My worst nightmare...and a powerful lesson

ticklemyelmo

ticklemyelmo

Member
Well, 3 months and 9 days later everything is back up and running. It feels good to have it back again. When we ripped up the floor, we redesigned it with the sole purpose of making it perfect for the weight of the fish tank. Under the new floor is about a 2 foot gap to a concrete floor which drains to outside and the basement ( where I have a flood sump ) in case something like that ever happens again. All the beams were triple re-inforced and ran perpendicular to the tank stand.
I cant believe most of the fish made it. I purposely ran the powerhead in a way that all the fish waste and such would accumulate on the sides and kind of act as a "skimmer" and I'm suprised they lasted 3 months. One of my rocks has a huge colony of very small feather dusters now as well...
After sifting through the tub and taking out the live rock, it is with great displeasure that I announce the casualties...
-Flame angel
-1 out of 2 Anthias
-Lawnmower Blenny

-Arrow crab ( He was getting big and mean anyways )
-All snails ( Their numbers were declining before the tank leak anyways )
-1 Emerald Crab
-Cleaner clams
Survivors:
-Powder Blue Tang
-Clownfish
-Fire goby
-Pink Diamond goby
-1 Anthias
-2 Bangaii cardinals
-Cleaner shrimp
-1 Emerald Crab
-Feather dusters
-Hermit Crabs ( murdering assholes
)
 
95harley

95harley

Active Member
OMG dude, this is my worst nightmare. With a 240g Salt and a 180g Fresh downstairs (ON CARPET) and a 75g Upstairs (On Carpet) this is my absolute worst nightmare.
I think I might just call the insurance company and burn the house down after something like that would happen.
So sorry for your situation, you truely have my regards.
 
ticklemyelmo

ticklemyelmo

Member
Yeah the part that really sucks is that I did absolutely nothing wrong. The stand and tank was PERFECTLY level both before and after water was added and rock. I even had a piece of light diffuser on the bottom to prevent cracked glass in the event of a rock falling. I even work at a fish store for the past 1 1/2 years and sell nothing but AGA tanks and this is the first time ive ever heard of something like that happening, just sucks it happened to me

And to make it worse Im 18 and only make $8.14 ( after 1 1/2 years ) and part time as I attend college and the police academy so seeing $6,000 on the floor and gone to waste was a real tough pill to swallow.
 
nwdyr

nwdyr

Active Member
.....um...what can you say? I had a 55gal split on me when I was a kid at my P's house and THAT was a mess! I cant imagine what yours was like
Sounds like you knew what to do , congrats on saving all the stuff you did. I would think everything would have died! Good for you
Did AGA help with the damage to your house?
 
ticklemyelmo

ticklemyelmo

Member
No there wasnt any real damage thankfully. We left the hardwood floor because most of the water ran off into the basement. We replaced the floor in my kitchen because we always wanted to and we had to take the tile off to make it level so we ended up taking off all the tile as well as the 6 inches of concrete beneath it with a jackhammer. So basically my tank went from the living room to the kitchen area.
 
rotarymagic

rotarymagic

Active Member

Originally Posted by 95Harley
http:///forum/post/2839419
OMG dude, this is my worst nightmare. With a 240g Salt and a 180g Fresh downstairs (ON CARPET) and a 75g Upstairs (On Carpet) this is my absolute worst nightmare.
I think I might just call the insurance company and burn the house down after something like that would happen.
So sorry for your situation, you truely have my regards.
"How did the house burn down?"
"I dunno yet, I'm still deciding that...."
 
culp

culp

Active Member
that's why is planed for the worst and in the basement i have a 29 gallon tank that is set up with 15 pounds of live rock and 5 inch deep sand bed that has been up and running since June. the tank has 3 power heads and a 60 watt light on it so if any thing would happen to my 55 gallon tank in the living room i could easily move all my fish into the back up tank. each week when doing my water change i put about 5 gallons of the old water from my 55 into the 29 to keep it cycled with one green chromes in it with a auto feeder.
 
saka bra

saka bra

Member
dude someting similar happened to me. back in the day when i didnt have a sump to use to replenish the evaporated water, i had to pick up the 5 gallon container over the tank and set it on top of the acrylic to pour it in at the top. when i sat it down on top i heard a crack thinking it was the acryilic so i stopped and checked for leaks but didnt find any and was relieved and went back to business. then i accidentally missed the opening to pour water in and it splashed a little. i was like, no big deal, ill just clean it up. well i finished pouring the water in. then about 10 minutes later i hear a dripping underneath. i began to freak out and told my mom that our 125 gallon tank was leaking. so we went down to ***** just 5 minutes away about 10 minutes before they closed and picked up a 26 gallon tank for my prized fish and used our 10 gallon tank for the smaller fish. we emptied the tank all the way and put our 200lbs of live lock in 50gallon tupperware crates and had to get rid of our live sand. we didnt have a choice but we had to sacrifice a couple of fish. so we had our 7 inch long naso, 5 inch angelfish, 5 inch regal tang and percula clown all together in tha 26 gallon for about 2 months with just a powerhead and one rock and thay all survived
and a squirrelfish and small naso in the 10 gallon. the next day after taking apart the whole tank, we saw dried up water lines running down the back of the tank. not knowing what it was from until i remembered that i had spilled water at the top, i kept this a secret from my mom for a little while. then she saw the lines too and thought the same thing i did. then we filled it up with hose water and found no cracks at all. relieved that we didnt need to buy a new tank, we started assembling a new system and had someone professionally put together a sump and connect with plummming. about two months later the tank was up and running with a new system and looking a lot better. so it kind of turned out to be a good thing because the first tank was well kept but know is a showpeice.
Im still really surprised that those fish i had stayed alive for two months in such small and overcrowded tanks. I guess some fish as individuals are extremely hardy.
casualties:(all casualties were sacrificed) (not enough room)
snails
3 ugly damsels

