What do you consider the weakest point in your reef system?

[achiro]

And what steps do you take to prevent a catastrophe?
We've all heard about return pumps, power strips, GFCI outlets, dosing pumps, even controllers, but it seems like the heater gets blamed an awful lot of the time. Is that the weakest point? Other than using a controller, what can be done to limit issues?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Great thread! Following!

 

[Pete polyp]

I consider the weakest point in my reef is me. I ultimately have complete control over it, and if anything goes wrong I'm to blame. Sure equipment fails, maybe I could have replaced that heater or pump earlier and not have tried to get another year of use out of it.

 

[reefwiser]

Just what I was going to say Pete the human factor is the cause of most problems in the aquarium. From adding fish and corals to fast. Then switching out lighting on tanks after a few weeks because "They don't look good to Me." To not keeping with the program of testing and observing the corals and fish. An on an on.

 

[Velodog2]

I agree with the heater being a risk and yes I use a controller to mitigate that risk. It should prevent a heater thermostat sticking on overheating situation. I have the heater thermostat set at slightly above the controller thermostat in case the controller sticks on. Heater failure will send me an alarm from the controller. Want to go with two smaller heaters instead of one large one this winter.

Because my heater is in my sump the return pump is just as critical. I have a temp sensor in the display tank as well as the sump. If both go low it means the heater failed. If the DT goes low but the sump is ok then the pump failed. In either case I get a notification. If I would just suck it up and put the heater in the display tank I could reduce my reliance on the return pump to keep the tank warm and reduce that risk factor. But I don't like looking at it.

Probably the most likely failure mode is power interruption when I am away from home, either from a general power failure or the tank gfci popping. I have Ecotech battery backup for the Vortech pump that will keep it going for days. I have UPS on my controller and my modem/router so that I will get a notification, and on the heater and return pump although it won't run them for very long. I keep the house cold in the winter so losing power while away then is my worst case scenario.

I also have leak detectors in several places that can distinguish between a tank leak/overflow and a sump leak/overflow and shut down the return pump and notifiy me accordingly.

 

[feh]

I agree with the heater being a risk and yes I use a controller to mitigate that risk. It should prevent a heater thermostat sticking on overheating situation. I have the heater thermostat set at slightly above the controller thermostat in case the controller sticks on. Heater failure will send me an alarm from the controller. Want to go with two smaller heaters instead of one large one this winter.

Because my heater is in my sump the return pump is just as critical. I have a temp sensor in the display tank as well as the sump. If both go low it means the heater failed. If the DT goes low but the sump is ok then the pump failed. In either case I get a notification. If I would just suck it up and put the heater in the display tank I could reduce my reliance on the return pump to keep the tank warm and reduce that risk factor. But I don't like looking at it.

Exactly what I did and will be programming my Apex to control them. Hoping to be able to shut one down and just rely on 1 in the event of one failing in the on position. Failing in the on position is more of a problem than off. I plan to do some digging on this. I don't have any backup power solution yet, but thinking on the best solution for my setup.