Tank Crashed Questioning my steps taken

[fish_bucket]

Hi people,

I am new to reef2reef. I recently had an awkward situation with my reef tank, I am hoping I may have navigated this correctly but would love some input.

My tank is an Aqua Nano 40, all in one tank.

I was on holiday, I paid someone to stop by my house and feed my fish. I checked everything before I left and thought I had done all I could to set my tank up for success while away, sadly I was wrong.

While I was away, the return pump failed, this pump circulates the water from the front of the tank through the filter media at the back. Somehow the cables wore through and were exposed to the salt, it was all over. Checking cables will now be a part of my regular tank maintenance.

The person who was taking care of my tank didn't know this had happened, my skimmer was still running circulating a fair amount of water and the wave maker was still running. They eventually found my single clownfish dead on the bottom of the sand and removed it, they didn't realise the three snails in the tank had also died they were left in the tank. The fish was found dead 1 week before my return. I am unsure as to what date the pump actually died.

They assumed it was something they did wrong and so they decided to replace my clownfish. They waited till the night before I returned to do so, with the plan to tell me once I returned. It was out of kindness but obviously this was the worst decision possible.

When I returned I immediately knew something was wrong with my tank, three dead snails and the built-in media section of my tank full of nasty stuff. But there was a clownfish alive in the tank...(to my surprise)

STEPS TO STABALISE

• I immediately realised the pump was not working, I removed it, syphoned out as much of the nasty from the back of the tank as I could and removed the dead cleanup crew
• I did a large water change
• Rushed to my local fish store, and got a replacement pump
• I got the new pump installed
• I put in a bag of filtration media that removes heavy metals, nitrates and toxins
• I added new carbon to the tank
• Over the last 48hrs, I have done several more water changes and have been dosing beneficial bacteria
• Tests show, no ammonia, no N02 but there are elevated levels of N03
  
  
• ANYTHING ELSE

The fish is alive and eating, I am not sure at this point if I have saved the tank, I don't know how far gone the tank was given water was circulating in the main display and part of the back of the tank due to the skimmer.'

Obviously the person taking care of my tank did the wrong thing replacing the Clown (although it was meant in kindness), this was out of my control but the fish seems to be doing well and hopefully will be the first happy resident in my new tank. In future, I will be sure to give whoever is taking care of my tank a basic checklist in terms of, are pumps running? Temperature? And what to look for that could be an issue.

 

[nezw0001]

It sounds like the steps you took were the right ones. When I go out of town I leave a daily check list for my caretaker. One option would be to plug your return pump into a device that monitors electrical draw (killAwatt) and have your caretaker record draw. I'd also add checking the return nozzle to make sure water is coming out and temperature. On my check list I have them actually check off the items and record readings where applicable. On the top there are the high low ranges for each parameter and if the reading is outside the normal they are supposed to contact me

 

[CindyKz]

Before I had cameras on my tanks, I gave my adult daughter pictures of what everything SHOULD look like - water levels, pumps running, etc. A daily "to do" list, and a list of knowledgable reefers to call if she can't get hold of me.

I've since put cameras and an Apex in place, so going out of town is a lot less stressful. (She still checks things daily though )

 

[fish_bucket]

Before I had cameras on my tanks, I gave my adult daughter pictures of what everything SHOULD look like - water levels, pumps running, etc. A daily "to do" list, and a list of knowledgable reefers to call if she can't get hold of me.

I've since put cameras and an Apex in place, so going out of town is a lot less stressful. (She still checks things daily though )

Thanks for the idea of the Camera CindyKZ any thoughts on the steps I have done in order to attempt to recover the tank.

 

[RayDRoot]

It sounds like it's time for a controller. My Apex gives me some peace of mind when I'm on vacation.

 

[fish_bucket]

It sounds like it's time for a controller. My Apex gives me some peace of mind when I'm on vacation.

I have never done any research into a controller, I have only had my tank 6 months. Luckily there were only two corals, 1 fish and a cleanup crew. I will look into a controller in the future.