Reef Aquarium Tank Crash - WE BOMBED OUR AQUARIUM

[@Jrdn.A]

Respect for sharing with us. This is hard to watch, can't imagine how you all must be feeling. Really enjoy your candid videos and can't wait to see you rebuild this beautiful tank.

[@dlegarern1]

Thanks for sharing Please let us know what the trigger was if you find out.

[@jasoncolliver3648]

Can't believe it. Hadn't seen that tank in person yet but from everything I've seen here, it was a beauty. You are right, this would drive most from the hobby but you, March, are in the enviable position of owning your own successful reefing store. You can build back better - and get some killer fragbox tv content while you're at at!

[@sallyostling]

It happens to everyone. I'm sorry for your loss!! My worst crash was salinity was 1.35 and killed nearly everything. We allowed it to essentially recycle and go feral. It came back BEAUTIFUL and we rebuilt.

[@Jeffreyhitthat]

How long did that take

[@glowwurm9365]

Respect for sharing this with everyone, its good to know that even someone as experienced as yourself can have a crash... some would attempt to hide this, but the fact you've taken it as an opportunity to share with the community is what makes your channel worth watching IMHO.

[@MHoran86]

Really sorry for your loss. I only got into the hobby 3 years ago and since I started I've had 3 tank crashes. 2 tanks actually cracked(32gal biocubes and their horrible curvef corner designs....2 tanks both break in the same place), both brraking the week of a large shipment + haul from coral shows. Lost close to everything and it did alot of damage to the house. I stayed in the hobby and continued to acquire coral, splitting what I had left and could fit between two 20gal nano AIO(one as a display tank another as a coral grow out). A year went by the tanks had pushed through any alage/bacteria issues + growing pains.... until one morning I discovered cloudy water, a dead shrimp and corals covered in slime. Return pump died the night before and by the next day they had been cooking in 90+ degree water. Took everything out and surprisingly was able to save some of what I thought was lost. Since then I've acquired gear and planned a bigger build but starting has been an off and on debate, constantly worried to start until I have everything properly planned for any type of worse case scenario. Going through such a tragedy truly is a punch to the gut. Hours on hours, years of learning, selecting, and maintaining just to have little to show. It's definitely a moment where you either pick yourself up and try again or hang up the towel. So congrats on pushing through. I doubt I have any experience that you don't have already, but besides preparation for worse case scenarios, having a seperate system is something I'll probably always stick with, even though it means extra work. It allows you to have a life line, as well as move coral around and see if they do better in other parameters without having to change that tank to their liking. Again, sorry for you loss. I've wanted to see your store since I found the channel and once I'm able to travel again, I look forward to shaking your hand

[@roberttrudel2679]

So sorry for you loss. It's so sad when something like that happens. Sending you positive vibes.

[@coochieman7880]

bro i’m 21 now.. i can’t imagine losing corals i’ve been growing since i was 14or 15. my heart goes out and props to letting it be a lesson and not just completely destroy your outlook on it. hope that thing gets back up and going better than before 💪🏼

[@Sharks3dGirl]

My wife & I are so sorry to hear about this terrible situation. Keep your head up we are wishing you the best.

[@micro-reefsaquariums5169]

You have a totally great attitude about keeping positive about the chaos that arrived, we call that Growth Mind Set. You are steering away from the fixed mind set and I know you will prevail. Your shop is beautiful I see you take so much care of your drygoods how organized they are so I know how your tank must have been so gorgeous. I have empathy when I hear you say how long you had these corals, that makes me feel what you feel, you will bounce back and please share with us any new updates.

[@Jessmosis]

This is always the part of the hobby we must share to everyone. Everything doesn't always go 100%, no matter if you're new or years into the hobby. Mini oceans can change in an instance. Hope most of what you salvage lives and happy reefing my dude, good watch.

