New Year’s Resolutions

Resolution #1: I will NEVER leave a siphon hose of any type in my tank unattended.

So, I thought I had a pretty good system going... To minimize the impact of water changes in my 17-gallon tank (temperature, salinity, pH, etc.), I came up with a great method. Each week, I drop the water level of my tank about 2" - 3". I then add the new saltwater to an elevated bowl next to the tank. Using airline tubing, I start a slow siphon that adds the saltwater directly to the filter at the back of the tank. One end of the tube is securely taped to the bowl using electrical tape; the other end is jammed down into the filter. As the bowl empties, I add more water until the appropriate water level is reached (as marked with a small piece of blue electrical tape on the right rear side of the tank). It usually takes about an hour or so for the entire process.

I have used this method for months without any problems. So much, in fact, that I no longer think too much about it. That is, until tonight...

I performed my water change, as usual. When the water level was close and the bowl with new saltwater was almost empty, I left to go to Target to pickup a few things. I’ve left the tank like this before without any problems, so I didn’t think much about it. VERY BAD IDEA!

When I got back, I heard a loud unrecognizable noise as I opened the door. "What could it be?" I wondered, as I slowly walked into the family room. The first thing I noticed was that my two clownfish were at the bottom of the tank. "How strange," I thought to myself. "They always hang out toward the top of my tank." Then, I noticed that there was only about 3" of water left above the sand!!! I looked down and noticed that I was standing in LOTS of water. My next thought was that the tank was leaking. Nope, I couldn’t find a leak. That's about when I noticed the airline tubing laying on the floor... and still in the filter!! Even though it was taped in the bowl, I think my dog knocked it out. Because there was still water in the tube, lowering the other end of the tube changed the direction of the siphon and drained the water down to the level of the filter input. NOT good. That horible noise was the powerhead and the filter trying to pump AIR!!

To make a long story short, I added all of the saltwater I had in my house and placed some bottles in the tank to displace the water and raise the water level. I spent the next hour sucking water out of the carpet and every hour after that praying that all of my soft corals will pull through okay.

How awful that this happened. Big oops from someone that should have known better!!! First the power outage, then this. It's been a really bad week. Anyway, never again will I leave a siphon hose in my tank without watching it (especially with my sweet dog in the house). Hopefully, someone reading this will learn from my mistake and avoid a similar fate.

Does anyone else have a useful tip that could save others from unnecessary problems/disaster in the year to come? Please share your own wisdom with us.

BTW – All of my fish and invertebrates appear to be okay after the ordeal. Can you believe that the filter, powerhead, and thermometer still work? Shocking.

If there is anyone here that has never done something like this, and has been in the hobby for more than a few months, raise your hand. You get a

I have overflowed my top off buckets about a thousand times. I turn on the faucet from my RO resevoir and inevitably get distracted - wash room floor flooded.
I once let 20 gallon of perfectly good RO water run onto the floor while I watched two hermit crabs fight over a shell.

I have resolved to attend every Friday meeting that we have this year!

I've been fortunate so far not to have had many disasters of the flooding kind. But I nearly burned my house down when water leaking from a hastily done  refugium overflow dripped on an outlet!!!! I've since arranged power supply to prevent any such recurrance.

 

You couldn't be more right Marcus!! I hired a sparky (lektrician) to come out and put one in right thereafter. Other tanks I have are on surge protectors. I'm a contractor and should have known better than to have set the tank up without changing the nearby outlets first. EVERYONE who has outlets near a tank should get this done now if not sooner. The parts cost near nothing and if your not confident doing it yourself an honest eletrician can do it for a lot less than the value of your fishies or even worse your home and family!!!

I have also left my r/o on overnight several times. I finally installed a float valve to turn it off. Now I always have plenty of ro and no floods.

Just FYI, I purchased a GFI adapter plug at Aquatic Dreams for the same amount that I spent for a GFI outlet. It was less than $15. It's highly recommended speaking from experience that was posted last month.

Diana, hopefully everything pulls through for you.

Beware, have you found a better way to quiet it?

This is a link to one of the best ways to quiet it.

Durso Standpipe

It is so simple, (just a T, an elbow, a cap and a little pipe) and can be added to almost any overflow contraption!

There are other ways, if this won't work for you just ask for help.

Edited by Mark Peterson

To quiet my tank, I just backed up the drain a little until it doesn't splash to the bottom of the overflow and filled it up with bio-balls. That also helps with getting bubbles in my sump.