MooreReefing
Community Member
As diligent as we can be in maintenance or general care of our systems, mistakes can happen. So I wanted to start this thread to hopefully create a place where we can share simple things that have or could happen that could have any type of consequences to these ecosystems we are striving to create in our homes. I want newcomers and people just getting started in the hobby to know that they are not alone and not to feel discouraged when you do something wrong that could’ve easily been prevented. It happens to all of us, veteran reefers and newcomers alike. So please feel free to share your stories and I’ll start with one of mine that happened just last night!
After years of water changes and maintenance routines, I walked away from the tank right as I started a water change. I had shut off everything in the sump that would be exposed as I like to do my water changes from the sump instead of the display. This time however, I got focused on something else and forgot about the water change. Turns out after doing the same thing a million times, this time I didn’t turn off my heaters. So as I remembered and ran back into the room with the tank, I was greeted with the smell of burning acrylic and crackling. Even with a temperature controller, one of my heaters (the more expensive one of course) had gotten so hot it melted through the acrylic rings it was mounted on in my sump and was smoking and crackling in what water was left. Luckily nothing else was near enough for it to damage but it just goes to show that simple mistakes can happen at any time.
After years of water changes and maintenance routines, I walked away from the tank right as I started a water change. I had shut off everything in the sump that would be exposed as I like to do my water changes from the sump instead of the display. This time however, I got focused on something else and forgot about the water change. Turns out after doing the same thing a million times, this time I didn’t turn off my heaters. So as I remembered and ran back into the room with the tank, I was greeted with the smell of burning acrylic and crackling. Even with a temperature controller, one of my heaters (the more expensive one of course) had gotten so hot it melted through the acrylic rings it was mounted on in my sump and was smoking and crackling in what water was left. Luckily nothing else was near enough for it to damage but it just goes to show that simple mistakes can happen at any time.
