Weekend Disaster

[BIGBIRD123]

Our A/C went out last Thu night and didn't get fixed until last night. It took until Sat evening to get the chiller up and running. Tank temps went to 86.5 and was over 85 fro 48 hrs. My SPS couldn't take the 8 degree swing after two days the damage was done...about $1800 in losses. I'll post pix maybe tomorrow night, but I may be through with SPS. I don't know what will be left.

Colonies lost:

Tubb's Mystic Blue
Roscoes Blue
BB Pink Grapenade
Myagi Tort
Paletta Lovelii
Cali Tort
Ponape BN
2 - Efflo
RWB Milli
Blue Milli
!0 more Unknown Acros

Man, I was this was covered by my insurance...

[aggman]

wow steve i am sorry to here about this.

what made your tank so hot?

~alex

[Third Coast Tropical]

thats a bummer...i lost almost an entire tank several years ago....i feel your pain....

[LoneStar]

Man Steve, isn't that just a kick in the......


Sorry to hear that. Hope your able to recover.

[hobogato]

sorry to hear that steve.

[robalv]

why did you not call me

[mikedelgado]

sorry to hear about your setback. look on the bright side. now there is more room for z's & p's without those pesky acros shading them.

[andysgr]

sorry to hear Steve. I would be happy to give you frags of a few of the corals you lost. Lmk

[mama]

oh Steve!! I am in a fetal position for you!! :-(

Don't laugh, but all I have as far as SPS is a brilliant color green birds nest I can frag for you...I am just starting to test the waters myself with a new MH...I have really nice zoas,palys,ric's...i am more than happy to help...

[Texreefer]

bummer Steve. sorry to hear

[JKLUSAF]

feel your pain steve

[Bill S]

Sorry to hear, Steve. Wish you had posted - we'd have helped out. Frozen milk jugs/Coke bottles work - and the corals didn't really need lighting for a few days.

[SABOB]

Sorry to hear about your problems.Keep us informed on what your plans are.I'm sure there are tons of MAASTARDS that you have helped over the years that will return the favor.

[Big_Pun]

well if that ever happens again keep me in mind, my father and i do home HVAC and ide be glad to help you out

[txav8r]

Tough break. Sorry to hear it. Wish I could have helped. If it was low on freon, I have a drum of R22 at the house.

[greatwhite@AlamoAquatics]

that sucks... i dont know if i can say that but that was the nicest thing i can say... i dont have sps but ill be more than happy to donate some zoo's lmk .. good luck

[BIGBIRD123]

Thanks everyone. I only use T5 lights, so it wasn't the lights at all. There were 2 problems...the sump is in the garage (super hot) and I beleved the landlord that an A/C man was on his way. Even with the sump in the garage, the tank temp would always be about 79-80, but the fans on the sump couldn't fix this. Well now with whatever survives, the chiller stays hooked-up.

I know what everyone is saying... but even with the sump in the garage, there is an A/C vent that blows right across the top of my tank and everything stays good....except when the A/C doesn't work.

I appreciate all the offers, after the dust settles and the tank returns to a normal state, I might take you up on some of the offers.

Steady Reefin'...

[Gseclipse02]

sorry to hear steve..... i would of gladly let you use my 1/2 hp chiller have tubing and all ... bummer

[BIGBIRD123]

sorry to hear steve..... i would of gladly let you use my 1/2 hp chiller have tubing and all ... bummer

Thanks J,
I had everything to take care of this problem, if I'd known the A/C guy wasn't gonna be here until Monday night. I have tried to prepare for different things that might happen with my set-up...I just didn't prepare for EVERYTHING that could happen...I guess there is no such thing as a "fool-proof set-up".

[dannyv]

Steve you were finally getting everything settled in, sorry about your losses...

Keep your head up things will work out!

[BIGBIRD123]

I know...it's so depressing looking at the tank...unless you like white corals...

[Mr Cob]

Sorry Steve...

I'll leave some frags on the porch for you... when you drop off my Canopy!!!

Your money will be in the pond, but I will leave a net and goggles near by so you can get it out easily...this way no one takes it.

[BIGBIRD123]

I'll make sure I ring the doorbell at 2 am when I come by...

[chark]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Let me know when all settles and I will be happy to give you some frags of what I have.

