Could Have Been Much, Much Worse

[GobyJohnKenobi]

Hey everybody.

I have a story and a question for you.

I came home from work yesterday, checked out the tank, patted myself on the back for how far it has come along in the past 5 months and sat down to enjoy the rest of my evening.

About 6 PM I heard a sort of metallic sounding pinging noise coming from somewhere near the tank. I walked over to see what was going on, and I saw water splashing off the top of the Orbit light fixture. This was actually the very last thing that I expected to see.

So I looked into the tank to see if a powerhead had gone astray with its spray. Everything was right where it was supposed to be and pointing in the right direction. The frequency of the drips had increased into a steady stream in the few seconds of my investigation. I looked at the ceiling above the tank and discovered that the water was pouring at an impressive rate from around the fire sprinkler head. This was actually the very last place I expected to find a leak.

I flipped the switches on the power strips and cut all the power to the tank. I took the light off the top of the tank and set it somewhere to drip-dry for a while.

Now I have a stream of water pouring from the sprinkler head straight into my tank. The tank is a 15H, and it sits on the breakfast bar seperating the kitchen and the living room. In the past I have experienced the same sort of flooding when the person in the apartment above me put dishwashing soap instead of dishwasher detergent into the dishwasher. BAD IDEA... foams and floods like crazy!

I thought this must be another case of mistaken detergent and ran upstairs to tell them to shut the thing off and start mopping. Nobody's home....oh, and the their smoke detector is beeping away. Nice! I check the door, and it isn't hot. Doesn't smell like anything is burning....

I go upstairs to the top apartment; and once again, nobody's home. GRRRRR!!! Run back downstairs, check the lot for their cars, not there. Time to call for the emergency, afterhours maintenance people.

I ran back into the apartment and see the water flow increasing. My tank is now overflowing. It's time to start siphoning out enough water so I can move it. I start siphonong and grab a screwdriver to start punching holes in the ceiling away from the tank to divert the flow.

I filled up 2 2-gallon containers. I pulled the corals and put them in a container with the last of my fresh mixed salt water. The tank is now light enough for me to slide it over about a foot so it is safe from the increasing deluge.

Okay. At this point I didn't know if there was a fire above me or even the extent of the flooding. I had no idea how much water has flowed into my tank, and absolutely no idea of what might be in that water. My only 5 gallon container is under the drip, and I am emptying it pretty often. There is about a half inch of water on the kitchen floor. Not at all how I had planned to spend my evening.

I poured the water I siphoned out back into the tank and restarted the skimmer, filter, heater and powerhead. I didn't have any new water mixed up to do a change right then, and I figured I had better start trying to get out some of whatever was in there.

I threw another bag of Purigen into the filter, bringing the total up to 3 bags. The skimmer filled up in about 5 minutes. Then again in about 10 minutes. Again in about 15 minutes and so on. After about the sixth time it slowed down alot. I figured I had better get the corals back into the tank. By now the maintenance guy had discovered that the washing machine on the third floor had leaked and completely flooded that apartment and the one directly above me. He shut it off in time for me to not get flooded, but I did have water running out of a few light switches here and there. Electrifying!

I let the light dry over night before plugging it back in. This morning all the hermits, sea stars, pods, bristle worms and snails looked fine. I have shrooms, zoos, palys, green starburst polyps and candycanes. They were expanded fairly well this morning, and they looked pretty much normal after the light was on for a while. I also have hitch hiker sponges, tunicates, seasquirts and fan worms.

I use Reef Crystals salt and did a 20% change today with water I mixed last night. The skimmer output looks about normal. I'm running 3 pouches of Purigen and a large bag of fresh Matrix Carbon. SG and pH are still good. Everything looks okay...so far.

I guess I should have said long story and a question. Thanks for reading so far.

My question is: Did I miss anything and is there anything else I should do to help deal with the contamination from that water?

I know that it must have contained floor cleaners, detergents, plaster, paint, construction debris and chemicals from treated lumbar. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and thanks for reading..... and check the hoses on your washing machines.

[needyreefer]

I'd say you handled the situation pretty well. Just keep an eye on things, and I'd keep running alot of fresh carbon for the next few days. Remember, when in doubt, do a water change...

[vanmo92]

waterchanges,waterchanges....and more waterchanges.

[Ripside]

Wow, good thing there wasn't a bunch of detergent in that flood water... imagine the bubbles youd' get from the skimmer then!

[navajo]

I think you handled it VERY WELL! Kudos to you!

The only other thing I can think of would be MAYBE a copper test? (All the wiring and pipes it ran down/over) Although your inverts seem fine...Never hurts to be safe.

Also agree with water changes pretty often for a bit just for peace of mind.

[reefshadow]

Yikes, good job. The purigen is a good thing, maybe some Polyfilter as well? Or are they basically the same thing?

Good tip on the washer hose. Those, and dishwashers are the most common causes of house flooding.

[ek9vboi]

Good job, your a hero in my eyes. lol

[GobyJohnKenobi]

Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement everyone! (bonding moment)

The tank is doing good. The SG dropped to 1.024 from 1.025 and the pH dropped to 8.15 from whatever the amount of fresh water that dribbled into the tank. Those number should start moving back up to where they were with the water changes.

I'm not sure about the Poly Filter right now. I'm a bit hesitant to add anything new to the situation, but will probably use it if the Cu test kit indicates any copper in the water.

Now if only the carpet will stop making those Squishy sounds... sigh.

[Salty Brother]

I give you major props. I once had a overflow and I started to freak and it took me about a minute to settle down. I think you are doing ok, just test things ever few hours or so. And if your tank got mixed up like sand and stuff, the hot magnum filter with the water polising filter in it is amazing! In a few days it will put out so much crap. I did than when I set up my new tank and it did the trick.

[schristi69]

A cover over your tank would have prevented water from getting in the tank in the first place