[@04luppy]

Found your channel from this video, sorry about the crash of the system. I'm new to the marine scene and made a ton of mistakes, but through this video you've gained a subscriber in me just from the way this video is conducted. Hopefully you can bounce back and look forward to seeing more from your channel. Take care

[@geofflee216]

My condolences. RIP to all the little guys. That was one phenomenal tank

[@joesreef7089]

That sucks what happened. Do you have tips on getting coral I have a cycled tank with clownfish I added about a week ago. I did a water change yesterday after a week and hope to get coral today. Do I have to add any chemicals or can I just add coral?

[@timfitzpatrick3724]

Hi March...so sorry for the loss....on a positive note just seeing this video reminds me how much I LOVE your store and coral selection! The main display that is still 100% in tact is gorrrgeous as usual and I will be ordering some corals from it tommorow!!!!!!!!!!! I think your attitude to turn a negative into a positive is stellar! Go For It! Bring it back EVEN BETTER then before....we all love our cars ..UNTIL WE BUY A NEW ONE! lololol Again sorry for your loss and sorry for the animals that died in the tragedy of course too... Faster you move forward the faster this will be behind you...BEST OF LUCK MARCH and YOUR WONDERFUL TEAM of employees that do a spectacular job on the service end of things every single time I have dealt with them! CHEERS.

[@Re5p3c7]

Damn, I was hoping it was a click-bait... I am sorry for your loss, March. I don't know what I want more now - to know what cause it or to see it being rebuild for the better. Keep us updated! And best of luck rebuilding!

[@Brimmlinn]

Would love to see an ICP test on that system. Also, what kind/brand/size is that display tank that crashed? I’ve always loved that tank. :(

[@fragboxcorals]

bagged some water right after it happened going to send it off

[@deanfielding4411]

@@fragboxcorals please publish the results.

[@Chris-zi9bb]

@@fragboxcorals Did a sea cucumber die in the tank? They can release poision and wipe a tank out.

[@syte_y]

Just going through some of your older videos. I’m sorry this happened man, but respect your attitude towards the situation

[@StNovaSt]

Jeez man! So sorry. Good outlook. Do a mini series on starting over the tank for beginners. Daily vlog type stuff.

[@kiswanson]

With that kind of really rapid death I would think it would have to be a very toxic addition to the tank or electrical issue. No matter what it really sucks. I loved seeing updates on that tank. I was just feeling comfortable with my tank and now I'm thinking I need to double check everything. Hopefully you get some answers so we'll all know what how to prevent a similar occurrence. As always, love the videos and wish I could order from your store.

[@petermoorhouse1823]

March man!! Sorry for your loss buddy, iv been there before man, in Australia where i live in summer it can get to 50 degrees in the shade. So while I was at work my chiller fucked up, my water was over 40 degrees lost everything, but i didn't give up ,still going strong KEEP ON REEFING

[@fishpony1211]

Sorry for your loss bro. Your positive attitude will take you further then you have already got in this hobby. Great example to set for new reefers. Shit happens and making the best of it is what sets you apart from the rest!

[@devinluke3311]

Sorry to hear! I remember seeing that tank a year back and loved it. Best of luck on the new one!

[@laylauk2654]

I feel for you, have you checked the heater, for me years ago my cracked bits of glass came off, We I return home I found very un happy even dead fish. It was a 6ft tropical tank. I was so gutted so I feel your pain. Now I'm tropical and reef tanks. Goid vibes from England

[@Chris-zi9bb]

Sorry that happened! Good luck on the rebuilding, looking forward to watching the build....

[@ZaneSchoonraad]

Damn dude this is so sad and sorry to see but honestly... Can't wait to see you bounce back and follow the new build! This will make an Awesome series! All the best from South Africa

[@mr.savage8666]

So sorry for you loss. That was a beautiful system. Sending positive vibes. my thoughts are maybe clam

[@Jtone_philthy_aquatics]

Same here! I just asked him if he had any clams in the 90 or the growouts down stairs. I can’t remember if he did

[@GreenNGoldFever]

Never met you, but you seem like a hell of a guy. Good luck on the rebuild!!! If anyone can do it, it’s you and your team!

