So I got the dreaded phone call while I was away...
 

You know the one. "There is water on the floor." Followed by, "The sump is mostly empty, and the water is sloshing around in the tank."

Followed by the even more dreaded "I used RO water to top it back up."

My first thought, "[bad word]! What's the salinity at?" Then, "Where did heck the water come from? Why on earth is the sump empty?"

I got them to test the SG, it was at 1.024 (it dropped from 1.027 ish). Whew! Three points should be ok.

Anyway, I get home and the tank looks ok on first glance, but it's making a racket. So I'm poking around in the sump and notice the skimmer isn't working properly. The ball of chaeto is stuck in the pump inlet.

So...the best idea I have after reading the email I got describing what happened is that for some reason the skimmer fell off the little blocks it's on (to hold it up an inch higher), and being at an angle allowed it to spew water onto the floor through the outlet standpipe. The sloshing in the tank was just the tank sitter's description of the Wavebox I think.

Luckily, little damage (just wet carpet and some soggy flake food and nori). Thankfully all my electrical stuff is raised up just in case of such a situation (and actually outside of the stand), and very happy the spewing standpipe didn't spray the electrical. Livestock is all ok.



Anyone else get the dreaded phone call this holiday??

Yes i worry about my tank non stop,and that's only being gone for a couple of days.What are you going to do,when your gone on your month holiday?

Sorry to hear that Mindy I'm glad all is well in your tank you haver such a awesome looking tank too.

Someone should take this Murphy guy out for a good public flogging. Like really, who makes a law just for bad things to happen ??

Glad to hear it wasn't a complete disaster.. Phew!

K.

Haha, too true Kien!!

There is a tank sitting company in the city here that I'm hoping will look after the tank while I'm gone. It looks like I might be working out of town again, so he may be looking after my tank sooner than that even!

Thanks for your comments Asmodeus. :o

my situation
 

im away in mexico the problem is my friennd doesnt call me when he does he just does it, and he doesnt know what its supposed to look like.

so far my evaparation effected my flow so i got alot of bubbles so he added water without bechlorinating it, ill have to see what it looks like when i get back:neutral:

My controller sent me a text on the 21st to say that my tank was trying to overflow onto the floor. I was able to phone my tank sitter and have him rush over to fix the problem before it became a problem. Hooray for technology!

Awesome!!!

WOW! That is so cool! INCREDIBLE technology!

And Myka I am so glad to hear there were no casualties. Strange how these things always happen when you're away.:wink:

I've been out of the house overnight twice in the last few months. First, around Thanksgiving weekend, I was visiting Marie in Powell River when I get a call from my wife that the cannister filter had dropped off the goldfish tank & pumped 20+ gallons of water onto the floor.

Last month, I slept over at my mom's & my wife was at her mom's overnight & when she went home, I got another call saying the breaker had blown on the fowlr & we ended up losing 1 black clown, 1 true perc, 1 powder brown tang, 2 Coral beauties, 1 Lemon peel dwarf angel & 1 seahorse overnight.

So, yeah, had those phone calls. Hate that Murphy.

Yoiks, dodged a bullet there, good thing it turned out ok for you. Some good points to note in your experience, particularly having the electrics somewhat out of the way. I've seen so many photos of systems with power bars etc in close proximity to the sump or under the tank in the cabinet. If it's feasible, and one should make every effort to make it so, keep all your power bars and receptacles well away. An option for when it might not be that feasible is to fit outdoor or water 'resistant' type covers over any exposed receptacles.

Its stuff like that that completely validates my feelings on my investment in a controller. My RKE's net module, which allows me to check on my tank remotely has been invaluable! I've been saved a few times, nothing major, but the peace of mind has been fantastic.

I had the the same call christmas day!!!!

Early in the morning my friends watching the tank called my moms house to tell me the floor tank ( aka sump lol ) was empty and the pump was filling my main tank with air bubbles...

Roughly 20 gal of water was pooled in the corner of my livingroom and the skimmer/ return pump and liverock in my sump was all hanging out in the air. Luckily no electrical or fish/coral was harmed but I did cause a huge spike in my tank and it was forced to run without the sump or skimmer for a few days. Had to wait for a friend with more know-how to come by and change the water and check and clean the pumps and skimmer.

Certainly not the call I wanted to get

It is important to train a tank sitter ahead of time, several times. It should never be a last minute thing. I also leave them a list of do's & don't with emergency contacts. Fortunately my last flood didn't happen until the day after I got back from vacation. I think I've now remedied that particular issue so hopefully that won't happen again.

Ya Greg, it's all about covering the bases. I didn't think about that base. Next time I will have a mixed container of saltwater as well as RO. :D

Makes me think of getting a controller though.