This may be the end [Archive] - Reef Central Online Community Archives

Carl_in_Florida

01/09/2006, 10:12 PM

Got a call from my wife that there was smoke coming from the tank and that water was gushing all over the floor.
Apparently she knocked the pipe from the overflow to the sump loose. As the water flowed from the tank onto the floor, the auto topoff went into high gear pumping about a gallon and a half of RO/DI into the tank. The water flowed all over my ballast and I am pretty sure it is fried.
By the time I got home most of my corals were shriveled up.
I had enough water on hand to get the SG right but I fear it may be to late.
And if the MH ballast is gone than I am done. Right now I do not have the money to replace it (and won't in the foreseeable future).

So pray for me tonight. It very well may be my last as a reefer.

CArl

supernareg

01/09/2006, 10:13 PM

goodluck

spf9992001

01/09/2006, 10:16 PM

I'm sorry this happened. I'm glad no people were hurt.

Any idea how long the inhabitants were exposed to the "bad" water?

Jake

louist

01/09/2006, 10:42 PM

That sucks Carl, I hope things turn out fine for the corals at the end. Sometimes you will be surprised how well they take a bit of stress.

vanmo92

01/09/2006, 11:19 PM

I really hope that it is ok. See if u can take the corals (and rest of livestock) to your lfs for temporary housing.

surfnvb7

01/09/2006, 11:47 PM

man, sounds like you have alot of bad luck with this stuff. keep us updated on how this pulls though.

KPOLYP

01/10/2006, 05:50 AM

i understand similiar things happened on this end. but by my cat . damn el gatto diablo

Carl_in_Florida

01/10/2006, 08:28 AM

Things did not lookl too bad this morning. But I am pretty sure the ballast is dead.
I am not sure what I am going to do.
( I mean about the tank. I am not going to jump off a building or anything.)
Maybe tear it all down and cook my rock till I can afford to start again.

Carl

Sugar Magnolia

01/10/2006, 09:48 AM

Glad to hear the things in the tank seem okay. Can you see if anyone in your local reef club has a ballast they can sell you cheap? Or try the forums here.

I'm having ballast issues myself. My 2 year old Icedcap is weirding out on me. Bad wiring.

Carl_in_Florida

01/10/2006, 09:54 AM

I am going to see what happens. This really could not have happened for me at a worse time (money and time wise).

Carl

Cutiewitbooty

01/10/2006, 10:41 AM

that really sucks, i'm sorry, hope everything turns out ok for you. Think of the bright side, since it was her fault maybe she will feel bad and let you get a bigger tank :D

phenom5

01/10/2006, 11:14 AM

Can you see if anyone in your local reef club has a ballast they can sell you cheap? Or try the forums here.

that's exactly what i was going to suggest, but Suge beat me to it. check with the local clubs, there's got to be somebody that has an extra ballast that they'll give you as a loaner...or at least some kind of light that you can borrow, a buy off them for cheap.

that really sucks dude, hope everything works out.

Kogo

01/10/2006, 01:10 PM

carl, ive got some space, and possibly some temp. light. drop me a pm with your cell and well talk.

tinyreef

01/10/2006, 01:55 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6466289#post6466289 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cutiewitbooty
Think of the bright side, since it was her fault maybe she will feel bad and let you get a bigger tank :D omg. do you realize what you've done, cutie? think of the repercussions from that simple suggestion across the nation. oh, the horror. :lol:

"honey? did you touch my tank?! there! i see fingerprints! there, see?! i'm sorry but i gotta have a new tank now."

tinyreef

01/10/2006, 02:07 PM

btw, sorry about the mishap carl. hopefully, you can salvage some stuff. silver lining, man.

Kogo

01/10/2006, 02:27 PM

tinyreef,

i love the new tagline!!!!

i feel famous now. ROFL!!!

Carl_in_Florida

01/10/2006, 02:29 PM

kogo - ygpm

Kogo

01/10/2006, 02:57 PM

got it.

