i almost lost everything. (pics)

[elise]

I've had my 75gallon tank set up for a little over a year now.. ( Oceanic tank and proper Oceanic stand)


Ive put alot of money and dedication into making what it was. Didnt have corals (well a few polyps) But i had a millions of [acronym:a272e985b1="copepods, amphipods, etc"]pods[/acronym:a272e985b1] built up from year and great coraline. Though may not have looked like much - to me it was everything.


I honestly believe that someone is watching over me because tonight at around 9 pm i was looking at things in my tank.. And in the EXACT corner i was looking, water started dripping from the base... I couldnt believe what i was seeing. It took only seconds to get worse.. it was pouring our all around the tank base. The electrical outlet sparked and was smoking.
I was home alone and luckily was able to call a friend to help.

what if i was sleeping? or even upstairs? i wouldnt of noticed untill either my house was on fire or the next morning.. everything would have been lost.



I syphoned water into a spare 20g tank i had in mybasement and set it up in the kitchen. I put my most important peices of rock in there along with some crabs and my small watchman gobie. I gave my friend my pufferfish to look after in his tank.. i hope hes alright - its almost all i care about.

Today i'd like to say that 50 out of 75 gallons of saltwater dreched our new hardwood floor. im 20y/o, live at home and dont have to deal with insurance yet. I dont even know if this will be covered.. somehow i hope it can be water damage.

We used a shop vac and lots of towels but im pretty sure the wood is already warped

My parents are not even in the country right now. I have no way of contacting them. They come home tomorrow night.

it could have been so much worse... but still - it really sucked.


before:




now this




under the wet towel is some of the less important peices of live rock.. i have no where to put them.


Thank you for taking the time to read this... its really a big loss for me..
i dont know what im going to do now.

elise

[DeFeKt]

Man that sux big time. glad you come out ok, something about the mixture of water and electricity is the only thing that worries me in this hobby.
oh and the time i come a cropper on the wet floor and made mince meat of my arm when i landed on the tank lid. I'm the only person i know who can turn keeping fish into a blood sport.

Might i suggest in big whoopazz tubs and getting a reseal done.
anyway...all the best with it.

Matt.

[No_Floaters]

Elise, sorry about your luck. At least you were there to catch it before it got really bad. Looks like you got your main pieces and livestock taken care of for now. You can put the leftover sand and rock into a big water-filled plastic tub with just a small powerhead to keep the bacteria alive.

Matt...what's a cropper..a whoopazz tub?

[DeFeKt]

lol, sorry forgot that us aussies are the normal people :P

cropper, basically i slipped....severly. other terms would be "***-about", "***-over-kite" "***-up"

whoopazz tub, haven't you ever opened up a can of whoopazz? even whoopazz sized tubs?

anyhoo... any thoughts on what your going to do elise?

hopefully the stand doesn't warp and you can reuse it...other then that it's not really a big job. just a "prick" of a job.

$35 i got a 120gal resealed before i sold it by a tank builder..
so whats that $20 odd over there?

good luck again,

Matt.

[greenmaji]

Ocianic has a great warntee.. very long time period as well.. Since you have a proper ocianic stand they will replace the tank, and if the tank damages the stand, they will likely replace that as well.
Ive heard that a trick to home owners insurace that works sometimes is if your auto topoff system is connected to the home plumbing the water damage is sometimes covered.. if your topoff is plummed into your homes plumbing permantately see if it isnt covered like a tolet overflowing.. [acronym:e55cd9415a="Hope this helps (or) Happy to help"]HTH[/acronym:e55cd9415a]

[Fluff]

Wow elise, that's horrible. Sounds like you handled it very well. I agree with greenmaji, contact Oceanic and see what they say.

[Royal Gramma]

Good idea running those fans across the floor! Don't know what the weather is like there but if it's not too humid or hot/cold open some windows to lower the humidity in the house that will increase as the water evaporates from the wood. The faster you can do this the less long term damage you will have.

I cringe at the thought of this happening to anyone

Best of Luck!

Mark

[Gatorfreak]

Originally Posted by No_Floaters

what's a cropper?

Similar to going a gutser.

[20 20]

If there's damage to the floor, Oceanic might cover that also. I've no first hand experience with this, but I've read that Oceanic is very reasonable for damages created by defects with their tanks.

[BillyZ]

Horrible story Elise. Wish I had some advice to give but it seems as though you are already doing all you can.


For those concerned about electrical hazards in this hobby, they can be pretty bad if you don't take proper precautions. The good news is that it's very simple to take the most basic precautions.

ALWAYS have a drip loop on all power cables.
Always use a power strip with a circuit breaker.
If at all possible, have that power strip plugged into a GFI outlet.
Make sure the power strip and other outlets are as far away as possible from any plumbing/filters etc hanging off the back of your tank.