PUMP burned up and Tang swimming funny...

[tropicana]

Help! I had my Return pump fry and start smoking! We unplugged it and went and got a new pump. When we got back home all the fish were swimming fine. I installed and turned the pump on and within 15min the Tang was swimming funky... and looks very very stressed. the other fish are swimming slowly but look ok. I am wondering if when I turned the new pump on, the water in the sump was contaminated with the smoke so its now in the main system? I put an aerator on there thinking they dont have enough air or something.... Whats going on? Theres plenty of air as the other fish/snails/corals all look fine.... the maroon which usually is swimming fast around is swimming slowly. Anyone got any ideas? Should i do a water change or will that stress him out more?

[hobogato]

just curious, what type of pump was it that burned up?

[hobogato]

regardless, if you arent already running carbon, start now. change it frequently for the next few days. also, run your skimmer wet and do some small water changes ever day for a few days.

[Texreefer]

if it was an internal pump and was smoking like you said, it may have gotten hot enough to melt the epoxy in the housing which could leach chemicals into the tank.. I would take Ace's suggestion above.

[tropicana]

I did a 15g water change, I cannot run carbon right at the moment, its too late at night. I will get some tomorrow. The skimmer I am running, runs like crap so it aint worth a penny. I have another one, but I still havent even installed the sump you built me as i havent had any time to take the entire tank down and install it. This weekend I will install it though after all this and needing a better skimmer! I will do a water change very day for the next week. How many gallons should i do every day? Its a 55g, with a 10g sump. What partial should I do? I will grab some carbon on the way home from work tomorrow.

This just irritates the crap out of me.....

Edit: I found some carbon in my moms stuff, I threw 2 bags of Fluval activated carbon, one in my sump, the other in the overflow.

[tropicana]

if it was an internal pump and was smoking like you said, it may have gotten hot enough to melt the epoxy in the housing which could leach chemicals into the tank.. I would take Ace's suggestion above.

It did. I checked it earlier. Thats what made me do a water change. I only had enough salt to mix 15g. My sister is going to pick some up from my brother in law right now. Hopefully I can do another 10g or so tonight in a couple hours. Is that too much?

[Bill S]

Where are you? SA? I have plenty of salt, a bunch of carbon, and I'll be up until midnight. 210.663.8079.

BTW, Rio claims that they have purposely burnt up pumps - melting the epoxy - without harming a reef system.

[tropicana]

Its was not a Rio, It was an offbrand Aquila (came with my system over a year ago) So maybe I should have bought a Rio instead...Oh well Ive already hooked up the pump i got from Aquarium designs.... after over an hour or 2, the tang is still looking pretty unhealthy... How can I keep the snails from getting to him?

[tropicana]

Where are you? SA? I have plenty of salt, a bunch of carbon, and I'll be up until midnight. 210.663.8079.

BTW, Rio claims that they have purposely burnt up pumps - melting the epoxy - without harming a reef system.

I really do appreciate the offer! But I think Ill let it ride with the 15g WC I did and see how we look in the morning. Ive put 2 bags of fluval carbon, and the 15g WC, so lets see how we look tomorrow. Ill do another 15g tomorrow, and another 10g the next day, then stick at 10g each day for the rest of the week. We will see how that helps. I have a feeling I might lose my Tang though :( I just need to keep him away from the snails and hermits!

[SoLiD]

If he is weak enough for the snails and hermits to get a hold of him then it's probably CURTAINS for him. Sorry, that's just been my experiance.

[aquasport24]

have you also check out other electrical items, like heaters, powerhead,etc?..make sure they not bad at all.

[tropicana]

The heater and other pumps are new. That was the only one that wasnt new. Figures. This morning, I checked on the tang, and he was swimming Upright, but still looks a little beat up and weak..... He wasnt laying on the sand though. His dorsal fin looks like the hermits or a snail got a tiny bit of it, but other than that he should be ok...Seems that the carbon and the WC helped alot. Im going to continue water changes this week and new carbon every day or 2. Thanks guys for the support, and Ill keep ya posted. This weekend Im doing a major upgrade but Maybe I should wait Until all the fish are doing better so I dont stress them out.

[CoryDude]

Same thing happened to me last year. Everyone's right, stick with the carbon and change it daily. Keep an eye on any soft corals you may have. They were the first ones in my tank to take a dive, followed by a scopas tang.

[tropicana]

Well, Nothing has died yet... The tang is looking seriously ill still though. Hes fighting it and swimming upright, but still near the bottom. He lost an eye over it. Will he grow an eye back? Or will he be blind in one eye? If so that sucks for him, I feel SO bad this happened to him. I told the Fiance, I need a Hang on refugium or a QT tank for when this happens. I could have put him in an extra overflow i have but put a ton of holes that the snails wouldnt get in. That probably would have helped alot. He wouldnt have been stressed more from a move, and away from the snails/hermits. I think the cleaner shrimp is what tore up his eye. Im hoping he survives at least. I need to get him to eat though, he wont eat anything at all!!!!

[MissT]

is the eye cloudy/burned over or is it gone?

Have you tried soaking the food in garlic to help entice him to eat? Maybe try live brine also to get him interested again... Good luck!

[MissT]

BTW, QT/hospital tank is a great idea!

[tropicana]

Well, One of his eyes is just cloudy, the other looks like it was torn up. I am almost 99% it got eaten by the shrimp as I can see him try to peck at the tang and the tan freaks and swims off. Hes swimming slow, and I dont think he can see anything at all. I tried to hold nori rigt in front of him, he doesnt even try to eat, and hasnt for 3 days now. I tried garlic with rods food, and he doesnt even touch it. I tried a turkey baster to kinda loft it in front of him enticing him to eat it, but no go. I might lose him :(

[taldrich13]

maybe I should have bought a Rio instead


I don't think he was implicitly recommending you buy a Rio, just FYI

[Bill S]

No - my comment was specifically about Rios, which are well known to burn up. Just that I'd burned one up, and contacted TAAM, and they had assured me that they had switched to a non-toxic resin.

[tropicana]

I know he wasnt recomending it, that was just one of sayings like "I should have, and wouldnt be in this situation if i did." I understand what he meant by it, that rios werent supposed to leak chemicals as per their advertising.

[Bill S]

Well, REALLY what I was saying is this: Rio makes the cheapest pumps on the market, and while I own a few, they really border on junk. And, if Rio will cut corners nearly everywhere for price, and their product won't nuke your tank when it meltsdown, than your pump probably won't either.

How's that :)

Just water changes and carbon.

[tropicana]

I did, and everything is fine now, except the tang. Hes lost 1 eye, and the other eye is still glazed over. I still cant get him to eat!!!!