Disaster Strikes My Reef Tank
26 April 2007OK, so that’s perhaps a bit dramatic, but man, what a day.
I was measuring the salinity when the lid to my glass-top slammed shut right on the hydrometer. I ended up with the stem in my hand, and the bulb portion shot into the tank.
The base must have torpedoed into the rock because the very bottom broke as well and all the little weights at the bottom spilled into the tank. I’m guessing these are lead, which can’t be good to have in the tank. An ounce of lead in a 20 gallon tank must be as bad as (or worse than) the Exxon Valdeez in the Pacific!
Most of it had spilled onto a single spot on the sand and I scooped that up with a small measuring cup the best I could. Unfortunately, some had also spilled onto the rock and collected in some of the crevasses. I tipped the rock and let it fall into the sand from where I scooped that up as well.
So here I am with a dilemma. I got most of it, but surely not all. What do I do? Ride it out and see if the invertibrates get affected? They’d be the first to go. The fish and corals could surely handle a little heavy metal.
But I couldn’t stand the thought of even a few little lead balls sitting in the tank, slowly leeching into the water and rock. And I figured the longer I think about it and research, the less impact any solution might have. So I acted quickly.
I went to the pet store and purchased a few new pieces of live rock and a 10 lb. bag of reef sand (CaribSea brand). And of course a new hydrometer.
I removed the two pieces of rock that may have had the lead pellets land in it and scooped out maybe 4-5 lbs of sand in the affected area. I replaced the sand with the full 10 lbs (ending up with a good deal more than I had previously) and the new rock.
Of course I took this opportunity to do some new rockscaping and built more of a cave and tunnel on the right side of the tank. I think it looks a good deal better, and is much more visible. The old structure had a cave that I couldn’t really see into.
Here’s how the tank looks now…
I laid the sand pretty deep on the right, giving it a two-tier look. And perhaps giving a spot for a jawfish I’ve had my eye on to dig a hole to hang out in.
I also left plenty of plaform to later add some more coral on top of the rock.
The whole ordeal set me back about $60 and a few hours. I consider things like this a “stupid tax”. I deserved what I got for being careless.
As for the old rock, I’ve placed it in a pail of salt water. Once the water warms up, I’ll drop a snail or crab in there to see if they make it. Like a canary in a mine.
I’m guessing the rock is fine and I’ll use it later when I build a bigger tank. It’s probably a good $50 of live rock.
on April 27th, 2007 at 3:44 am
Painful… It can be so darn hard when there is not an obvious way to fix a problem. Quick acting will hopefully help you out here!
on April 28th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Oh no Scott - that is terrible news - the good thing is that you acted quickly and in the best interests of your tank inhabitants.
I would monitor the water parameters very closely and also closely watch the inhabitants of the aquarium to see if they are acting strange in any way.
Regarding the old rock crabs are quite resistant so you might not notice anything might be better trying to find something more sensitive - possible a very small coral offshoot. The rock in the bucket will also need some type of water movement/aeration. Do you have an air pump, if so your could add this to the bucket to provide this.
Really sorry to hear about this - you have done the right thing, unfortunately these things happen.
Peter
on April 30th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Heck isn’t a measure of water polution, leaded fuels, nuclear waste and sewage all part and parcel of marine life now a days! Probably find the fish were all gasping for a bit of lead in their lungs
on April 30th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Now that you mention it Chris, they do all look a bit more perky.
Unfortunately, clean living was all I could offer them before over the “ocean”. Now what’s to keep them from heading back?