Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 (edited) All of our corals are dead. Three out of six fish are dead. 2 peppermint shrimp are dead. All snails are dead. We had pretty much gotten to a point where we were happy with the way our tank looked and we had a really nice livestock built up. We just changed over to MH and are in the process of building the hood. We had two fans sitting on the side of the hood to keep the MH from heating up the water too much. We have had them like this for the last two weeks and they hadn't moved an inch. Complete disaster hit at approximately 4:30 this afternoon. A fan feel into the tank and immediately shocked and killed everything. As soon as we got home and saw the horrific sight, my eyes started streaming with tears. Immediate silence feel over us and all we could do was stare in disbelief. Needless to say, we are extremely saddened and aren't too sure what we are going to do now. We invested so much time and money into having the tank where it is right now and since we are both starting school in a month and a half, we can't really afford to start all over again. I just can't believe this just happened. Yesterday our tank was so beautiful and today nothing but an under water tomb. My husband is trying to stay positive and is holding onto some hope. We still have our zoas in the tank to see if they open back up, but I am pretty sure everything is gone. Edited April 11, 2009 by thesanfords Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Omg! I'm so sorry this happened to you! You know, it is VERY possible a lot of your corals could come back. I remember Cmanning had something shock her frag tank and I have a piece that got shocked and it's coming back quite nicely. Don't lose all hope just yet! -Brooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princer7 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I am so sorry to hear this has happened. I have your salt bucket here if you need it quickly. Just call my cell phone and I'll give you the address. I am in South Austin. Once your tank is stable again, I would be more than happy to frag some corals for you. I am heading back to the hospital but the salt is in a place you can access it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 So sorry to hear this. I know the feeling of losing what you've worked so hard for. I'm willing to help you re-establish your tank with some sps frags once my frags grow out a little more. There will be ups and downs in this hobby and the important thing is to learn from the downs. Let me know if I can help. Clint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I'll also donate some frags once I get mine to grow out a bit as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I'm really sorry to hear this happened to you. Let me know if there is any way I can help. -Paul All of our corals are dead.Three out of six fish are dead. 2 peppermint shrimp are dead. All snails are dead. We had pretty much gotten to a point where we were happy with the way our tank looked and we had a really nice livestock built up. We just changed over to MH and are in the process of building the hood. We had two fans sitting on the side of the hood to keep the MH from heating up the water too much. We have had them like this for the last two weeks and they hadn't moved an inch. Complete disaster hit at approximately 4:30 this afternoon. A fan feel into the tank and immediately shocked and killed everything. As soon as we got home and saw the horrific sight, my eyes started streaming with tears. Immediate silence feel over us and all we could do was stare in disbelief. Needless to say, we are extremely saddened and aren't too sure what we are going to do now. We invested so much time and money into having the tank where it is right now and since we are both starting school in a month and a half, we can't really afford to start all over again. I just can't believe this just happened. Yesterday our tank was so beautiful and today nothing but an under water tomb. My husband is trying to stay positive and is holding onto some hope. We still have our zoas in the tank to see if they open back up, but I am pretty sure everything is gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysanford Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 Thank you for all the willingness to help. It is very much appreciated. It's hard to be positive right now, but we are hoping that some of the corals will come back over the next few days. I'm just thankful that the corals we just ordered were delayed, as they were all scheduled to arrive this morning. That would have really put the cherry on top... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBigbird Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Being a "survivor" of three tank crashes, I know how you feel....words cannot describe the emotions.....caring for a tank, watching coral grow and fish show their own unique personalities. Once you are ready for corals, again, please pm me or Steve, we will be glad to help re-stock your tank. Sincerely, Cheri Byrd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfowler99 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 My biggest fear...man that sucks. So far I don't have much irreplaceable stuff, but when that starts the paranoia will begin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 DON'T GIVE UP! Man I know this was heart wrenching to lose all you've worked for. Hang in there. This is a great group of people and we all will stand behind and hold you up as you work throught this. If you need some GFCI I have a couple you can have. If you need anything please let me know. DON'T GIVE UP! Dave & Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andysgr Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I got your message. I am so sorry to hear about your tank. Once things settle I would be happy to give you all a frag of that Rainbow you were wanting. PLMK when you are ready for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innate1 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Whenever your ready pm me come check out my tank and we'll see what I can frag for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Both of you must feel so disheartened, I can imagine how you feel. Take a couple deep breaths and if you feel like cursing or crying......let it all out, its understandable. Then you can begin the clean up and like the previous posts......there's people out here who will help you re-stock your the tank or just being here for moral support. Just keep your spirits high. IMO, I would do a water change and see if anything else might have survived. I don't know exactly if the micro fauna in the sandbed could have been affected (die off). Just check water parameters and keep an eye on anything that might come back. It most certainly go through a cycle again....but if you need some live sand, I have a tank that is still running w/live sand. If it's any consolation......when you get your tank stable......I can pitch in some frags of pink birdsnest, orange capricornis, pokestar monti......I end up having extras in the frag tank. I know is a far drive but when you're ready we can figure something out. Keep your chin up and best of luck. -Cindy- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysanford Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 Wow! It is so great for all of you to offer your help and support. I really can't say how much we appreciate it! Kaylon just finished doing a water change and we are definitely going to watch it over the next couple of days. The thing that I am pretty worried about are the three firefish that are missing. We don't see them anywhere are assuming that they are dead. The clowns and the engineer goby seem to be fine. I guess the best thing to do now is to just wait a few days, check the levels and go from there? We are moving on Wednesday, so that is also going to have an impact on things. What do you all think the best round of action would be? If we are going to see a spike of all the different parameters, should we try to rehome our clowns and goby? Also, any surviving coral? Thanks again for all the support! