Tank crashes, why?

I lost 90% of my livestock this weekend. Not sure if it counts a crash ... My Reef Angel froze while I was away for the weekend for a wedding. Temp dropped down to 17 and stayed there for 3 days. I didnt notice that the temp wasn't fluctuating like it normally does ... All that survived is 1 chromis and my Picasso Trigger :(
 
I lost 90% of my livestock this weekend. Not sure if it counts a crash ... My Reef Angel froze while I was away for the weekend for a wedding. Temp dropped down to 17 and stayed there for 3 days. I didnt notice that the temp wasn't fluctuating like it normally does ... All that survived is 1 chromis and my Picasso Trigger

I run 2 heaters one set to 25 that runs independantly the second runs on the RA @ 26 degrees
 
I'm going to get a titanium heater to run off the Reef Angel and leave the 2 I have now off the controller as backups. Learned my lesson the hard way here :(
 
The best way to allow a heater a long life is to never let the head of it make contact with the water.
The seal on them may or not work and every one suffers when the water the gets in and ruins it reliability.
For me, I think it is impossible for something that gets that hot and then cold to remain sealed.
I bend the plastic coated wire and put a peg on it so the head is never submersed.
 
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Thanks for the read very interesting.
As a newbie to the world of marine tanks this is really helpful.

I have killed a lot of my reef pets over my many years and I would be ashamed of my self if I didn’t pass on what I have learnt so that others don’t have to kill their pets I have in the past.
 
The best way to allow a heater a long life is to never let the head of it make contact with the water.
The seal on them may or not work and every one suffers when the water the gets in and ruins it reliability.
For me, I think it is impossible for something that gets that hot and then cold to remain sealed.
I bend the plastic coated wire and put a peg on it so the head is never submersed.
My heater is long so I don't have to stress about the head being submersed.
 
Power failure while you were away? That has happened to quite a few reefers & myself when my chiller packed up in the middle of a heat wave a few years back. The smell was insane.......Peeeeeuw

Nope, power was fine. Somehow the Reef Angel thought the temp was high enough and never switched the heaters back on again.
 
I also think not checking your water parameters regularly and your livestock's health regularly can also lead to your tank crashing because livestock health is a good indicator of your water parameters. I know its wrong way of looking at things but I look at this hobby as "water management" because that's all you can control and at the end of the day if your water parameters are good your livestock will be happy. Another reason why tanks also crash is not checking your hardware regularly including your heater and your pumps. Lastly not checking for unwanted objects in your tank - as an example Sometime last year I once found a small screw rusting at the bottom of my tank whilst doing a water change. This screw had fallen from my Boyu Lid.. Whilst i didn't lose any livestock, i think if I had gone longer without noticing the screw, my livestock would have died.
 
I put together a system that can not falter in any way and all levels remain the same no matter what, saves the head aches I had in the past.
It’s not hard to get it so testing and water changes are a waste if time.
I do believe in the livestock as indicators as well, always have.
I keep four forms of life for just that reason, you never know?
My brother had the metal thing and I had the uv plastics and more to learn from.
His son put in the needles and nails, just another learning example.
This old thread has the rest in it.
http://southeastqueenslandm.aforumfree.com/t1440-why-do-your-marine-aquarium-life-forms-die#5722
 
as an example Sometime last year I once found a small screw rusting at the bottom of my tank whilst doing a water change. This screw had fallen from my Boyu Lid.. Whilst i didn't lose any livestock, i think if I had gone longer without noticing the screw, my livestock would have died.
no worry there, rust in essence is Ferric Oxide which is the same as RowaPhos etc, in the early 80's and 90's rusty nails were added to do the same
 
From experience, no matter how automated a tank is, something can always go wrong. i lost my tank because of a power outage and the person taking care of my tank didnt come in daily as i had requested. Tank was powerless for three days before they went to have a look - and this was only after i told them to go.
When i go away now i set up a webcam so that i can look at my tank when needed and i have a fellow reefer to check on things everyday.
 
From experience, no matter how automated a tank is, something can always go wrong. i lost my tank because of a power outage and the person taking care of my tank didnt come in daily as i had requested. Tank was powerless for three days before they went to have a look - and this was only after i told them to go.
When i go away now i set up a webcam so that i can look at my tank when needed and i have a fellow reefer to check on things everyday.
I remembered that your place stank bad...
 
no worry there, rust in essence is Ferric Oxide which is the same as RowaPhos etc, in the early 80's and 90's rusty nails were added to do the same

The phos products,they usually come with contaminates and rowaphos is iron oxide hydroxide.
These products affect PH in a severely detrimental ways usually with out due care, that’s why I did way with my old aluminium oxide-phosphate sponge many years ago!
These bind up inorganic phosphates, also they bind up silicates and some organic materials as well and the media used for these products can dissolve into the water releasing either its aluminium or iron make up and the primary impurities incorporated in them as well.
I have found that under certain conditions as many reefers will endure, the media holding on to the phosphate, will release it back into the water.
You have to be so careful with it that I hate the dam stuff!

One of our guys had phosphate issues and I told him how to precipitate the phosphate as calcium phosphate as it binds it out of solution and that is the quickest way to eliminate phosphates!
 
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