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It's just not my week...


SuncrestReef

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First I accidentally killed my pipefish.

Now, while swapping out my powerheads for routine cleaning, I didn't notice that I put the spare Gyre in the tank upside down.  When I turned it on, it shot a jet of water about 12" straight up out of the tank and onto my UPS battery sitting on the floor.  (It normally pushes water sideways and down).  I quickly turned off the Gyre and wiped off the UPS with a towel.  I flipped the UPS upside down so any water that went into the air vents would hopefully drain out.  The UPS seemed fine for about 20 minutes, but then suddenly my entire tank shut down and the UPS started squealing a horribly loud alarm.  I unplugged it and tried to turn it off, but none of the buttons would respond, including the alarm silence button.  I had to disconnect the battery to silence it.

For now I have everything plugged into a wall outlet, and thankfully I still have my whole house generator in the event of a power failure, but there's a 30 second delay before the generator kicks in which is why I still want the UPS.  Looks like I'll be ordering a replacement.

Another rookie mistake I won't make again...

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4 hours ago, SuncrestReef said:

Another rookie mistake I won't make again...

You can’t imagine how many times I’ve said that and yet...  sorry to hear it’s been one of those weeks but no one is completely immune from those kind of things no matter how long we’ve been at it. Not sure if that actually makes it better or not though. At least you’ve got company. 

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I could start an entire new thread about "Doesn't matter how long you've done this, dont get cocky, you've messed <this> up again." :)

My personal favorite is after 25+ years of using PVC for tank plumbing, I finally overtightened a threaded 1/2" elbow on a new external skimmer I'd added.   And two days later, after I'd crashed in the hotel from long interantional flights for a business trip... I get the Double Phone Call.  (calling twice in a row means, "Answer No Matter What's Happening.")   Of course, alarms going off, dry bump screaming sounds in the background, and fish equipment room sprayed wet like a fountain had fired up in it. - because it had.

And... My wife wasn't home either, it was a neighbor who had agreed to just stop by and Feed The Fish.  

In my sleep, I figured out how to diagnose.  Talked them through unplugging the right pump cord.  And manually refilling the sump from the Fresh-Saltwater vat, not the no-salt RO Evap makeup water vat.    I was paranoid they'd add all freshwater and crash the salinity.

All worked out OKay.  NO skimmer for a week was no problem.   ...  How many times have they told us its possible to use too much teflon tape in a threaded PVC joint, and if you overtighten the fitting can just crack?!     There's always another valuable lession, just waiting to be taught to us.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Bicyclebill said:

I’ve had plenty of those for sure! It’s interesting hearing it from you though after understanding the painstaking level of detail you’ve put into your system!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All the planning in the world doesn't matter if you don't pay attention to the "This Side Up" markings on a Gyre...🙄

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3 hours ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:

Couple weeks ago... uggh, my closed loop inlet is filthy.. let me pull that off and clean it.

Forgot to turn off CL pump.

What's that grinding noise? Niger in pump impeller.

Sighhhhh

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

You always have the best stories.  🤡

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Bummer for real. I hate it when I do that kind of thing.

The water probably put some 12V where it did not belong and fried a super small 5V component. It could easily happen without leaving much of a trace and it would be super hard to troubleshoot. If the AC power made it where it did not belong now that would leave a mark.

I am sure you can re-purpose the battery for some weekend killing project though...

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12 minutes ago, freddyk said:

I am sure you can re-purpose the battery for some weekend killing project though...

Since I replaced the UPS with the same model, I'm keeping the old battery as a spare.  Not sure how long it will last on a shelf, but it was only used for less than a year so I'm hoping it will be useful if needed.

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8 hours ago, SuncrestReef said:

Since I replaced the UPS with the same model, I'm keeping the old battery as a spare.  Not sure how long it will last on a shelf, but it was only used for less than a year so I'm hoping it will be useful if needed.

You can probably wire the spare up to the main system for more backup but as I say it would cost you a weekend and seeing how you have a robust home generator it is probably not necessary.  It reminds me that I need a better plan...

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4 hours ago, freddyk said:

You can probably wire the spare up to the main system for more backup but as I say it would cost you a weekend and seeing how you have a robust home generator it is probably not necessary.  It reminds me that I need a better plan...

Yeah, the UPS only needs to keep things running for 30 seconds until the generator automatically takes over. 😎

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