Carl_in_Florida

01/10/2006, 03:01 PM

She could care less how big the tank is. It's a $$$ issue around here.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6466289#post6466289 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cutiewitbooty
that really sucks, i'm sorry, hope everything turns out ok for you. Think of the bright side, since it was her fault maybe she will feel bad and let you get a bigger tank :D

Carl_in_Florida

01/11/2006, 09:13 AM

Great News!!!! (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2028%20:6-7;&version=65;)

I went by Kogo's Aquatics (http://reefcentral.com/forums/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=68758) yesterday and got the ultimate hookup! I only owe him a frag of anything I ever get! :lol:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y8/carl_in_florida/new%20light/PICT2273.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y8/carl_in_florida/new%20light/PICT2269.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y8/carl_in_florida/new%20light/PICT2272.jpg

Thanks so much to spf9992001 for your offer!

Well I have concrete ceilings so I have to figure out how to hang this thing and hopefully i wont fry my stuff to quickly.

God is good!

Carl

Cutiewitbooty

01/11/2006, 09:55 AM

Glad to hear that everything is in order now!!!

Sugar Magnolia

01/11/2006, 09:58 AM

That's fantastic Carl! I'm so glad Kogo was able to hook you up with something to keep you going. Youv'e been through alot with your tanks over the years. Apparently someone thinks you deserve to continue. :D Prayer is a powerful thing!

Thanks Kogo for helping Carl out!

Carl_in_Florida

01/11/2006, 10:14 AM

Suge - you should see his house. There is like 500 gallons of aquatic activity throughout like 12 tanks. You put a glass down long enough and by the time you pick it up there is something spawning in it.

Carl

phenom5

01/11/2006, 10:48 AM

glad to hear things are getting better Carl, and it looks like you've got a light.:thumbsup:

Prayer is a powerful thing!

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Sugar Magnolia

01/11/2006, 11:09 AM

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Tell us how you really fell about that phenom. No need to hold back. :D

Kogo

01/11/2006, 12:57 PM

im glad the light could help you out. if the ceiling is a problem, you could try mounting an arm to the wall that it could hang from. im sure youll find a good solution. dont worry about frying anything, i had xenia pulsing like mad right up to the surface of the water in the highest intesity of that light. the light was about six inches over the water

banditfl

01/11/2006, 10:13 PM

Carl, you get some of the wildest problems thrown at you. Or at least you document them them better than anyone else.
I am glad to see that things may work out in the end. That light Kogo got you will be awesome on the 15H :cool: Usaully what happens after disaster is it comes back better than it was before.

Keep up the fight

Do you have some updated photos with the new light?

Agu

01/11/2006, 11:09 PM

Not to sound maudlin or sappy but this is what the forums are about :D .

People helping people and making new friends......

Talk among yourselves while I get verklempt ;) .

nanodcl

01/11/2006, 11:29 PM

Like the links in your messages Carl. Glad things worked out for you!! Good to see other Christians in this hobby that are not afraid to speak his name!!!WORD!!! God is Good!:lol: :lol:

Carl_in_Florida

01/12/2006, 09:00 AM

We got one guy sparking a revival and another getting verklempt! Talk about people coming together under the banner of reefkeeping!http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y8/carl_in_florida/posted/circlejerk.gif

Bandit - I think I document better than most. People get embarrassed when problems happen. Not me. I also am not afraid to try new things.

Agu - Do you mean the forums are not about bb/dsb, zeovit, moderator heavy handedness arguments? And if not can we change to that?

nanodcl - Preach on preacher man

My green monti cap frags look about dead. Time will tell. My orange/red monti cap looks 85% dead. He MAY have a chance.

The monti digis look stressed but should be fine

the encrusting (do not know what kind, got it from Suge) looks 50/50. We will have to see/

Xenia - Dead (they trick you into thinking they are stressed but they are a dead grey blob)

Ricordia - Lookin funny.

Zoos, mushrooms - look stressed but ok.

Aiptasia - enjoying more room in the tank

Bubble algae - Unaffected, currently planning total tank domination.

Agu

01/12/2006, 09:39 AM

Don't give up on the montis. I tried to remove one about a year ago with a chisel. now there's a 1" diameter monti in my tank :rolleyes: . Cut back the xenia blob but leave a little on the rock, they also have amazing regenerative powers. If you make it to the west coast (of Fl) I have xenia.

Just a friendly reminder, religion and politics are subjects we prefer to avoid on RC. Thanks for your understanding......