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Wow! It is so great for all of you to offer your help and support. I really can't say how much we appreciate it! Kaylon just finished doing a water change and we are definitely going to watch it over the next couple of days. The thing that I am pretty worried about are the three firefish that are missing. We don't see them anywhere are assuming that they are dead. The clowns and the engineer goby seem to be fine.I guess the best thing to do now is to just wait a few days, check the levels and go from there? We are moving on Wednesday, so that is also going to have an impact on things. What do you all think the best round of action would be? If we are going to see a spike of all the different parameters, should we try to rehome our clowns and goby? Also, any surviving coral? Thanks again for all the support! hey guys i can house anything you need me to temporarily, and I can frag you some crap whenever your back up...there is a lesson to be learned here...GFCI and grounding probes...it can happen to anyone. I have had friends whose tunze's epoxy gave zapping the entire tank was very tragic. Keep it up guys you had just gotten to "the point" in the hobby where it was fairly smooth sailing, you had mastered water chemistry 101, this is just a hiccup, it hurts but it can be recovered from. I also have 30gallons of water already made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysanford Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 We might take you up on that offer. In fact, are you going to be in town tomorrow by any chance? Maybe we can meet somewhere and we can have you host our clowns, engineer goby, and any other corals that may still be alive. If you don't come into town, what would be a good time for us to come by? This sucks... hey guys i can house anything you need me to temporarily, and I can frag you some crap whenever your back up...there is a lesson to be learned here...GFCI and grounding probes...it can happen to anyone. I have had friends whose tunze's epoxy gave zapping the entire tank was very tragic.Keep it up guys you had just gotten to "the point" in the hobby where it was fairly smooth sailing, you had mastered water chemistry 101, this is just a hiccup, it hurts but it can be recovered from. I also have 30gallons of water already made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysanford Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 Oh, and the water would be nice too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 We might take you up on that offer. In fact, are you going to be in town tomorrow by any chance? Maybe we can meet somewhere and we can have you host our clowns, engineer goby, and any other corals that may still be alive. If you don't come into town, what would be a good time for us to come by?This sucks... yeah i should be in town sometime, not sure when exactly but yeah I'll probably be changing a timing set on a POS Ford SUV at home for the majority of the day. which reminds me...Kaylon...you wouldn't happen to have the tools to hold a ford crank and cams stationary for a timing chain swap at the shop you work at would ya? and are your corals on frag plugs? if not i have some to spare...some not a lot. and i may have to retract the water offer i had a ton of evap on 3 of the 5 tanks...may only have like 15 gallons avail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barderer Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 That sucks, everyone has had a crash at one point, it is very frustrating. How long were the fans in your water plugged in? If they were in there a long time electrolysis might have started to take place. Chlorine gas might have started to form in the water and poison the inhabits . Is the water a different tint? If so change all or the majority of your water. The electricity from a 12V fan shouldn't have killed your corals. This video I found on 'utube' demonstrates the principle. Lots of other nasty stuff could have been made as well depending on what metals are present on the electrodes of your fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaceyJ Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Hey, sorry to hear that. I just lost a peacock mantis today I have had many experiences like this with my tarantula hobby. I have had pregnant females die. I lost over 100 babies due to a thermostat going out. It seems like we must be overcautious and paranoid with our preciouses. I would be willing to host anything that is needed. I am hopeful for you. If you get your tank stable again by saturday, maybe we can all bring frags and so forth to the meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 well, as of now 3:30am all remaining inhabitants that were a close resemblance to "alive" are now hosting in my display. (what are friends for right) and will keep everyone updated...if they start melting they are getting yanked...esp that clam...the nassarius are beginning to circle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysanford Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 Just got home and it is close to 4:30 in the morning. Anything that was still alive (the hermits, engineer goby, and nassarius snails - even the bristle worms) are now dead. Not exactly sure how long the fan was in the tank, but it is a heavy duty 6" fan that we pulled off a large tape reel and it spins at 4500 rpm. We are just going to completely start over and we'll begin the process tomorrow (well, technically today). We'll pull all the live rock out and do a fresh water dip and then store it in a big rubbermaid with new water and a powerhead, empty out the sand and vigorously rinse it out with freshwater as well, clean out the tank completely along with all the equipment. The sump/refugium will also need a thorough cleaning. Looks like packing will have to be pushed to the last minute... We plan on putting the tank back together on Wednesday and hopefully with Stability, it will be good to go by the weekend. We still plan on attending the meeting and we are already preparing ourselves for the "shocking" comments... Again, we really appreciate all the support and offers for help. It really shows how dedicated this group is to one another and the hobby. It is comforting to know that we are surrounded by such loyal and compassionate people. Also, thank you Capt. Obvious and Fish Are Not Sea Kittens for allowing us to invade your house at 3 in the morning and dump all our zombies in your tank. We are hoping your talents can put them back to good health. We will keep everyone updated as we go along. Please feel free to chime in with more advice. This is our first entire system crash and we are definitely not prepared so input will be well accepted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I wouldn't do a fresh water dip on the live rock, it'll kill most of the live stuff. Instead you should swish the rock in 5 gallon buckets of fresh salt water in the same manner when you "cook" live rock. Do a google search on cooking live rock and there ya go. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ysanford Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 I wouldn't do a fresh water dip on the live rock, it'll kill most of the live stuff. Instead you should swish the rock in 5 gallon buckets of fresh salt water in the same manner when you "cook" live rock. Do a google search on cooking live rock and there ya go. Good luck! That sounds like it might be the way to go. Thanks for mentioning that as we haven't ever heard of that process. We just got an update from Capt. Obvious on the corals we took over last night - the only thing that may survive are our zoas. At least something made it through this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsr Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Wow, I am sorry to hear about your loss. If there is anything you need, just PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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