TheClark Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 The Big SurpriseWoke up to a reef related surprise late last night:My wife woke me up and said 'what is that sound'?Now as a reefkeeper, you know strange sounds are not good at all. It sounded like powerheads running dry.I bolted out of bed and to my horror saw this. Look close, that tank is just about bone dry.What Happened Apparently the entire 8' long 150 gallon frag trank had run completely dry. Assuming a leak I started looking for the leak. There was a little water on the floor, but not 150 gallons by any means.Slowly it dawned on me. There was no leak at all! So how did the tank empty?Well that is the title of the post. The return pump back siphoned. Last week I had extended my return to about 10" deep, which is close to the bottom of the frag tank. Goal was to get flow underneath the racks and keep detritus suspended.What I forgot was the fact that now when the pumps shut off, 10" of water will back siphon into the sump. I know better than this, but for some reason, completely forgot this when extending the return in the frag tank. Should have drilled that anti siphon hole right away.Well, 10" leaves everything with about an inch of water.The sumps cannot take an extra 150 gallons of water, so they overflowed but thankfully into the floor drain.Once it was clear where the missing 150 gallons were, it was time to figure out how to get water back into the frag tank. Fortunately the sumps and the overlow in the main tank hold about 140 gallons or so full.Turned off the main tank return, turned on the frag tank return, and pumped all available water back into the frag tank. Turned the powerheads back on.This morning I extended the plumbing in the garage and ran 1" from the saltwater reservoir all the way up to the office. Fired up the pump and replenished the missing 150 gallons.The Good NewsLong story short, all equipment is back online now.No fish or coral losses yet.Tank had an impromptu 150 gallon water change.Ugh, sometimes this hobby makes a person question why they are in it Suggestion - Extended Power Out Test Every Change A power out test is key to avoiding stuff like this. Just kill the power and sit with your tank for 5 minutes, observe. Every time a plumbing change is made this is a good idea. It would have revealed this problem. If you do one, and find you need a anti siphon hole (preferrably 2) definitely add it. Its a very google-able topic if you are interested here is one example from Melevs reef.http://www.melevsreef.com/node/894 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboys Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 When it rains it pours man. Sorry to hear about this but it could of been much worse and as goofy as it sounds I feel you are lucky to have not lost much or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 When it rains it pours man. Sorry to hear about this but it could of been much worse and as goofy as it sounds I feel you are lucky to have not lost much or anything. So true, I feel super unlucky lately and yet also quite lucky in other regards! Well hopefully this is the end of it for now. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matts125 Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Never had a back syphon issue but have had a plumbing line blow off a 2200 gph return pump.. what an expencive mess! you are lucky. glad to hear all looks good still... Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 I am shocked and super happy that the fish all made it, there was very little water but they all managed to stay off the racks. and in that 1" or so of water.The zoas look like nothing happened at all. The SPS, so far so good, we shall see over the next few days... Note the return is shortened again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 I have never had the fortune of having a floor drain when a flooding disaster occurred, definately not as bad as things could have been, "Lucky as they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 I have never had the fortune of having a floor drain when a flooding disaster occurred, definately not that bad. Man, I cannot even imagine! Good point, the drain definitely changed this from a bad day to a decent day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorge Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Wow.. good thing you caught it in time!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowderBlue Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Praise God it went down the drain! 150 gallons can quickly ad up to tens of thousands of dollars in repairs! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil&Fin Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 I hope you thanked your wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 I hope you thanked your wife. Hahha, she told me 'I almost closed your office door but didn't want to get out of bed' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashy Fins Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 The good news is... you weren't on vacation! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 The good news is... you weren't on vacation! That is certainly good news! I am behind at work, otherwise we would have been at the beach. Oh boy, can you imagine trying to walk someone through this on the phone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 Hahha, she told me 'I almost closed your office door but didn't want to get out of bed' I have to add.. APEX was texting me 'sump high' and 'leak detect' but I was sleeping right through it. Yes I owe her one! Texting is only so good when phone is muted at night, sigh. Time to hook those alarms up to the sound alarm too I suppose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Glad everything turned out well for you. You've been having some bad luck here lately. It definitely could have been much worse for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 Glad everything turned out well for you. You've been having some bad luck here lately. It definitely could have been much worse for you! Thank you, yes, a round of bad luck for sure. Thoughts of 'why am I doing this' went through the noggin last night... Today I am sane again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softy Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 hey at least now you know an easy way to do a 150g water change on your system!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 hey at least now you know an easy way to do a 150g water change on your system!!! Indeed! I call it the automatic late night water change system. You are on the hook to refill yourself though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I'm just shocked you actually paused to take a photo. I would've been freaking out too much. Great job on the floor drain. That might just motivate me to install one on the new 180 getting set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 I'm just shocked you actually paused to take a photo. I would've been freaking out too much. Great job on the floor drain. That might just motivate me to install one on the new 180 getting set up. Tried to spring into action but was really stuck on 'where did all the water go?' That pause gave enough time to get a pic hahah. Floor drain? Do it! I sure jope you never need it, but if you do, so worth it! Good insurance. So are you doing a build thread on that 180? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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