3 inch rainbow wrasse

4 inch rabbitfish

survivors:
French angelfish

Large naso w/streamers

small naso

big regal tang

squirrelfish

percula clownfish
 
ticklemyelmo

ticklemyelmo

Member
Figured I'd update this thread and my tank in general, its really been a while.
Ever since I got the new tank setup, everything has been going wrong. I now have a constant problem with diatoms, which never happened with the initial setup. My nitrate levels are incredibly high, mostly due to a lack of water changes, but I never did all that many with the initial tank either, and it was setup for much longer and nitrates were never an issue. My filter ran flawlessly with the first setup, and now the overflow box and u-tube give me constant problems with air bubbles, none of which happened before. I even ordered a new return pump, nozzle and tubing, and it still hasn't helped. The return pump area is filled with sandish sludge, which clouds the water everytime I add water and pour it too quickly. I lost two fish, the two I loved the most. I've never lost a fish before, not since the couple I lost when they were living in the rubbermaid. Nothing goes right, and it always ends with me spending more money.
I'm seriously contemplating giving away all my fish, selling all my live rock for incredibly cheap and getting rid of the sand, and turning it into a freshwater planted setup. Of course thats incredibly expensive as well. But at least maintenance is a breeze. I can get a canister filter, set it, and aside from monthly cleanings, forget it. No overflow bubbles and much less stress. Get a python, and water changes are a snap. With saltwater, its mix this, mix that, wait for this, take hours to drain and refill enough water out of 125 to be considered a water change. I know these things are normal and necessary for any tank, but ever since the incident, its just aggravating knowing that if it never happened, it would be so much easier.
In short, the whole issue has killed my passion. I no longer care, the tank is more of a burden then something I enjoy. I plan to write a letter to AGA/ Aqueon, telling them just how their ---- up, their faulty construction, their stupid

[hr]
mistake has killed my passion for keeping marine life. I know it wont get me anything, but thats not my intention. I just want them to know.
.....Yesterday I cleaned out my filter, got everything clear of soot and rather clean. The overflow is still one aggravating cluster

[hr]
, but I feel a little bit better. I still have to do a bunch of water changes to get my nitrates down, which is aggravating since I don't have a power-head to mix the salt since the Koralia 3 I have has stopped working, and tripped the circuit, apparently the cause of a recall a while ago that I never knew about. So now I have to try to get that replaced. With a big sale going on, I'll be able to get a RO for about $120, so I figure if I do that and order some more live rock it might re-ignite my passion a little. At least I hope anyways. I might even order a Nova Extreme Pro while its on sale, maybe start a reef. That might help a lot with the desire to drive forward. Of course then I have to upgrade to a sump since apparently reefs are hard to run with a wet/dry filter. And if I do upgrade to a sump then I have to get a new skimmer since my current filter has one built in. I'd also have to raise my salinity.
I'm just aggravated. I feel as though I'm bound for disaster. I feel like I'm going to get a reef setup and everything perfect and a fish will break out with ich or something. I feel like any little thing that goes wrong right now will push me over the edge, either to setting up a planted tank or saying ---- it all together and selling the tank and using my old tank and stand for my lizard. I'm at an impasse. I cant decide whether I should spend a ton of money to order rock and the RO and the sump and all, or if I should just spend the money on a much easier to maintain planted tank. I'll freak if I spend the money on RO and the $600 light and the rock and something goes wrong and I'll have to sell it since I'll have no use for it in the freshwater or reptilian worlds. I'm torn.
Phew. Just needed to vent, and I'd like to say......---- you AGA, ---- you.
 
lietz06

lietz06

Member
I've read through your whole thread...and all I can think of to say is...that freakin sucks!!!! I'm sorry that happened to you...and that you'r passions has fizzled. I hope you go ahead with the Ro and light & start the reef and like you said hopefully it'll rekindle your passion for the hobby bc sometimes it can be a rewarding hobby. Keep us posted on what you finally decide. Hopefully things'll turn around for ya!
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

I can’t imagine! Glad the fish had some water left to live in before you could get to them. I agree, they better buy you a new tank..but how much trust can you have in a tank from them now? I would worry all the time that it would happen again.
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
Oh please start a reef tank. You seem like a smart cookie, and I think you can handle any hang ups you come to. Maybe get an acrylic tank so you won't worry about it?
I don't know what to tell you but reefs have their own rewards and are really great fun. I have had issues and I am waiting on things right now too (like to get my 200 gal back so I can finish my upgrade) but I still love the hobby at the end of the day!
Good luck with your newer set up... I hope everything works out well for you!
 
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