[Bill S]

Steve,

There's nothing magic about t5s. They still put out a TREMENDOUS amount of heat. Just like MH, almost all of the electricty they use is turned to heat. I have them on my nano and on my 55 - and they both are way under the threshold for growing SPS and they still need fans.

[BIGBIRD123]

Bill, I have fans on them. The issue was the hot garage and the sump in there and no additional air to adjust temp. When the A/C works, the fans on the lights and the fans over my sump...the temp NEVER goes over 80. I just made the mistake of believing the landlord...he told me they would be there in the morning...then they are on the way and so on...I will never not have a chiller hooked-up again, even if it gets to this tank being a FO.

[subsailor]

Sorry Steve...

I'll leave some frags on the porch for you... when you drop off my Canopy!!!

Your money will be in the pond, but I will leave a net and goggles near by so you can get it out easily...this way no one takes it.

now that's funny!:bigsmile:

[BIGBIRD123]

So will the ringing the doorbell at 2 am...I love newborns the way they cry...lol

[LittleReef]

Sorry to see this! :'( Hope it all settles down and everything gets back to normal. :D

[JimD]

That



















































SUCKS!!!

[Mr Cob]

So will the ringing the doorbell at 2 am...I love newborns the way they cry...lol

Awwe, are you and Cheri volunteering to change poopie mustard diapers!:sick:

You're too sweet!

[MRSBIGBIRD123]

Awwe, are you and Cheri volunteering to change poopie mustard diapers!:sick:

You're too sweet!


Hey where or how was I brought into this, my changing poopie mustard
diapers were over 15 years ago.......:shades: the ones I really hated were green and mushy.:sick: Steve is on his own there.....

[jrsatx20]

sorry to hear should have called. i have window ac that we could have put in

[DrMark]

So sorry to hear, Steve. Hate to read about disasters.
Good you sold the chalice and the Garf, at least they survived.
mark

[sharkboy]

Hey Steve...that's just terrible! I'm sure you'll make a Rockyesque comeback!

[wesheltonj]

Sorry about your loss. I had my tank temp go up when I was on vacation and greeted upon return with nice dead LPS corals. You just pick yourself up and start again.

[Kristy]

Ouch! Sorry to hear about this, guys.

[BIGBIRD123]

Thanks guys and gals, you never really know how many friends you have until something like this happens...Thanks again.

[apedroza]

Wow Steve just read about your loss. Hopefully you'll bounce back from it all!!

[mharmon]

My heart goes out to y'all... I've had A/C problems too and I feel your pain.. :(

[rocketeer]

Ouch... Sorry to hear that seems like an understatement.

Jack

[J_G]

Sorry Steve. I just seen this topic. 2 days before I bought my chiller my water was getting up to the same temp. I went down to 7-eleven and bought 5 bags of ice and put half a bag every 10 hours or so in the sump. my temp dropped to 76 degrees in 60 minutes and stayed there till my chiller arrived 2 days later. A question i have is did you not know the temp was actually rising. very easy problem to solve is why im wondering.

-John

[BIGBIRD123]

John,
I tried the ice thing but with over 400g of water volume and the garage temp over 90 (sump in the garage made about 135g of the water super-heated.)), it was causing more problems with a salinity swing, as it was going through ice by the 1/2 hr. Bleive me, I tried a lot of stuff as I was trying to get the chiller together.

S

[J_G]

John,
I tried the ice thing but with over 400g of water volume and the garage temp over 90 (sump in the garage made about 135g of the water super-heated.)), it was causing more problems with a salinity swing, as it was going through ice by the 1/2 hr. Bleive me, I tried a lot of stuff as I was trying to get the chiller together.

S

you didnt dump the ice in the sump did you? put the ice in 1 gallon bags and zip em shut to prevent salinity swings. the other thing i do in an emergency is freeze bottled water and drop those in the sump. If the sump in the garage is too hot then turn it off and float bags in the show tank with power heads on full blast. High temp problems are just too easy a problem to deal with especially when there is no power outage (now a power outage and high temp is a problem all its own!!!). call one of us in the future and we could have helped.

[jennabee]

Sorry to hear about your disaster, When our SPS gets big enough to frag, We will make sure to give you some frags. We dont want to see you give up on those SPS your tank looked GREAT!!!We'll see you soon:wink_smile:

[BSJF]

Sorry for your loss.

