Well, i finally got hit by a bullet...

Well,  even though I have redundancy on nearly level/ device on my tank.   I got a call from my landlord saying water below, and dead fish above.
I rushed home from St. Louis...
All my fish are dead (including some that I have had for 5-6 years), along with all my sps including several LEs and other special corals to me.    most of my softies are dead.
It looks like a few snails and a few ricordia and zoos survived.  Time will tell.....
The cause of death is really weird, as I had failures on several different levels.   IE  My Aquacontroller never called my phone saying there was a problem.   The fail safes set in the programming didn't do anything.   The logs showed the Temp on the 26th reachign 90 degrees as well as the PH reaching 9.8 at the same time.  SO it was that double whammy .    It looks liek the KALK over ran,   which I have been VERY carefull to use tripple redundancy and very precise non floatswitch timed dosing.
I was perplexed..    till I was pulling dead skeletons out tonight..The lights set on MANUEL ON  kept going off.   I just tested a few X10 channels away from the tank,   and VOILA.
It looks like someone who shares a close power line wiht me got a new electronics toy on Christmas, and caused my tank to go haywire the evening of the 25th and on the 26, till my tank was dead.   MY dosing, Lights, Chiller, etc. all went crazy leading to the highest PH and Temp I have ever had in my tank....
For the record, I did extensive testing on the X-10 before connecting them, and have used them for 4+ years.  
So.     wish me luck as I try to keep as much alive as possible..      I am pretty low now...
On the plus side, I did get a ressaurance about my tank's setup design.    It has returned to normal parameters with in 24 hours of the wipeout without me being there, (ph, temp, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, salinity, Alk, Calc)    I am watching things closly for spikes, but now that the dead stuff is pulled, keeping the barely alive coral in the tank might be the best bet for tonight.....
Anywhoo,   I might need for a few of you to watch my remaining coral for a bit...    Mainly Ricordias and zoos...       

 

Yea, I live in an apartment.


I had 30 gallons of RO water made before I left, which is for things just like this..... I am getting a 10 Gallon running now which might be a temporary home to some stuff....
I am not sure if I am going to keep the current system going now, or downsize for the time being. I am anticipating moving in the next 6 months, at the most a year and a half... SO I am trying to weigh that in too.

IT is DEFINALTY the X10, I do live in an apartment, but i have had half of the devices that I didn't shut of popping on and off in the last 2 hours. It is likely a new electronics Christmas gift from someone close to my power, or someone controlling their XMAS lights on a new X10.

What I think really did it was the KALK stirrer turning on several times for a minute here and there, and then dosing at least once every 20 minutes before it settled.. I normally wait the hour before dosing after a stir...., I have been so careful with chemicals that Even if I dumped my entire RO tank at once through my Neilson reactor into my tank without stirring, the tank would be stressed, but not dead.


Waverez, I would see what you can do to get off X10 I have been on them for years, and test every new building. I didn't even consider Neighbor's new toys.....



On the plus side, I think the tank is pretty stable.. time will tell what all the dead snails and coral flesh i didn't get pulled out will do ... Eins, I may throw all my Rics in your tank (hopefully there is still a forest of that rare Orange tomorrow), and then just let my tank stay dark for a few weeks to see if it can recover without algae.....

Will you be around if I call your cell?


Man, I wish you guys could have seen my tank before Hiroshima hit.

 

Thanks for the kind words everyone,
What I am thinking now.. is to downsize. restocking 75 gallons of snails, especially with a move coming up seems like a waste... It will always look bare and empty.... I would rather have a small tank that looks good. I may set up an old 25 and turn it into a ricordia tank or so and keep farming the remaining corals, get a fish or two.... and start planning and saving for my big tank. That would be the 125 or 150 with a sump room I wanted but could not have due to upstairs apartment living. I bought my current gear with a future upgrade in mind, and hope to use my current lights, pumps, rock, filtration, etc. with minimal add ons. other than a few things like DC 8's, luminarcs, an aquasurf, /site/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif src="/site/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif" align=absMiddle border=0> probably another tunze.. Maybe a modded octopus skimmer rather than my bullet 2.
Robyn,
X10 is the automation device I use with my aquacontroller.. it sends signals along the existing power lines.
With that said. I might have a slighly used Ph probe that I won't need on my calcium reactor effluent.. that would be dead by time I use it again..... and several other small items up for sale or trade...
by the way. I am troubleshooting my X10 interference. since I unplugged the x10 control module, I have not noticed my test modules going crazy. If it isn't neighbors.. Maybe the aquacontroller is on crack. It still should be under warantee....

 

edit

 

One more thing.. Does anyone here in town have the ability to drill tanks?

I have a 25 or a 38 I would want to drill if I set it up as a tank.

I just ordered my DC8 can't wait till it comes!

I expect there to be a million questions and thoughts on this thread...... as I figure out how to stabilize again


Just imagine a 25 gallon with 2 Tunzes /site/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif

 

sean, where are you located? clayton can drill too... but that bit sounds like a better plan...


Matt