How Do You Prevent Equipment Fails?

[OU812Reefing]

I'm sure most have seen it by now, but a thread is floating around where a guy had lost "most" if not all of his coral due to a heater failure. This now has me worrying, I would be devasted if I lost my creatures to an equipment failure, (something I can maybe avoid?)

So, is there equipment that you consider very reliable? with safety features etc. If so, what is it.
Are there any early signs that a powerhead, heater, skimmer, etc. are prone to a nearby or soon to come failure?
How do you avoid failures? Are there even any ways?
What are your ways to keep equipment in tip top shape to prolong the life of it?

Thanks, in advance as I'm sure most can benefit from this thread!

As far as the heater goes I have mine hooked up to my Hydros control the heater control it’s on the Hydros power strip Heater and the temperature sensor for the heater is in the sump the heater temperature is set at 78 degrees the Hydros temperature sensor is in the tank if the tank temperature gets to 80.5 the Hydros control will shut off the heater but it will turn it back on at 77.8 degrees and I the Hydros will send me an alert of failure

 

[dk2nt9]

In low tech systems without controllers, for preventing overheating external temperature controller can be used. Something like Inkbird controllers. It controls power supply to the heater (for two heather model 306), with own sensor in the tank. After reaching preset by you temperature it stops power supply to a heater.

Two controllers, if you wish, for a case if one fails.

Nothing for a heater that stops heating, only looking at thermometer(s) when corals show unusual behavior.

Two sources of water flow instead of one. Fed from different power outlets, there could be a failure too. Battery power supply for them, in case of power failure. In tank biomedia, if you are using it in addition to rocks.

 

[PeterC99]

-Remote camera for when I'm away on vacation (Wyze cam) with a trusted neighbor with a set of keys when I need to call them
-AIO tank (no plumbing, no siphons, less failure points)
-Less electronics = fewer failure points
-Water changes weekly
-ApexEL with power monitoring of some devices; keep a wavemaker on a separate circuit in case/when the Apex fails
-Clean Tunze 3155 ato mechanical float regularly / simulate failures; keep a backup Tunze pump on hand
-Dose alkalinity and such away from the ATO optical sensory (to prevent clogging - big problem in the past!)

Still learning... there are lots of amazing systems out there with crazy back-up features.

That’s a winning list! Well done!

 

[Ryde]

As far as the heater goes I have mine hooked up to my Hydros control the heater control it’s on the Hydros power strip Heater and the temperature sensor for the heater is in the sump the heater temperature is set at 78 degrees the Hydros temperature sensor is in the tank if the tank temperature gets to 80.5 the Hydros control will shut off the heater but it will turn it back on at 77.8 degrees and I the Hydros will send me an alert of failure

I've looked into the hydros controllers but never made a decision.

 

[n2585722]

I've looked into the hydros controllers but never made a decision.

I have 8 of them in a collective. Is there something specific about them you are looking for. I got my first one a X4 in November 2020. So I have had it a little over a year. The others were added over time last year.

 

[Arego]

Pray.

We just got back from a 10 day vacation and everything ran as it should have.. kind of. The only thing not working was the skimmer whereby a giant piece of salt creep from somewhere got sucked down and jammed the venturi, it was just circulating water with no bubbles.

I completely cleaned the skimmer in the sink before leaving, every tube every crevice, how that chunk of salt got jammed that high up I guess I'll never know, it hasn't happened before.. I guess the point is clean your equipment accordingly and just understand that stuff just happens..

 

[ariellemermaid]

I read that thread too and one interesting point is that he felt like his heater sizes were small enough not to cook the tank, or that was my impression anyway. One take away is something BRS has said for a long time; don’t use glass heaters to begin with. A heater controller is a must but you’ll find plenty of threads about controller failures (controller itself or temp probe).

Thus, IMO, the only way you can really start to engineer out as many potential problems as possible is with multiple failsafes and that leads me to a good tank controller. Using heaters as an example I would put 2 on their own controllers which are then plugged into an Apex (or other). This way you could be on a cruise somewhere with no internet and the tank would deal with it by itself. A heater could fail on or off, the controller could fail on or off, and you’d still have a third backup of the controller shutting the outlet(s) down and sending a warning. In my case I’m using 2 separate electrical circuits as well so even if one breaker trips, the tank still has half its life support.

