Well another holiday light related tank problem.

E

extinguishfire

This time of year I have no time for anything but working at the fire station and putting up holiday lights. I always seem to have a tank problem due to me not being home to take care of it. Well tonight I come home and smell an electrical burning smell. Looked under tank to find 3 inches of water inside my stand. Luckily I had lined it with pond liner as I installed it. My filter sock had overflowed and spilled over side of sump. Well my ph controller had come disconnected from the wall and not having time to mess with it, I stuck it on the bottom of the tank stand. It was totally submerged with water and the cause of the smell. Now here is the question I have. Are all the items in the bottom sitting in the water tainted and ruined due to contaminents in the water? I am not sure how long it had been like that since I was at the station yest and didn't get home tonight til 930. I had some algae scrub pads, scrapers, vinyl tubing, cups that I feed with, joes juice stuff sitting on bottom of stand. I am nervous about using them if they were sitting in water that had copper possibly leaked into it.

Oh and P.S. Marc there is no reason to tell me, " I told you so" about the filter socks.
 
Oh man. . :sad: I think I'll line the bottom of my stands with a pond liner now. Sorry I can't help with the other things though.
 
Sorry to hear about the mishap. We really like the pond liner idea too and we've used it in every place we have a tank except one. I personally would just test some of the water for copper if possible and that may eliminate much of your concerns. I think I'd be more concerned about what other oils/chemicals may be present too. I'd be glad to test it for you if you still have any of the water left. Then *assuming* a copper test showed problems, I'd replace/really clean anything that is absorbent and just wash the rest of the items in a dishwasher and then rinse well with water afterward. The other contaminants besides the copper should come off with a hot soapy wash I'd think. JMO
Doug
 
I think if I was going with the pond liner idea....I would elevate everthing above the potential pooling area with wood blocks and gratings. Maybe a water sensor would be good too. They sell them at lowes for water heaters.
 
Chris - What kind of controller was it. If it is toasted I have a Milwaukee SMS122 pH Controller that I can get rid of. I upgraded to the ORP/pH controller and it is just sitting here.

Shoot me a PM if you are interested.

As to the question you can almost guarantee that there is some copper in the controller. And unless you want to take it apart and clean it with a non acidic solution. Then allow it to dry. I am not sure it is worth or or that I would even attempt it.
 
@extinguishfire wrote:
Oh and P.S. Marc there is no reason to tell me said:
A similar sock incident happened to Lindsey several months ago and it actually started a fire.

The fact is using a sock is fine as long as the entire thing is inside the sump beneath the top lip of the sump. If the sock gets so clogged that it'll overflow, all the water should pour over into the sump and not overflow an edge. For those that like using filter socks, there is a bracket that you can buy and hang in your sump:

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_searchstatistics.asp?SearchStr=filter%20sock&action=view&idProduct=BSAMK

I wouldn't wish what happened to you upon anyone, and just hope what you shared will help others avoid a similar disaster.

Most of the items in your stand should be cleanable, but the controller is very likely toast after being submerged in saltwater. My Aqua Controller II was flooded years ago, and when I sent it in to Neptune Systems, Curt told me the motherboard was history and had to be replaced.
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