Tank "Blow Out" (long post)

Break out the ducktape !

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Melissakins
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Tank "Blow Out" (long post)

Post by Melissakins »

Tuesday evening was going like normal. The parrots were ready for bed and letting us know. Every few minutes or so, they’d let out a squawk or call our names, “Mu-wizza? Brakie? (combo of Casey one of the pups and Brandon – this is a new word) and Brandon was out on the back deck smoking a cigarette before putting the big bird to bed. Right before he came in, I heard a sound like someone dropping something on the floor and turned to look at the tank to figure out if that was where the sound was coming from.

The tank was full of bubbles and making lots of noises. Brandon was just walking inside when I saw all that happen, so I called him over to take a look at it.

He opened the doors on the bottom and a wave of water came out all over the nice rug I had bought and the carpeting in our living room. ‘TOWELS!” he yelled. “I need LOTS of towels!” He started unplugging stuff as fast as he could, as he tried to figure out what had happened. The birds are yelling, we’re yelling, the dog is barking, and all this water is gushing out from somewhere in the stand.

The sump was empty cause all the water was on the floor. We’re throwing towels on the floor, Brandon is throwing things out of the bottom of the stand and the birds are still yelling. The overflow pipe had mysteriously come undone and was pumping water out as fast as it could all over the inside of the stand and the floor. I ran and got the steamer which of course is in pieces, one of which is still missing. I did find what I needed and Brandon had run outside to get the wet/dry vacuum. Two vacuums going at once, we sucked up a TON of water and were still vacuuming it up an hour later.

Of course, the stand is slightly elevated with several sheets of plywood braced on wood so it’s up an inch or so from the floor creating a nice little cozy place for water to collect and sit there to rot the floor out of the house so we wind up having a 125 gallon tank sitting on the ground instead of in the living room. Brandon rigged up his racking cane to the shop vac with duct tape and ran it under the stand and managed to get a lot of water out that way. Luckily for us, before we put the stand in the living room, we put a sheet of linoleum down. Fans and two days later, the floor is still a little damp, but all our fish (all three of them),our corals, etc are doing well.

Anyone else have any horror stories like this one? :lol:
"You can say any fool thing to a dog, and the dog will give you this look that says, `My God, you're RIGHT! I NEVER would've thought of that!'" - Dave Barry

40 gallon tall
15 gallon refugium
2.5 gallon mantis tank
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snoopdog
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Post by snoopdog »

No yet, but I am sure my day will come. I am going in the living room right to put a row of tape on my bulkhead coming from the overflow as we speak. I use plumbers silicon for salt creep under there and you would be suprised how it will not let pipes slip out, but I think I will go in there right now and take a second measure. What you just shared with us is every reefers nightmare but I am just glad he did not get shocked and that you had zero loss, glad you were home and you guys are safe.
"When they was no meat we ate fowl, when there was no fowl we ate crawdad. And when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate what?"--H.I.
"We ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate sand?"--H.I.
"That's right."--Cellmate
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SaltnLime
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Post by SaltnLime »

Yup, my return line slipped out of a 90 allowing the mag to shoot water at over 900 GPH against my wall :shock: . Like you, luck I was there when it happened and did not get shocked or lose anything.

But in truth I can't take a shower without getting the floor wet..There is no way I'm going to play with a salt water tank plumbing ...adjusting pumps...cleaning skimmers and clearing lines without getting the place a little damp. :D Thaz why I got me a new wet vac :D ... 6 and a half ponies powering that baby :!: 8)
"Well......maybe I did get alittle carried away! "
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