Thinking through all the heater failure possibilities is a great start because that’s the most common equipment failure. However, you need to think about everything. What if your return pump fails, how would you know on vacation? What if a dosing pump gets stuck on and starts dumping it all into your tank? [Low tech failsafe- only keep enough dosing solution in the reservoirs that won’t kill your tank and refill every few days]

A good controller can provide either failsafes or at least warnings against almost anything that can go wrong with your tank. Finally, plan for extended power outages. I didn’t the first time and there was little I could do; after exhausting all my UPS’s the rest was up to fate. Now I have a small generator and I’m planning to use plug in bubblers if I’m out of town (plus a neighbor that could intervene beyond the bubbler batteries).

As you plan, realize everything plugged into the tank WILL fail eventually. Ask yourself how bad it would be, how you would know before it’s too late, and have 1 or more plans for how to deal with it.

 

[Brian_68]

A power loss when someone is not home, or even when it is too cold and lack of heat, is probably the biggest cause of tank failures due to equipment in my opinion. If not home only option to counteract is a whole house generator / backup battery pack that kicks in automatically. I get an alert if power is lost, so can run home or alert someone and have a backup generator but I do manually need to transfer. I have lost power for days at a time with my tanks, and at least once a year the power goes out for more than a couple hours so it does happen at least where I am at. Middle of winter better have a plan, power, furnace you name it.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

I read that thread too and one interesting point is that he felt like his heater sizes were small enough not to cook the tank, or that was my impression anyway. One take away is something BRS has said for a long time; don’t use glass heaters to begin with. A heater controller is a must but you’ll find plenty of threads about controller failures (controller itself or temp probe).

Thus, IMO, the only way you can really start to engineer out as many potential problems as possible is with multiple failsafes and that leads me to a good tank controller. Using heaters as an example I would put 2 on their own controllers which are then plugged into an Apex (or other). This way you could be on a cruise somewhere with no internet and the tank would deal with it by itself. A heater could fail on or off, the controller could fail on or off, and you’d still have a third backup of the controller shutting the outlet(s) down and sending a warning. In my case I’m using 2 separate electrical circuits as well so even if one breaker trips, the tank still has half its life support.

Thinking through all the heater failure possibilities is a great start because that’s the most common equipment failure. However, you need to think about everything. What if your return pump fails, how would you know on vacation? What if a dosing pump gets stuck on and starts dumping it all into your tank? [Low tech failsafe- only keep enough dosing solution in the reservoirs that won’t kill your tank and refill every few days]

A good controller can provide either failsafes or at least warnings against almost anything that can go wrong with your tank. Finally, plan for extended power outages. I didn’t the first time and there was little I could do; after exhausting all my UPS’s the rest was up to fate. Now I have a small generator and I’m planning to use plug in bubblers if I’m out of town (plus a neighbor that could intervene beyond the bubbler batteries).

As you plan, realize everything plugged into the tank WILL fail eventually. Ask yourself how bad it would be, how you would know before it’s too late, and have 1 or more plans for how to deal with it.

On the return pump failing on vacation, I have it set up in the water line where it creates waves. I can check it with the Wyze camera. Here is my vacation setup:

2 heaters equal regular wattage, 1 set slightly lower temp than the other, both are on separate controllers, one heater is in the sump, the other in the DT
battery backup automatic air pump
backup return and ATO pumps
manual thermometer in front of the tank
2 automatic feeders running a different times
I don't have a backup skimmer. You can do without one for a couple of days I would think.
A Wyze camera that I check at least twice a day

 

[Ryde]

I have 8 of them in a collective. Is there something specific about them you are looking for. I got my first one a X4 in November 2020. So I have had it a little over a year. The others were added over time last year.

Well, when I was look at the top three controllers, I wanted something to would work well with Ecotech's stuff.

