Murphys Law, HELP NEEDED ASAP

[stimpy4242]

Of course, my tank would trip the circuit breaker while I was away. Good thing is it summer time and the temperature in the house is set at 76. So for the most part the tank stayed in an ok range it is currently at 72. Everything appears to be in the tank that was there when I left, except the anemone was no longer attached, because when I turned on the pumps, he tumbled out from some rock with my clown happily inside of him...perhaps the cold water...so I placed the anemone back on a ledge and the clown seems happy in him and my heater is currently working on getting the temp back up. The only fish I don't think I see is my Yellow Tang, but my blue tang is happily swimming around. Tank looks perfectly clear.
Anything I should do? The levels are all fine. Should I not heat the tank right up to 80? Should i do something else? Let me know.

 

[exlfs]

Because your temperature went 'down' and not up, you're probably going to be fine. With this temp change, most inverts won't care, though this may stimulate a molt from crabs and shrimps. Corals should be fine excpet for very senesitive SPS. How long was the power out to the tank?
The primary concern will probably be with the ich outbreak which could likely occur because of the rapid changes in temperature. Temp changes in excess of 4 degrees in 24 hours causes the fish's slime coat. The slime coat, of course, is what helps deter attacment of the ich (or amyloodinium) parasites to the fish. In the absence of their slime coat, many fish are much more likely to break out with ich....this is especially true of surgeonfishes and fish like the Moorish Idol listed on your profile.
My primary suggestion is turn on your UV Steralizer if you have one and run it non-stop for the next 72 hours. If there is going to be an ich outbreak it will occur within that time. Don't mean to scare you, but that's what I'd be primarily concerned about.
Best of luck and God bless....

 

[ninjamini]

increase the temo slow to 76 then tomorrow 78

 

[stimpy4242]

Well, in absense of any quick responses yesterday...I did slowly increase temp. However at some point in the night the power kicked again to that breaker. I am not sure what is shorting out, but I have an idea and I am currently unplugging things to narrow it down...hopefully the answer will come soon. Everything seems find this morning in the tank however.

 

[stimpy4242]

Everyone seems happy still...it has not gone off since i unplugged some questionable things..so we will see.

 

[renogaw]

did you find your yellow?
try to put a volt meter into your tank and see if you have stray voltage. you may have a bad pump or even the heater.
The primary concern will probably be with the ich outbreak which could likely occur because of the rapid changes in temperature.
unless the fish already had ich, and the tank was never fallow, and the fish were never treated properly, there is no way for the fish to get ich.

 

[exlfs]

"unless the fish already had ich, and the tank was never fallow, and the fish were never treated properly, there is no way for the fish to get ich."
Not true. Many, many, many people experience ich outbreaks as a result of spikes in temperature. For the most part, the ich parasite is present in every single tank we own....period. The 'outbreaks' occur when the 'fish are not treated properly' as you do suggest....such as a spike in temperature. The ich parasite can lay dormant in substrates, live rock, etc. and in general is present in every reef tank. Again, the 'outbreaks' occur when the fish lose their slime coat and therefore are no longer resistant to the attachent of the parasite while it is in it's free-swimming phase. Additionally, the spike in temperature dramatically stimulates the growth and reproduction of the parasite, which can result in a huge population of free-swimming parasties looking for a nice warm body to attach to. Kind of the same way that you can stimulate the reproductive cycle of many organisms (aquatic and not) with drops in temperature for a given time, followed by a relatively rapid increase in temperature.
Bottom line is that a drop in temperature, followed by a relatively rapid increase in temperature, does indeed produce the perfect conditions for an ich outbreak in ANY tank....regardless of the animal husbandry the reef owner has provided. Obviously, the healthier the tank, the less likely it is that the outbreak will be devastating, or that the parasites will even attach. Additionally, there are a lot of things we do in higher-tech reef tanks that additionally reduce the probability of catastrophic ich infestation...such as (obviously) UV steralizers, aggressive protein skimming, reef conditions that are less tolerated by parasites, and the addition of reef additives that can serve as a deterrent to the reproductive cycle of the parasite.
I hope you don't find this argumentative. I don't intend that at all. It's just I've seen MANY people fall victim to their supposition that they are not susceptible to ich (or amyloodinium) outbreaks because their tank is 'healthy' and they practice fantastic husbandry. I hate for people to learn the hard way. Again...sorry if this sounded that way.
Anyway, hope you found the cause of your short circuits and get it resolved. Also hope your fish and corals are doing well.
Best of luck and God bless.....

 

[stimpy4242]

Short circuits caused by cooling fans...and the salt creep into them.

 

[exlfs]

Glad you found the short! Funny, that's what happened to me the one and only time I crashed a tank. The cooling fan shorted out apparently right after we left for a 3 day weekend and came back to thousands and thousands of dollars worth of dead corals and fish. I was devastated! It's been a couple years ago, and after that, I had the electrician come in and run separate circuits (GFCI's) for my main pump, lights, and closed loop pump. This way, it would take 3 different things to short out for a tank to crash. Had to learn the hard way! OUCH.
Hope your fish and corals are doing well. God bless......