Stupidity = BIG loss

B

Bryan

So I did a big tank cleaning on sunday. Water change , vacum trash out of sump , clean powerheads, etc. During sump cleaning I turned my heater off through my controller since it would be exposed to air for an extended period. Cleaning went well, WC was successful (I stayed dry) and everything was put back and running great. [smilie=clapping.gif]



Then tuesday came . [smilie=surprised.gif]

I got home from work around 4:30 or so , and grabbed a quick drink. On my way back through the living room I noticed my clown looked a bit different (not swimming) [smilie=worried.gif]

I began my investigation and found the problem ... My dumba$$ never turned my heater back on , and the water was @ 68*.

victims :
1 powder brown tang
1 blue hippo tang
1 tomato clown
1 strawberry psudeo.
1 false perc.
[smilie=crying.gif]

I write this in hopes someone can learn from my screw up.



note to self : order net module for RKE , so your fish can ask for a little heat in the future.
 
sorry to hear man, its always rough. i just had some losses myself and it sucks to look at the tank.
 
Unfortunately we are not perfect beings, and things happen. Don't be to hard on yourself and consider it a learned lesson. The positive is you didn't loose a ton of coral$ on top of it all. Hope you recover your stock and get that net module.
 
Sorry to hear this... I did the same thing about a month ago... lost several fish including a false perc I had had for 7 years... gut wrenching! Live and learn i guess... it still sucks though! Thanks for the post...
 
Oh wow I'm so sorry to hear about your losses. I usually unplug the heater whenever I do some sump cleaning and now that I have a RKL I really need to get that net module.
 
Tough one! Sorry for your loss. My fish (as I am sure yours are too) are my "pets" and it is so sad to lose them (especially when it is our fault).

I have to say that I am surprised that this killed your fish that quickly. Did you check the parameters cause I have many of the same fish and have had a dip in temperature and not had this kind of effect. Once my hippos developed ick but it went away on its own.
 
I am suprised also... the fish's metobolism would slow down when the temp dropped, but I find it hard to believe 68 deg was the culprit. Any idea what the actual bottom temperature the tank saw ? I haven't had a heater in my tank for 2 years. I just rely on the ambient house temp to maintane the tank temperature. ( I have been thinking about a heater as a precaution though [smilie=whew.gif] )

Was all the gear you "cleaned" thoroughly rinsed of any cleaning agents? I had a complete tank crash due to this reason right after I moved my tank here from Wisconsin.

Did you mix the salt the day before to ensure the water used inthe change was re-oxygenated? Is the salinity correct? The higher the salinity the lower the oxygen. Ref: http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/data/NEW/info/DO.html
 
ok, where to begin.

No "cleaning agents" were used on any equipment this time, just a quick rinse in RO/DI. The salt had been mixing for 2 days to be exact, Salinity, PH, Temp was all on par. The temp that was posted 68* was during the day with T5's and MH on. It was pretty cool outside one night and we had some of our windows open, not sure what the lowest temp range was in the tank. I do have survivors : 1 false perc , 1 pajama cardinal , 1 melanarius wrasse, 3 emerald crabs, 2 pep shrimp, 1 yellow tang, 1 tailspot blenny. they all looked really bad, but as the temp slowly came back up they started looking better and started swimming again. Parameters all tested to within acceptable ranges - battiling a PO4 problemo, but nothing too crazy. With that being said, I'm sticking to the temp as the culprit. Corals are all good, didnt lose a single one.a few Rics recently split , Acro got its color back as the temp came back to normal, acans look good, zoas good.

I say temp, but we may never know.

-Bryan
 
Dang what size tank and what is the room temperature? I as well have never ran a heater on my tanks, not even in the winter. Crazy sounding to me.
 
48x20x25 is the tank size. The problem is, I dont really know the lowest temp that the tank actually got to. I just know that in the later part of the day when the MH's and T5's had been running for a while the temp was 68. So i am guessing that the temp was a bit lower than that at night, and for a good part of the morning as well.
 
That is really weird to me, it has never gotten that cold in my house. Do you have a big fan running on it? Is your AC on and how cold do you keep it?
 
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