 

[Ryde]

On the return pump failing on vacation, I have it set up in the water line where it creates waves. I can check it with the Wyze camera. Here is my vacation setup:

2 heaters equal regular wattage, 1 set slightly lower temp than the other, both are on separate controllers, one heater is in the sump, the other in the DT
battery backup automatic air pump
backup return and ATO pumps
manual thermometer in front of the tank
2 automatic feeders running a different times
I don't have a backup skimmer. You can do without one for a couple of days I would think.
A Wyze camera that I check at least twice a day

Nice, I should really look into a battery backup air pump.

 

[Ryde]

A power loss when someone is not home, or even when it is too cold and lack of heat, is probably the biggest cause of tank failures due to equipment in my opinion. If not home only option to counteract is a whole house generator / backup battery pack that kicks in automatically. I get an alert if power is lost, so can run home or alert someone and have a backup generator but I do manually need to transfer. I have lost power for days at a time with my tanks, and at least once a year the power goes out for more than a couple hours so it does happen at least where I am at. Middle of winter better have a plan, power, furnace you name it.

You sound prepared!

 

[Ryde]

I read that thread too and one interesting point is that he felt like his heater sizes were small enough not to cook the tank, or that was my impression anyway. One take away is something BRS has said for a long time; don’t use glass heaters to begin with. A heater controller is a must but you’ll find plenty of threads about controller failures (controller itself or temp probe).

Thus, IMO, the only way you can really start to engineer out as many potential problems as possible is with multiple failsafes and that leads me to a good tank controller. Using heaters as an example I would put 2 on their own controllers which are then plugged into an Apex (or other). This way you could be on a cruise somewhere with no internet and the tank would deal with it by itself. A heater could fail on or off, the controller could fail on or off, and you’d still have a third backup of the controller shutting the outlet(s) down and sending a warning. In my case I’m using 2 separate electrical circuits as well so even if one breaker trips, the tank still has half its life support.

Thinking through all the heater failure possibilities is a great start because that’s the most common equipment failure. However, you need to think about everything. What if your return pump fails, how would you know on vacation? What if a dosing pump gets stuck on and starts dumping it all into your tank? [Low tech failsafe- only keep enough dosing solution in the reservoirs that won’t kill your tank and refill every few days]

A good controller can provide either failsafes or at least warnings against almost anything that can go wrong with your tank. Finally, plan for extended power outages. I didn’t the first time and there was little I could do; after exhausting all my UPS’s the rest was up to fate. Now I have a small generator and I’m planning to use plug in bubblers if I’m out of town (plus a neighbor that could intervene beyond the bubbler batteries).

As you plan, realize everything plugged into the tank WILL fail eventually. Ask yourself how bad it would be, how you would know before it’s too late, and have 1 or more plans for how to deal with it.

Good read! Notes taken.

 

[n2585722]

Well, when I was look at the top three controllers, I wanted something to would work well with Ecotech's stuff.

The WaveEngine with the ETM will control the MP flow pump series if the firmware is downgraded to before Mobius. Here is the info in the online manual for setting it up to control MP series pumps https://www.coralvuehydros.com/product-support/hydros-waveengine/ecotech-marine-vortechs/ .

 

[Ryde]

The WaveEngine with the ETM will control the MP flow pump series if the firmware is downgraded to before Mobius. Here is the info in the online manual for setting it up to control MP series pumps https://www.coralvuehydros.com/product-support/hydros-waveengine/ecotech-marine-vortechs/ .

Thanks, I had not known that.

 

[ariellemermaid]

Another way tanks have crashed is forgetting to turn something back on after maintenance (especially the heater). So think about that too. With my Apex I have a water change routine that automatically turns everything back on after 1 hour. On another tank I have smart plugs with Smartthings routines. If nothing else, I’ll set a timer on my phone. And, I also make sure to run through a checklist once I think I’m done to visually look at each system.

 

[StewL6]

Once i get everthing working good and flowing and quiet. i stand in front of it and shout "Thou will not fail" that seems to do the trick.

 

[Ryde]

Once i get everthing working good and flowing and quiet. i stand in front of it and shout "Thou will not fail" that seems to do the trick.

"You're a wizard Harry"