loose temp probe = almost complete loss

[capt85]

Well I was doing some tank maintenece two nighta ago and I must have knocked loose my temp probe. I woke up and before going to work noticed my tank looked cloudy and my monti cap was partially bleached. I reached in the tank and the water was 96! I imediatly unplugged anything that would cause extra heat, cranked the ac, and tossed in a few zip locks with ice then had to go to work. I had the longest day of work EVER! I ran home on lunch to toss a few more bags of ice in the sunp but most of the famage had been done. Currently the casualty list is: mystery wrasse, 2 cleaner shrimp, starfish, red monti colony, frogspawn and hammer colony, setosa, 5 nice acans, 4 chalices (one tryee pink watermelon) 3 random SPS frags, purple haze, jedi mind trick, 4 headschalices of torch,yellow base blue polylp monti, and more looks bad.

I would have reached 2 years in june and had managed to avoid a complete meltdown until now.

I am not writing this for pity but just to inform everyone to PLEASE but their temp probe in a place you don't move things often. I will attach pics later.

 

[mallorieGgator]

That's a huge bummer! Sorry for your losses!

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[revhtree Verified Admin]

Oh wow I am so sorry. This is terrible.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

Man that sucks. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Chameleon]

That is really very unfortunate. I am sorry to hear that. Thanks for the warning.

 

[dsmhero]

What were you using as a heater controller? Very sad indeed.

 

[caudill187]

What a terrible experience !!. My condolences.

 

[stan13ag]

just let me know when you are ready and I will have 5-6 freebies to get you started again

 

[BarbH]

Wow, sorry to hear that. I had a somewhat similar experience with a heater that was not working correctly, fortunately it was with my qt tank and I noticed right away that it was not working right and was able to pull it before any damage could be done.

 

[CJO]

That terrible Be sure to do some large water changes so that the ammonia doesn't kill what's left.

CJ

 

[btkrausen]

Yikes, sorry to hear man. I used a probe holder in my sump to keep in secure. I can't even tug on that thing to pull it out

 

[cdness]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

What was the heater's internal thermostat set to?

So are you using a temperature controller or aquarium controller of any sorts? I read the OP and I didn't catch if you mentioned the type of temp probe or how it helps control your heat...

The reason I ask is there is a way to prevent this via out of range programming. The typical person will prgram their controller to say turn on the heater when below the low temp and turn it off when it is at or above the high temp. While this works in most situations, there are situations where you are not protected... I have heard the following scenarios related to controllers where the temp has gone nuts:

1. Took temp probe out for maintenance and forgot to put it back in
2. Probe failed and read WAY low causing the heater to run constant (this can also work for reading super high with chillers)
3. Soaked the temp probe in vinegar to clean it and never put it back in

We all know the normal range for our tanks to run in. We also have a range where we know things are OK but not optimal. Now with temp probes if it fails it will read really high or really low depending on the controller. Also room temperature is usually much lower than what we keep our tanks at (personally I keep my house around 68 - 72 degrees). During normal operation if your temp falls below 74 you'll want to get an alarm as something is more than likely not right. If you have email capabilities you can get the alarm that way, but if not, use an outlet to turn on an audible alarm so you'll be notified of the issue. When in the alarm state, tell the heater to turn off so you can do the manual checks needed to find the issue.

This is just my $.02 to try help prevent this from happening in the future. Losses suck, but preventable losses suck worse. I hope the info above can help someone.

 

[swannyson7]

Sorry to hear about your losses :squigglemouth:

 

[capt85]

Thanks everyone.

I did not have a controller (although I am not putting any more money in my tank until I do.) I was using a finex titanium heater. I had it set at 80 degrees.

I have done 2 large water changes and will continue to do more.

Here is a before. (About 2 months ago)

And now today.

 

[BarbH]

Ouch, have you lost anything else or does things seem to be stabilizing and recovering?

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[REEFKEEPER10]

Yeah I would definitely get a controller. They need the come up with one that measure voltage in the water so if a heater breaks it shuts it off. It is sad but true I think the number one thing that take out aquariums are bad heaters. The other day I was smelling something burn come to find out it was the heater in my 6 yr. olds guppy tank.

 

[capt85]

I haven't lost anything else and despite a few others I think most that are remaining might survive.

In the end it could have been much worse. I think my pride is what was hurt the most lol.