How do you deal with a crash?

[Coastie Reefer]

If you spend any significant amount of time in this hobby you’ve likely experienced a crash at some point. I’m going through one with my frag tank now. Not exactly sure what happened, but something sure went south like geese for winter. (Jet pack wearing geese in this case) I’ve salvaged what I could and we’ll see how things fare over time. All test have been ran, repeated, and repeated again; and fall within normal parameters... Alk jumped by 1.5 dKH after a decent water change but that shouldn’t cause a crash. At this point the damage is done and I’m not sure if I will ever truly know the cause.

It’s absolutely gut wrenching at first then I guess you have to come to grips with the situation and it’s time to make a decision. Are you going to let the experience rob you of all the previous enjoyment you’ve had, or are you going to move forward learning what you can from the crappy situation and strive to never let it happen again?

I’ve panicked , spoken my fair share of expletives, and banged my head on the wall for long enough. Time to pull up on the proverbial bootstraps and get back in the game.

Anyway... how do you deal with a crash?

 

[ndrwater]

For me, the time or two that it has happened in my 30+ years of reefing, is a slew of F-bombs, probably a Guinness or 6, and a heavy hearted sigh.
From that point on, it's doing my best to determine the root cause so as not to make the same mistake twice, and the reboot. Partial or total. Whichever seems most appropriate.
Just don't give up.

 

[ca1ore]

Right, lots of off color language ......

Unavoidable, no matter how diligent you are if you stay in the hobby long enough. Two crashes for me in 30"years, one bad and one really bad. Water changes, removal of as much of the dead as possible ..... and a boatload of patience.

 

[ikanayam]

Definitely a few crashes under the belt here. Mostly due to not being prepared, or doing things too fast.

First time when I was moving, kept all livestock in tubs but was so busy with the move forgot to check the temp. Heater was set too high and everything died.

Horrible feeling, especially when it’s livestock you’ve carefully cultivate over years.

Took some time out, but eventually dove into it again. Couple more crashes since then, but unfortunately I keep bumping into fellow reefers and keep getting dragged back into the hobby.

Long story short, it helps to have fellow reefers to share colorful words with when poo poo happens.