[@elizabethwatson71]

Dude, big tears. No joke, I have only fresh water tanks but fellow fish folks feel your pain. I’m so sorry. Best wishes, and look forward to your rebuild

[@younggunner1958]

Gutten for you guys man , came to this store about a month ago and was impressed . Respect for sharing this keep up the good work! 💯

[@joras7457]

Any of those 2 bottles-leak, that are on top of the tank ?

[@KarnivorousKeyz]

Damn... So sorry that this happened to you! Glad you are keeping a good spirit about this. Thanks for posting this! Recently lost all my fish to an air flow problem.

[@fragboxcorals]

sorry to hear

[@hose745]

March been watching your channel since the beginning from Tucson Arizona as I'm getting ready to start my own reef tank I cannot believe what I'm watching I am so sorry that that happened to you and your store I'm rooting for you to come back stronger than ever

[@richardbailey3343]

Check your pumps etc for electrical shorts that can cause dramatic loss of coral. Regards

[@bearded-flipflop]

That's a horrible situation, did you have and red planaria in the system somewhere as a friend of mine had a mass die off in his tank and it stank the whole house out. Plus it killed all his snails.

[@Kommeng2000]

What type of tank are those in the basement? Great Videos by the way! Been a fan and wanting to start a reef store somewhere in the midwest of US!

[@tatooz52967]

I am so sorry for your loss. I watch every video and have learned so much from you and your team. I am now learning about bouncing back and not giving up. I hope you figure it out and don’t blame yourself. Some times shit just happens.

[@HoHkennels]

Aww man. Sorry that happened to you. To think I almost gave up on saltwater based on my learning tank. Not I have three saltwater tanks. Do you ship coral?

[@MW-ut3dk]

Do cctv cameras show any footage of tanks at time of ph drop? Any coral spawning event? Clam spawn? If palytoxin wouldn’t that have affected people who walked into the store afterwards considering how much was killed and how large the system is?

[@johnbrand1893]

Send off a sample of water for al ICP test, for sure you’ll find out the cause of this disaster. 😔🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@Jtone_philthy_aquatics]

Too bad he didn’t get to send one in last night before the ph dropped (or immediately after) now the water is so contaminated with all of the corals/ fish that died it might not be a clear answer. Really a bummer man. This hobby will humble even the best sometimes

[@jongordon3507]

@@Jtone_philthy_aquatics If a massive amount of healthy coral die off I don't think you would see a large heavy metal release. Never heard of that. If the ICP shows heavy metals then all the equipment should be examined really closely before being used again.

[@knwr]

@@jongordon3507 Yea a random spike in heavy metal in a closed system would be highly unlikely. Maybe if a water change was done or the auto top off is connected direct to the property's water something could get in for one reason or another.

[@jestronixhanderson9898]

15 years in the hobby here, you can have the perfect tank and know your shit and have this happen. Happened to me a month back out of no where! Personally it’s what keeps me in the hobby. This is why I’m setting up a second tank, avoid a total wipe out. Pat on the back from an old reefer here. Also jury is still out of hand sanitizers! Seeing lots of crashed tanks since covid. Wash ya hands and it’s still up under your nails

[@jongordon3507]

@@knwr Heavy metal spikes happen all the time when equipment hits a breaking point and fails... We always have many magnets in our aquariums that will leach at some point. Cheaper equip often fails soonerm

[@roadtripperbrooxy]

This is absolutely terrible! I’m terribly sorry for your loss :( I admire how you still find a way to stay positive :) I hope things straighten out!

[@thereefsterofficial]

Respect on sharing this.. you sir deserve to be followed!

[@angelnieves6087]

Terrible that it happened and hope you get to the bottom of the reason. But great attitude on redoing abs getting back to the drawing board. My thoughts and prayers to you chief.