Carl_in_Florida

01/12/2006, 10:20 AM

Thanks for the xenia offer agu.

Now back to our regularly scheduled mod bashing.

Carl

aural

01/12/2006, 12:36 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6482083#post6482083 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Carl_in_Florida
Now back to our regularly scheduled mod bashing.
now that isnt very christian like...(not that i'd know)

Sugar Magnolia

01/12/2006, 02:16 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6481666#post6481666 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Carl_in_Florida
Aiptasia - enjoying more room in the tank

Bubble algae - Unaffected, currently planning total tank domination.
:lol: Classic!

I have stuff if you need to restock. ;) It'll have to wait for spring, although for some reason, it's almost 60 here today. Typical January weather in the DC area. Next week it'll be 28 degrees and snowing.

Oh and Agu...this verklempt you speak of? How does one go about getting verklempt? Is that something you should be admitting to? :lol:

Kogo

01/12/2006, 03:13 PM

i have frags of verklempt if you need some.

banditfl

01/12/2006, 07:48 PM

I have lots of Xenia. if you ever make it up to the Orlando (south of Disney) Area I'll give you some. Grows like weeds in my tanks.

Hang in there, I have noticed that my Corals are tougher than I thought they would be.

Cutiewitbooty

01/12/2006, 08:25 PM

Aiptasia - enjoying more room in the tank

Bubble algae - Unaffected, currently planning total tank domination.

hahaha to funny lol :rollface:

Carl_in_Florida

01/12/2006, 09:36 PM

My wife is a Bette Middler fan. There is plent of verklempt in my house already

Sugar Magnolia

01/12/2006, 10:25 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6487325#post6487325 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Carl_in_Florida
My wife is a Bette Middler fan. There is plent of verklempt in my house already
:p google is my friend. I had no idea that Agu was capable of verklempt. These mods are just full of surprises. :D

'Tis okay Agu...we will be there for you in your time of verkelmpt.

Agu

01/12/2006, 11:17 PM

Oh and Agu...this verklempt you speak of? How does one go about getting verklempt? Is that something you should be admitting to?

OK, it was a weak moment, lets get back to the subject at hand.

;)

Carl_in_Florida

01/12/2006, 11:22 PM

I left my camera at work but things are worse than i thought. Lost all xenia, some zoos all monti caps. Is there anything worse to look at than bone white sps?

CArl

Kogo

01/13/2006, 08:36 AM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6488224#post6488224 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Carl_in_Florida
Is there anything worse to look at than bone white sps?

CArl

yes there is, how about the putrid slime stew that results when a bucket of soft corals and LPS intended to be transported in under 24 hours ends up inside the bucket (packed in a van) for four days. in the end, all corals completely liquify (and snails too) and nothing lives except the cheato which will never die and possibly continue to grow even deep inside a landfill.

not that it has ever happened to me .... im much too into responsible reefkeeping to ever have a coral die.:strooper:

Carl_in_Florida

01/13/2006, 09:01 AM

You mean like when they say a hurricane is coming and since there have not been a serious hurricane in who knows how many years you don't even bother to buy a bubbler and your entire tank turns into a other-worldly funk-filled marsh?

Glad we are to responsible for that.

Carl

Sugar Magnolia

01/13/2006, 03:05 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6488224#post6488224 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Carl_in_Florida
I left my camera at work but things are worse than i thought. Lost all xenia, some zoos all monti caps. Is there anything worse to look at than bone white sps?

CArl
That really sucks. :(

banditfl

01/16/2006, 10:07 AM

Carl,
How is the new light working out?
What has survived this ordeal?

Carl_in_Florida

01/16/2006, 10:13 AM

The light is great. I will try to get some pics tonight.

Most of my softies are fine except for the xenia and one patch of zoos. The toadstool and the rics seem to be rebounding. All othre buttons/zoos are beginning to open.

I had 2 different monti digis. The largest and niceest is touch and go. Around a third of its flesh is gone and there is nowhere near full polyp extention on the rest. The other one is beginning to have polyp extention.

I had a nice torch that was part of the light trade. I do not know how he did.

Carl

Kogo

01/16/2006, 03:44 PM

the torch is doing well. i even got a trumpet coral to go with him so he wouldnt feel like the new kid on the block.