Note to self - When I move to SA I need to have frozen jugs of stuff! So, I guess now would be a good time for me to buy a chiller too. So much to plan for.

BTW, since it was a mechanical malfunction of your A/C that caused this, you might want to talk with your insurance company. Some of them cover a loss like this.

[brewercm]

So sorry to hear about this. Haven't had chance to be on too much as of late. I was kind of second guessing myself about buying another chiller but after hearing this and my sump being in the garage also glad I did. About half of my water volume sits out there so I'm sure it would heat up really fast.

[Gseclipse02]

Sorry for your loss.

Note to self - When I move to SA I need to have frozen jugs of stuff! So, I guess now would be a good time for me to buy a chiller too. So much to plan for.

BTW, since it was a mechanical malfunction of your A/C that caused this, you might want to talk with your insurance company. Some of them cover a loss like this.


some say that having fans is enough here in tx but its better safe then sorry with a chiller .... i don't have mine kick on until 83 but my tank normally runs 79-81ish so far but we have yet to have a hot day (100+)

[Bigun]

Sorry to hear of your lose Steve. That really sucks

[manhorsedog]

Steve,

There's nothing magic about t5s. They still put out a TREMENDOUS amount of heat. Just like MH, almost all of the electricty they use is turned to heat. I have them on my nano and on my 55 - and they both are way under the threshold for growing SPS and they still need fans.

i am going to need you to explain this because i dont understand.

My t-5 fixture puts out NO heat, i mean like NONE. You can touch the top of the fixture after running for 10 hours and its room temp . Not to mention my tank stay at 77-78 all year around with my house temp at 75.

What kind of t-5 did/do you have? i have noticed PC's to get hot and on my biocube they keep my temp at 80

[Texreefer]

T5 lamps operate at 95 degrees. That is the optimal operating temp to get the best light efficacy. your fixture probably has a built in heat sink to help dissipate heat. DIY fixtures to not have metal heatsinks and must be cooled at the ends to produce the most efficient light. so you do have heat, its just being dealt with more efficiently.
i am going to need you to explain this because i dont understand.

My t-5 fixture puts out NO heat, i mean like NONE. You can touch the top of the fixture after running for 10 hours and its room temp . Not to mention my tank stay at 77-78 all year around with my house temp at 75.

What kind of t-5 did/do you have? i have noticed PC's to get hot and on my biocube they keep my temp at 80

[BIGBIRD123]

T5 lamps operate at 95 degrees. That is the optimal operating temp to get the best light efficacy. your fixture probably has a built in heat sink to help dissipate heat. DIY fixtures to not have metal heatsinks and must be cooled at the ends to produce the most efficient light. so you do have heat, its just being dealt with more efficiently.

That is precisely why I built my light rack out of aluminum "C" channel. It makes a great heat sink.

[Jeff]

if you need some macro steve, i have some to give. grape, feather, and razor calurpa mixed with cheato.

[OrionN]

Sorry to hear about your tank. I certainly understand how you feel.
My 450 tank crash completely (like everything dead) a few years ago when some worker shut off the electricity to the chiller (outside) when they work on electricity and did not turn it back on for the day. My tank go from 83 peak to 96 when I was home that night. The chiller was on a 220 circuit by itself. They did not even work on that circuit.
In large system like that, there is very little you can do once it start to crash. Doing a 200 g water change is like spitting into the wind.
I do have some very colorful SPS that you can frag from when you start to stock it again.

[OrionN]

...

My t-5 fixture puts out NO heat, i mean like NONE. ....
All the energy used by any device (pump, heater, light, chiller (yes chiller)) will end up as heat. MH, PC, T5 does not matter that much. If you put 400 W into the ballast, light and heat will come out and light will eventually end up as heat. Reefers just move the heat from one place to another by various devices that we have in our tank.

[BIGBIRD123]

All the energy used by any device (pump, heater, light, chiller (yes chiller)) will end up as heat. MH, PC, T5 does not matter that much. If you put 400 W into the ballast, light and heat will come out and light will eventually end up as heat. Reefers just move the heat from one place to another by various devices that we have in our tank.

I agree with Minh and sometimes we don't a good enough job...lol

Thanks for the offer Minh, I might take you up on it.