[@Rob_Wills_Solihull_Reefer]

Mate,the funny thing is as I was watching this I said to my wife this is palytoxin,two minutes later you mentioned the purple deaths which is literally what happened to me one Saturday afternoon,doing maintenance on my reef tank and decided to split a bunch of purple deaths that were starting to grow over other corals.I have been in the hobby close on 20 years and the devastation within a few hours,well I certainly have never seen anything like it,all my plating montis,huge birdsnest literally turned white overnight,chalice lost colour but I do still have them and they have regained colour,this happened around 6 months ago.I did put heaps of new reef carbon in a reactor,and ran the skimmer around the clock,it took the tank around a week to settle,I didn't lose any fish,or oddly any acropora.I am extremely convinced it was palytoxin.On a positive note my reef looks great again,unfortunately i still have a bunch of those purple deaths.

[@goobz7753]

I can’t remember what bottle you guys were just freehand dosing but could it be the massive amount of that green stuff someone dumped in this tank in the last video?maybe it was aqua fuel? Idk how old the video is but ur man clouded the entire tank with something green? I hope u get it figured out tho brother . We all learn alot from ur channel/vlogs

[@hetabattousai]

It happened to me once when my box buffer died. Do you have any fish or corals that can release toxic when dead? I don’t think poly or zoa can kill that big tank/sump in that short amount of time.

[@shabbir78]

Jebao products being sold as Coral Box dc pumps?

[@haroontariq90]

Sorry for your loss! Hang in there March! Hope you will bounce back more strongly..

[@smokeandkippers]

You’re remarkably upbeat and I really respect that.

[@garrettnickles9070]

Sorry for your loss, it’s almost unbelievable how fast that happened.

[@TheFiSHDocToR]

Maybe, reminds me of a massive coral spawning event that wiped out a friend's, clients 400 reef.

[@Jtone_philthy_aquatics]

I didn’t even think of that!! Clams have been known to mess tanks up due to spawning events as well!!! Good point

[@atfinthehouse8631]

Electrical short. Things died then the cascade? 🤷🏻‍♂️. So sorry to see this and hear it.

[@fragboxcorals]

you nailed it

[@deanfielding4411]

Would it have been a good idea to leave everything as it was and just risk a huge water change?

[@dansmith9686]

If you suspect coral warfare are you not super hesitant about putting those same corals into your health system?

[@whokilledmercy1497]

When you said SHITTY FRAG BOX TV at the end I really felt that. I had this happen twice in my reefing past over the last 10 years, still don’t know why. Just frustrating and hurting to watch.

[@rhinosreef4736]

That’s sucks man I’m sorry you’ll bounce back stronger thank you for sharing a lot of places wouldn’t

[@johnkidd3975]

Hey March, sad to see the one tank go, but when you went downstairs to the the farm I felt sick. So sorry this happened to you. I know (from your videos) you had a large collection of corals you were growing out in the basement. These corals were in some cases your favorites. Hopefully your local community will pull together and bring you back in some frags of your favorites to get you back up and running. It is a good reminder for me to put some carbon back in my system.

[@justdabubbletip1452]

Why did you get rid of the rock

[@the.humble.reefer7230]

Man that blows. Keeping it real and that's the good, bad & ugly. I sure hope you find the cause.

[@dm0ney743]

I recently had that happen. But lost all my fish really sucks. Bought a qt tank the next day......lesson learned. On the bright side lots of video ideas for you guys to show the different process of setting up a reef tank

[@Jtone_philthy_aquatics]

Olaf made a good point that didn’t cross my mind spawning events have been known to cause huge problems weather it be coral spawning or clams. Did u have any clams in this system or in the grow outs down stairs?

[@toddbruning5676]

Last night was a full moon so spawning event is highly likely. However he did say that he had a sudden drop in ph in his tank yesterday afternoon, that alone would stress and kill a lot of corals fast.

[@shoja7264]

You are an Awesome channel!!!! I’ve gone through several crashes and I do have those quitting thoughts. But the remaining coral that I always have keeps me going 🥺😍

[@beachsidereefer6685]

Wow, sorry for the loss. Positive vibes!

