# Almost crashed the tank



## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

Almost but not quite.
Yesterday I changed some resins on my tank. On my DIY water top off there is a final filter of resins that filters the water just before going into the tank. It is in a thin acrylic tube and the main purpose of this is if I see these resins changing color, I know the main resins on the make up water is exhausted and I need to change them.
So I changed the resins in this tube and the main resins but I turned the float valve slightly so it was under the lip of the tank and the water did not shut off. The float could not rise enough to stop the water so about 5 gallons of fresh water entered the tank almost overflowing it. Luckily, I built the thing so it can only feed a drop about every 5 seconds to the tank so it can go a day or so before it overflows. But now the water is so fresh I can keep kissing gourmei's in there.
The corals are not happy but the fish don't seem to mind. I am adding some salt but mostly I will just let it evaporate to the correct level and it will be back to normal.
Coincidently, also today, my 5 gallon skimate bucket also almost overflowed which would have flooded my closet with scurvy skimate.
This is a different problem. My DIY float switch on the 5 gal effluent bucket
failed to shut off the skimmer. The other problem where the tank had too much fresh water stressed the corals to where they put out that slimy smelly stuff causing the skimmer to produce a lot of skimate.
I found the problem with the float switch and will re design it so it does not happen again.
These devices have been working for decades with no maintenance but nothing lasts forever.
But no harm done except to my self esteem.
Normally the way my animals die is fron an accident and if I was not home the fresh water would have continued to over flow the tank causing it to crash and the water on my rug would have caused my marriage to crash also.


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## Kaiden32 (Sep 4, 2010)

Are all your animals okay?


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

Most of them are fine, I did lose an old large clam though.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

steamed clam?


how big is the tank again?


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

100 gallons. Yes steamed clam


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

there was a guy here last week or so, 125g reef tank popped a front corner seam, he GAVE away the entire thing down to every last bit of living creature.

Steamed clams are good.


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## Kaiden32 (Sep 4, 2010)

Well thats good that that is all you lost! That would have been a lot of money gone though...


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Glad you caught it.

Shades of Borneman's and oregon reef's problems.


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## Doratus (Sep 14, 2010)

Whoopsy Daisy


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## newscctv (Sep 28, 2010)

hello all！


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## newscctv (Sep 28, 2010)

Well thats good that that is all you lost! That would have been a lot of money gone though...


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

It seems that just the clam and one gorgonian looks pretty lousy but everything else is fine.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

The tank will be 40 years old this March (I think, maybe 39)and I would like to do some maintenance before then. When a pet shop went out of business I took many of the corals, some half dead, and put them in my tank. They didn't really fit so they are just stuck there in awkward places. I need to move the entire rockwork back to the rear to fit stuff. Some of the half dead corals are recovering but I would like to remove the dead parts so it doesn't look like the tank is dying.
I really hate to move the rocks because I like the aquascaping and there are so many large tube worms that will get burried in the move.
But it needs to be done. I also have to catch the pipefish as they don't do well whenever I do this. I think the detritus clogs their tiny gills.
I hope to have time for this within a few weeks.
I also will probably find a bunch of things in there that hatched from those corals that I have not seen yet.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Paul B said:


> The tank will be 40 years old this March (I think, maybe 39)and I would* like to do some maintenance *before then.
> 
> ...
> 
> .


gee why start now? *r2

my .02


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

I do it every 25 years if it needs it or not. *old dude
I am not going to take everything out and do a good cleaning, I did that a couple of years ago but I will have to remove much of the rock to move it around and I will diatom the gravel a little just for the fun of it. *w3


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Paul B said:


> I do it every 25 years if it needs it or not. *old dude
> I am not going to take everything out and do a good cleaning, I did that a couple of years ago but I will have to remove much of the rock to move it around and I will *diatom* the gravel a little just for the fun of it. *w3


Why to I have a feeling the young whipper snappers don't know what that is?*w3


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

You mean Diatom? Yes I know they don't know what that is but I think they just stopped selling the diatom powder because it gives you cancer like everything else. I will have to get it from a pool supply.
I can't run a tank without a diatom filter. I don't use it much but I do need it at least once a year or so. :fish-in-a-bag:


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

I moved the left side of the rocks in the tank towards the rear so I could fit more. The rocks were too close to the front. I still have to do this to the left side


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## pandorum (Nov 8, 2010)

It seems that just the shellfish and one gorge looks beautiful lousy but everything else is fine.


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