Carl_in_Florida

01/16/2006, 03:49 PM

thats good. I was afraid I gave you a bum coral.

My tank is beginning to stabalize so maybe we can meet at a lfs soon and I can give you some stuff.

Carl

Kogo

01/16/2006, 03:55 PM

thats a great idea... ill try and post a pic of the frogspawn.

Kogo

01/16/2006, 04:11 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v689/kogo/100_1100.jpg

Carl_in_Florida

01/16/2006, 04:16 PM

He's alive!

banditfl

03/23/2006, 08:29 PM

Carl, Updates on the 15 with the 175MH. how is it doing?

Carl_in_Florida

04/08/2006, 10:32 PM

Yes.

I ran into a little trouble with my light fixture. One day it just stoped working. I could not believe it! Lomg story short, my pendant was not fixed tightly enough on the cord so it started to put to much tension onthe wires wich broke the connection. A little troubleshooting and after 3 days with no light all is well.

I have had this tank (in various forms) up for about 2 1/2 years and it is really neat to watch the tank mature.

My life is really busy right now between work, school, ministry and my wife and two children. The tank is not as important as it once was though I think that is a good thing (sometimes I think we escape into these little glass boxes to avoid the world . . . not very productive).

The tank is healthy and i hope to aquire some monti caps sometime soon.

I also would like to go forward on my office nano/pico.

Pics when i have time (hopefuly soon)

Cutiewitbooty

04/08/2006, 10:44 PM

yeah i would really like to see some pics, glad to hear you figured out that problem :D

banditfl

04/09/2006, 07:03 AM

Nice to hear from you again Carl. Look forward to some pictures soon.

Kogo

04/15/2006, 06:30 PM

faith and family first, fish if ther's time.

keep up the good work carl!!!

Sugar Magnolia

04/16/2006, 09:09 AM

You'd be shocked to see the condition of the cube right now for exactly the reasons you mentioned Carl. A major overhaul is in the works, new rock is curing in a tub, and new LS and substrate in another. There's not much salvageable as far as rock goes in the cube right now because the hair algae/bryopsis has started to cover just about every single rock, and is so thick in areas that those rocks will just be pitched.

Carl_in_Florida

04/23/2006, 08:15 PM

I was trying to get a little vid using my cam but the batteries died and tinypic makes it even worse with their compression but here it is.

There is a little game you can play while watching the vid. I call it "Count the bubble algee."

View My Video (http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=wakrhd)

Lots of pics to follow.

Carl_in_Florida

04/23/2006, 08:31 PM

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2530.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2531.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2532.jpg

Carl_in_Florida

04/23/2006, 08:32 PM

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2533.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2534.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2535.jpg

Carl_in_Florida

04/23/2006, 08:32 PM

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2536.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2537.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2538.jpg

Carl_in_Florida

04/23/2006, 08:33 PM

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2543.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2540.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2539.jpg

Carl_in_Florida

04/23/2006, 08:33 PM

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/042306/PICT2541.jpg

Carl_in_Florida

04/23/2006, 08:34 PM

So basically, pretty bad pics but it is alive.

banditfl

04/23/2006, 08:39 PM

Carl, Not heard from you in long time regarding your 15H. It looks very good dispite all the problems thrown at it. That new light seems to agree with the Corals.

I am finally getting a handle on my bubble algea. The Emerald Crabs and a Protien Skimmer seem to be the correct combination.

Carl_in_Florida

04/23/2006, 08:56 PM

I think water changes with a little more frequency would not hurt my situation.

CArl

Kogo

04/24/2006, 07:36 AM

your zoas look great!

ive got a purple shroom with your name on it next time your down this way. possibly some other frags as well.

Carl_in_Florida

04/25/2006, 10:05 AM

I am gonna be excited to get them. I have absolutely no money for this thing so i have to be ultra cheap on the setup.

btw I think i found the source of my bubble algee (besides the lack of good husbandry). We got an RO machine at work. I have really enjoyed the free water. Just bring the tubs to work and there you go. So i was thinking about what containers i will need at the office when I thought about the RO. Then I realized that the "RO" machine did not have a discharge line for the waste water. Hmmmmm thats no RO machine! Probably just charcoal filter! AGGGH! No wonder the problems I have had.

Like I needed that!

Carl