[@EfReez]

March - Having recently discovered your business and being inspired by your knowledge and love of the hobby I'm sorry to hear of this terrible circumstance. I've no doubt you'll be able to build better and safer and hopefully you can uncover more into the root cause (and in turn help us hobbyists understand what can go wrong)

[@TRSCAquatics]

I'm sorry to hear about the crash. I'm sure this has been said before but In case it hasn't. A Low PH event happened in one of our farm systems as well. It turned out that overnight a spawning event occurred which triggered other spawning events. Ultimately it caused the oxygen to crash within the system and we lost that grow system. This coupled with the loss from corals dieing during the spawning event made a roller coaster. To prevent this in the future we implemented a 65 gallon Black oxygen detox chamber (Pickle Jar) where water goes through. The water in that chamber is super saturated with oxygen from air bubblers until its a literal churning mess of bubbles. A year later we also had a spawning event noted by the PH and O3 drop and lost nothing. We firmly believe that it was due to the constant super oxygenation. - Since then we have setup alerts for PH dips that last longer than 1 hour and used if-then statements to triggers these alerts after lights out. Subsequently we also setup the same alerts that triggers a Ozone Generator to start pumping ozone into the oxygen detox chamber if Ozone drops below a threshold. We use a large pump with a needle wheel mod and draw air from outside through a carbon bag. The second pump also draws air from outside but we fitted it with a T attached to our Ozone generator a Poseidon 100. It comes on as necessary.

[@alex-j-cole]

Wow this was my muse tank! Sorry for the loss, I hate this hobby sometimes… as always though I’m impressed with your candor and positive attitude.

[@adamschaafsma5839]

Oh nooooooooooo! I'm sorry March, glad you are getting back on it. That sucks so hard! Yeah wondering about that pH plunge, and what caused it. I'm so sad 😔

[@richardtilbury6249]

That sucks. I hope you figure out what went wrong - the paly theory is interesting. I look forward to seeing you coming back better and stronger.

[@sburge1989]

Do you flush your dead legs frequently? Stagnant water can cause a buildup of harmful chemicals and bacteria in the tanks attached.

[@NanoTankReefer]

Oh crap! So sorry to see this dude. Onward and upward, you have a good positive mental attitude and that's great to see given the situation 💪 I personally would be having a mental breakdown 🙈

[@lisadimercurio9473]

So sorry this happened but you will figure it out and bounce ack better than ever. Please explain why you have to get rid of your rock.

[@Algaewarrior]

So sorry for your loss. This is truly gut wrenching. I hope you find out what happened.

[@thesaltexperience1153]

Check your heaters, pumps, power heads, etc to see if any damage that could expose metals to the tank.

[@Andreas-gh6is]

Exposed metals wouldn't have killed everything that quickly. A leaking current of the scale that would do that damage would be pretty obvious.

[@harlanmichael7088]

Thanks for sharing. Sorry to hear about any losses :(

[@MrRandallDish]

Keep your head up! Love the positivity to keep moving forward and rebuild.

[@mohamadosman9236]

Do you run an ORP monitor through your Apex? Not necessarily for informing you of its average, but to alert you if something causes a significant drop. Your PH gave you a hint- a drop in ORP may alert you to unseen issues happening in real time.

[@hyon8366]

Mine did the same thing a few months ago and i still haven’t figured it out but things are coming back hope you figure it out so i can catch it before it happens again to my tank

[@louisverheem4253]

Terrible man! I am so sorry for your loss! Have you considered taking a water sample and sending it for a ICP? I know it's too late but maybe you can get an idea of what went wrong, elevated iron, bacteria, toxins etc...

[@CartersToyBox357]

Man that’s half scary, a system that big can completely crash in less than 12 hours with multiple very skilled people tending to it. I’m so curious what happened?

[@fragboxcorals]

tune in tomorrow for the answer

[@CartersToyBox357]

Can’t imagine how that would feel if that was my reef, sorry for your loss man

[@bobbaran4589]

Electrical issue (voltage in water)?

[@Harolddespui]

Do you guys have a cleaner in the shop who maybe accidentely spoiled some cleaning vinegar (ph drop) or Windex/soap in the tank?

