Ac7av tank crash update

[ac7av]

So, after loosing a years worth the growth and many mini starfish and skunk cleaner shrimp, bubba the clam, xenia forest, and several other small leathers I think I stumbled onto what caused my crash.

It was the stinking heater I used in the mixing container. I am so upset at that stupid thing. It cost me all my xenia, my 3 skunk cleaner shrimp, a big a$$ clam, a few other soft coals, a newly mixed up 55 gallons of salt mix that I have to dump out now and more hair on my head.

Even when I try to take care of my stuff it gets all screwed up with out my help. I don’t need any help screwing up my stuff I can handle that quite well myself thank you. Some times I think I should just leave it alone unless I see something happening.

Incase anyone is wondering, I did a water change a couple of weeks ago and my tank acted like I had poured battery acid into it. It was definitely a shock to the system. All the mini stars starting falling up and curling up off the rocks almost immediately and dying. All the corals shriveled up, the clam closed, and all the thousands of small feather dusters retracted not to show again for days. All for a water change done with water that I always use and salinity and temp matching the tank.

Apparently the seal on the top of the heater was broken. I happen to notice today when I was mixing up the new salt mix to do a water change again this weekend to help rinse out the tank again that bubbles were coming out the top of the heater and what almost looked like smoke in the water coming from the dial of the heater. Sure enough when I unplugged the heater it stopped bubbling and smoking. I don’t know what is getting into the water but I’m sure its not good stuff from the results I got by dumping it into the tank. Tomorrow I’m going to disassemble the heater and try and see what it was that was burning or melting or what ever to see what I put into the tank.

I feel like I’ve lost a year and a half of maturity in the tank and it sucks but what can you do? S happens.

[IPisces]

Wow, thats just horrible. Something like that can not really be foreseen. Same thing would happen if that heater had been in your tank. Probably worse. Sorry for your loss. Next NSR meeting, if you and I are able to make it at the same time, I have plenty of soft coral and a couple xenia's I can spare frags of.

[Krish]

Sorry to heat man..That really sucks . It seems heaters are more trouble than good. I can't understand for the life of me something as simple as a heater can't be made better. So many tanks are screwed up because of them. I hope you are able to bounce back and recover.


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[Scooterman]

I always used a Ranco controller on my heaters because of this but from what your saying it seems different. The heater was in the mixing container right, then you used that water in your tank and it crashed. Unless the Bi-metals or mercury caused the contaminants I wouldn't know what else in the heaters would cause this. This is one that I never hear of like this but in this hobby as much is fighting against you it is always possible that one little tiny thing can really crash your tank. My suggestion is, clean up the mess, wc's with good water and mix, test well and replinish your water as much as possible to flush out the damage. I think in the long run you'll be surprised what survives over time, hopefully you recover well and continue on with more experience to take with you.

[TJL]

Damn it Man, I hate when this kind of stuff happens its pretty much like takin' a cheap shot when you can't see it coming. Well like Lorrie stated at least it was not in your DT and I also would be happy to give you some more starts/frags. Give me a call when your going to be down my way or I will do the same for next time headed North my friend.

Cheers, Todd

[ac7av]

What is left looks better now that it doesnt smell like the beach at low tide on a sunny day with lots of kelp cooking in the sun. I believe I have one speck of pom pom xenia starting to grow off the rock that will survive that was about 4X6 inches. I think the other pink xenia is toast. There is no bringing back the clam or cleaner shrimp that’s for sure. I don’t have to empty the skimmer every 5 seconds now which is a plus. A few of the softies look better then before all this happened so things are looking up. None of the fish seemed to be bothered and the water is clear again. Ill let you know what I find when I get a chance to sit down and open up the heater. My guess is that the contacts just under the dial were sizzling away with the salt water in it. Probably made with copper I would guess. That mite explain why the inverts were affected so quickly. If I remember they don’t like that sort of stuff.

RIP Clammy

[seattlereef]

Ouch sorry to hear about your crash.

[ac7av]

I had a chance to dismantle the heater in question and it’s a confirmed kill. I don’t know what all makes up the innards of this heater but it smells like some kind of chemical. I smell plenty of burnt up connectors and components in my work but this is nasty.

I did a successful water change today this morning @ 9am and all is well with the world. I did it exactly like before only with out using this heater to heat up the water. Now I feel better knowing I am not a complete idiot that doesn’t deserve a fish tank because I cant even do a water change with out screwing it up.

Take a look at this thing.











This last one is some of the nasty water and bits that came out of the body of the heater.

[1guydude]

I cant see any of the pics! Sry to hear this man! Wat brand heater?

Sounds like u were able to save some of ur livestock...so not a complete crash lol.

[tat2z_21]

Dude your lucky there wasn't a fire with the amount of current going through that heater.

[Bosco83]

How old was that heater? I might just start replacing all my heaters every few years. I keep one in my 55 gallon ro water container in the garage that I can't even see, one in my fresh saltwater make up container, and one in my tank of course.

Brian

[ac7av]

Well this heater had not been in constant use but it's about five years old. It was a stealth heater, I called the manufacturer about a year ago when I saw a sign on the door the local fish store about The stealth pro recall, They said that the ones that I had were not part of the recall. You would never be able to tell that by looking at the insides that heater

[trido]

I guess I missed this thread. Sorry to hear about it. I know exactly how you feel since I went through alot of losses myself right around the same time. WE will bounce back. Unfortunately, sometimes its part of the hobby.

[ac7av]

Well the real sad part about that heater is my brother was using it in his fish tank for over a year. He was having such bad luck with that tank he got out of a hobby. It's sad to, That tank was really beautiful it first. After a while it just seem to get worse and worse it was pretty much a green out. Snails would instantly die if they touch the hair algae that was growing everywhere. This was the first time I had personally use this heater since I bought it five years ago. It's clear from the pictures of the inside of that heater it'd been having a problem for a long time. I had to call him and talk to him about the Heater to let him know that he wasn't a complete failure at keeping a saltwater reef tank. Am sure glad I didn't put it in use in my 210. After everything started turning green in my tank just from that one water change of using water made with that heater in it, I can see now why his fish tank looks so bad, Even though he seem to be doing everything right.

[Bosco83]

I had to top my tank off with water when I got home and right before I poured it in I remembered this thread and gave the water a good sniff.