Help!!!! My whole system went down for 4-6 hrs, my gfc untii outlet

[lost1st manty:(]

auto shut everything off my connection between my skimmer pump and hose disconneted spilling water out thus triggering gfci outlet to switch off which is all fine an dandyas i did have a backup airation unit that triggered on when power went out but i am most afraid toxic levels of polluntants accumaulated in my sump which i have heard about happening, all my systems are back up running now, what should i do now though as i dont want a wipeout , i reseeded my 150 with some biological i keep as backup in my quarantine and have added some amquel to kill and ammonia or nitrite accumulation, Im just hoping i didnt get a toxic built up in my sump which i read about alot and not sure how long it would have taken or what else i should be doing ,i appreciate anyoner immediete help and response, very worried right now

[VolitanLioness]

i reseeded my 150 with some biological i keep as backup in my quarantine and have added some amquel to kill and ammonia or nitrite accumulation

Did you test the water before adding anything to the tank?

Kaye

[marrone]

I wouldn't worry about 4-6 hours as even though that's a good amount of time I would think your system should be ok. I would do a water change in the sump and take the return to the tank and have it run back through the sump, bypassing the tank, and see how it's doing. Also get some carbon and poly pads and place them into the sump. Also put in a small fish or hermit crab into the sump, once it's running and see how it doesn't, that would be a good time to see if the system is ok. Also check and see if the sump smells really bad like rotten eggs or burnt rubber.

[TAZ316]

I would do a water change and then test the water. 4-6 hours I dont think levels would get that out of wack, but you cant be too cautious. I have a question marrone, why would you put a fish in the sump, is it to check the ammona levels in the sump?

[Mad Scientist]

4-6hrs in nothing. If that did a thing to your tank you have other, major unrelated problems.

[marrone]

Originally posted by TAZ316
I have a question marrone, why would you put a fish in the sump, is it to check the ammona levels in the sump?

Pretty much that's the reason. If you suspect that the sump could be toxic by running the water back into it, an surpassing the main tank, you could tell if there is a problem by place a fish, hermit or shrimp in it and see if they have any problems.

[TAZ316]

I thought that was what you were getting at but wasnt sure.

[Wolverine]

I agree with Mad Scientist, 4-6 hours really isn't much. We had our tank down for almost 3 days last summer and didn't have any problems. One thing you can do is also run an airline to your sump with a backup system.

The big worry is with hydorgen sulfide, which, as someone mentioned, smells like rotten eggs. That's what will wipe out your tank quickly. The biggest problem for that is within tubing and in canister filters, because they get anoxic more quickly.

Dave