[@fragboxcorals]

we do yes and I checked with them but they have been cleaning store for years with no issue

[@Harolddespui]

@@fragboxcorals The problem with other people cleaning your shop, they might hire some day a temporary person who doesn't know what he/she's doing. If it was up to my girlfriend, she would spray Windex all over the tank. Or spraying perfume next to the tank..

[@artistic_spaz3724]

Omg 😲 I'm new to the hobby and have been looking to you for advice and knowledge as I learn the ropes and I must say, for you to say you don't know what happened is absolutely terrifying! I'm so sorry that you have to go through this.

[@jasoncolliver3648]

things CAN go sideways but for things to go THIS badly in a home system would be rare. March was running a massively packed system in a store, with two large tanks plumbed together and hundreds and hundreds of corals and various organisms. The volume of life alone makes keeping the system much more complex. Someone like you, just getting into the hobby, would generally have much less to worry about going wrong.

[@criticalreef1372]

Absolutely gutted for you guys, we all know you'll bring the tank back stronger, just a shame this had to happen ☹

[@bigmuvver]

Mate, Gutted for you, been there!! Like the positivity, like the Phoenix coming out of the fire.

[@kingofmexico6290]

Bro sorry for what happens but can't wait to see how you get through it. Much luck and positive vibes for the future

[@deedubs602]

I know the feeling. Had my Red Sea reefer do the same. Lost so many treasured corals, purple monster candy crush hurt the most. Never figured out what happened?

[@c4snipar]

Why taking all the live rocks out? Just ruled out possible poisoning by a “customer”?

[@legendaryc4917]

How does taking the live rock rule that out as a possibility?

[@jasebrushett3705]

I feel your pain , I bought a flame angel yesterday which are getting hard to get in UK, lost it in first 24hrs 😭

[@Jaypilot100]

I had the exact same thing happen to me in Jan. I believe I had a hammer that shit itself and killed off the rest of the tank. It literally happened overnight. I just let the tank go. A few months later I had 1 leather that looked like it was turning around so I cleaned up the tank and it's beautiful today.

[@samoks123]

It’s sad to see the tank crash, but you have high spirits and will get back on track soon. Few things that could have caused the tank crash: - a broken thermostat/heater sent the temperature too high. - an accidental large dosing of pellet food or some dosing supplement. I see some bottles at the far end of the tank , just below the light support arm. May be one of them fell in ? - May be one of the large corals dismantled from weak gluing , fell onto another and started a chain reaction of coral warfare. I saw this recently in our local LFS. A really large beautiful elegance coral (about 6~8” across) snapped of the rock and fell directly on a large anemone and lost many corals . Hope you will find some clues.

[@richardbailey3343]

Having seen your basement tank/s im sure its a multiple short the same thing happened to me about 10yrs ago and it looked the aftermath of a forest fire interestingly though the fish and inverts were ok Regards

[@strat1960s]

Sorry you're dealing with this. Hope you figure out the cause, solution, and share it with us.

[@ahmad1q2w3e]

Hey man I’m sorry for your loss I was in a store today I can’t even believe it and I’m pretty sure you can get it back

[@garrycole9187]

You should send out an ICP right away or hopefully you took a sample of the water before doing anything. For the future, you should isolate your grow out tank from the other tanks. These are your backup and so they should not be connected to the other system. Sorry for your loss March, that is why I keep a smaller system. All of us has gone through many a loss, I don't know any reefer who hasn't.

[@davidvaughan3771]

Your delivery is the key

[@ericmelendez578]

I had something similar happen to me the other day 6 tanks crashed all at once still don’t know how they where all separate systems

[@farazali454]

Hey. Very sorry about the crash. Hope you find the problem !

[@freakygoblin3068]

Were you running carbon at all? Not saying it would have made a difference, probably not, but simply wondering if that would have made any difference.

[@fragboxcorals]

nope no carbon at the time

[@jordanritchie2198]

What was the temp of the water? Didn't hear you mention anything about that but I seen fish so sure that's not it. But ph shouldn't be that low mid day should be at it highest. So think ur onto something with that. Best luck keep ur head up,👊

[@richardportelli1983]

Sorry for your loss. Get an icp test done.