... but the main thing is we're too stubborn to give up!

... and we're lucky to have wives who don't mind a little water on the floor!

I had a full crash caused by a design flaw which led to electrical failure which led to no flow and low oxygen levels. I also had a nano crash when a heater got stuck.

two partial crashes, one a SE bulb broke the outer casing and continued to work, irradiating one side of the tank with UV killing 3 fish and a multitude of corals.

Second crash was due to reefer stupidity (not listed, I selected temperature deviation): moving the tank at the end of the day (an all day move) and left the livestock on a cool concrete floor (it didn't feel all that cold at the time) while I took a dinner break. Then put the corals into the tank without matching the temperature. The colonies in the coolest water started to RTN and caused a cascade effect that took 2 weeks of massive waterchanges to get the ammonia down to an acceptable level where it wouldn't cause issues for the rest of the corals. I lost most of my larger colonies, didn't lose any fish though (they were in an insulated cooler).

One partial crash: An electric fan fell apart and into the sump, which tripped the
GFCI. Fish & critters came out ok but lost many corals. Not entirely sure if the problem was the oil in the fan getting into the water or a good jolt before the breaker tripped; or maybe a combination of both.

My tank crashed due to the recirculation pump (from the sump to the DT) failing overnight. The oxygen levels in the DT fell and all the fish died. I think most crashes happen as a result of equipment failure. Cheap equipment is more prone to failure. For instance, many opt for cheaper pumps, which fail as they have a big demand on them (running 24x7 for years at a time). Cheap heaters will get stuck on and cause overheating. Skimmers overflowing will empty out the sump, etc.. IMO, get the best equipment you can afford. After all, it is a life support system for your precious reeflife. Losing them can be a big shock too (always use a GFCI).

I think the ideal thing to do is run a pair of smaller pumps. Or (if your system is small enough) run an eheim. i'd bet my life on one =)

I agree, i lost all my coral and inverts when starting out due to a cheap heater sticking on. My advice to anyone starting out on a budget is that good used stuff is better than shiny new crap.

been lucky so far but a controller is defiantly next on the list, the network camera only goes so far when im out of town..

FULL CRASH!!! Front pane of my 55g completely blew out.

Had a leathers vs. LPS chemical war which resulted in the LPS dead but otherwise no crashes. *knocks on tank stand* I've never had a single dead fish/invert cause problems which is nice, don't need to feel in a panic if that does happen, they pretty much just become food.

[edit] My skimmer pumped 2 gallons of water on the floor because I didn't tighten it properly one time, but luckily I only run it 12hrs on during the night so it didn't have a chance to really do much.