Vacation Troubles

[Tiredguy]

So I just took a mini Holiday. We were only gone 4 days In the first day some how my cousin who was house sitting, managed to turn off a power bar that powered my pumps and heater on my tank. When I arrived home last night I noticed the tank look bad and all fish missing... i was lost at first then noticed the pumps were off,, then clued into the power issue. I checked the temp... 61..... My heart sank,,, I got the power up and going and grabbed a jug of R/O water and started boiling a few litres at a time, I slowly brought the temp up by 1 degree every 10 min,,, When the tank hit around 68 the fish which half were laying on the bottom sprung to life... by time I got it to 74 a few hours later all but one of my fish where swimming around,, more then half my corals had opened up and things were looking normal again,,, all and all i lost 1 fish,, and a few frags,, but it really has me thinking of a controller, I have a 3 week holiday coming up in june, and it scares me to think what would happen if this had gone unnoticed for another day....Considering the state of the fish i'm sure they were in shock for some time.. Sadly my Benggai Cardinal my first fish of the new set up, going on 8 years, was the only one not to make it...

 

[Cliff]

Apex all the way buddy

 

[SamB]

Sorry to hear your story and everyone's story that I read on the forums
I'm very glad that your fish (but one) made it
Corals and fish can survive colder temps for a short time and the key is to increase the temps gradually because fish's metabolism are slower than warm blooded animals - You did things this way so you saved the fish !
Controller yes and ATO definitely.
Maybe a good time to do a 10% water change too just to clear any mucus that your corals may have exuded due to stress

I am happy to house / fish tank baby sit for a couple of weeks in June !

 

[Tiredguy]

Sadly my budget is sitting at $300 or under right now... any help or advise could be great, I have been looking at the seneye as well,, My light is a maxspec razor and doesn't play well with any controller ive been told... as well as my pumps are jebeo,,, and already have their own controller..

 

[SamB]

http://thefragtank.ca/community/threads/apex-jr-mp40wes.17047/

GET A HOLD OF THIS GUY QUICK ! GOOD DEAL !

 

[Bigfish]

I had my gfi trip while away for 4 days and luckily didn't lose a thing! Tank was down to mid 60's. Fired everything up when I got home, some corals looked annoyed for a few days, but all was good. I've got an apex, but have never set it up properly. Seemed too complicated, lol. Glad to hear most of your livestock survived as well!

 

[heath]

sam, that is soooo nice to offer to babysit the tank while he is away... so sorry for your loss and headache, have you figured out how the power bar got shut off...that is everyone's night mare.. we are kind of married to our tanks...

 

[Tiredguy]

Thanks for the replies, So there is a light switch behind the tank, it controls the outlet that the power bar is plugged into,, my wifes cousin came up stairs looking how to turn on the lights, and switched that one... sadly we use to have tape over it,, but i forgot to replace it when it fell off..

 

[videosilva]

How did the temperature drop so low ? The tank should stay around room temperature ?

 

[reef keeper]

I had a buddy come check on my tank every 2 days. I live in Hamilton, so could check in on it for you.

Buy that apex Jr. You can upgrade different parts.

You will end up with one someday anyway, and that's a hell of a price

 

[Nighthawk26]

Thanks for the replies, So there is a light switch behind the tank, it controls the outlet that the power bar is plugged into,, my wifes cousin came up stairs looking how to turn on the lights, and switched that one... sadly we use to have tape over it,, but i forgot to replace it when it fell off..

Ouch

 

[sunnykita]

smart thinking to gradually raise the temp, hopefully the corals come around. I bet you've got tape over that light switch again ! Sorry to hear you lost your bangaii

 

[Nighthawk26]

Better yet, remove the switch.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

 

[zoomster]

Sounds like we both got pretty lucky at avoiding total tank losses.
It sounds like it was an innocent mistake so I hope you didn't beat on them too hard! Lol
And I agree with @Nighthawk26 , if it is no longer needed, remove it. Just remember that you cannot legally permanently cover the opening if there are capped wires behind it but, you can buy a solid switch cover and use.

 

[Tdizz]

Glad things bounced back for you!

 

[4Hummer]

a Reefkeeper lite is a cheap controller, No where near as fancy or powerful as an Apex, and customer support is horrible. But they work good, and can do a fair bit!

 

[derrick orosz]

Did the clam bounce back ?

 

[Tiredguy]

clam did bounce back,,, that thing is amazing,,,, still seeing some ill affects to the tank, going to do another small water change today,,,, My one clown seems to have developed black dots.... Posting picture.... he seems fine,, but these just came out lastnight..... Found this picture online not my fish, but looks the same,, i've looked on other forums people are not sure what they are,,

 

[Tiredguy]

Oh and It looks like i'm the proud new owner of an apx jr.

 

[SamB]

Ta Da !!