D!NGO
07-07-2009, 08:58 AM
Hi,
I wanted to share a sad, but miraculous, story about my mistake that hopefully will prevent someone from ending in the same fate.
Three years ago I had my fish room set up in a shed that was in my backyard. At first, I only have (2) 20's, (3) 55 and (1) 75 gallon tanks. The 20 gal tanks have a 150w heater each and the 55's and 75 have 200w and a 65w central pump to supply air. There was only one 25w light that was used for nightlight because the shed has a skylight that let in natural sunlight. All electrical connections were run from a single outlet that was rated for 20Amps. There were no other load put on this outlet.
The first winter went by without a hitch. During the coldest nights the outside temp would drop to mid 20F but the temp inside the shed was around 60F. It's cold but the tank heaters are keeping the water at 80-82F.
Then summer came, I got the urge to add some more tanks (sound familiar?:p). Besides I have a couple of newly formed pairs that I need to separate. So I set up (4) more tanks...2 for the pairs and 2 for more discus. I added (4) 150w heaters to the load.
When the second winter came I wanted to add an extra heat source just in case the tank heaters could not keep up. So I added a small room heater that is rated at 500w. It was hooked up to a timer to come on at night. I calculated the total wattage, which comes out to be less than 2300w...about the max for a 20Amp circuit. I figured with this external heater the tank heaters would not come on as often. Even if all the devices were on I'd still be safe.
In November the temp dropped to low 30F and everything was working fine. I double checked to see if all the tank heaters were on when the external heater came on. Sure enough only about half of them were on so I was confident the external heater took some load off the tank heaters.
Then, in December, my family and I went out of town for the weekend. The outside temp was still in the low 30's, so I didn't even give it a second thought knowing all is well. I came home late on a Sunday night and after I put the kids to bed I went to check on the fish. I walked out to the backyard and towards the shed. I looked up at the skylight and I got a strange feeling...it wasn't the way it used to look...it was dark. Normally, there would be a slight glow from the nightlight shining through. I thought(and hoped) the nightlight had burnt out because I had put in a used bulb. As I walk closer towards the shed, there was an eerie silence when there should be a slight hum from the pump and the bubbly sound of the water. A million things went through my mind and just as I opened the door, I got the coldest sweat I have gotten in my life. It was like walking into a room of death...literally.
It was pitch black and the silence was horrible. I took a flash light to them and there was not a sign of life in any of the tanks. The only thing that was working were the thermometers because the were on batteries...and they read 54-61F... except for the 75 gallon that reads 65F.
Apparently, something had tripped the circuit and my money was on the external heater. So all was lost, I thought. But somehow, don't even remember that I did, I went to reset the breaker and thought I would clean out the shed AND my hobby tomorrow. It would proved to be a move that would keep me in this hobby today.
To this day, I still wonder why I had reset the breaker...because the next day when I pulled myself to step into the shed, I had the most pleasant surprise...one that I would never have thought possible. I found in the 75 gallon, 5 discus swimming up to the front glass as if nothing had happened to them...except for some frayed fins. I almost have to do a double take because among all the dead were these 5 fish looking for food. Needless to say, they get special treatments from then on. If anything, these guys have taught me some perspectives of how I look at things. It's like the light at the end of the tunnel. They are my miracles. And to add silver to the lining, a pair have formed last year and they have given me a lot of joy raising their babies to adulthood, although things are done differently now.
I still don't know how or why the circuit tripped AND on the days I'm not home (talkin' about Murphy's Law). My best guess is that when the external heater came on, all the tank heaters were already on. When that happens in the first fraction of a second, it pulled more current than stated and thus overload the circuit.
In closing, I hope that by learning from my mistake, someone else's disaster is averted. It definitely has taught me NOT to push things to the limit. I was just lucky I have something to look forward to... and THAT is a second chance at this wonderful hobby.
Sorry if this is a long post. I felt I needed to tell my story. I have included some pics of before and after the incident.
WARNING: If you have a weak stomach don't click on last 2 pictures.
Take care.
Derek
I wanted to share a sad, but miraculous, story about my mistake that hopefully will prevent someone from ending in the same fate.
Three years ago I had my fish room set up in a shed that was in my backyard. At first, I only have (2) 20's, (3) 55 and (1) 75 gallon tanks. The 20 gal tanks have a 150w heater each and the 55's and 75 have 200w and a 65w central pump to supply air. There was only one 25w light that was used for nightlight because the shed has a skylight that let in natural sunlight. All electrical connections were run from a single outlet that was rated for 20Amps. There were no other load put on this outlet.
The first winter went by without a hitch. During the coldest nights the outside temp would drop to mid 20F but the temp inside the shed was around 60F. It's cold but the tank heaters are keeping the water at 80-82F.
Then summer came, I got the urge to add some more tanks (sound familiar?:p). Besides I have a couple of newly formed pairs that I need to separate. So I set up (4) more tanks...2 for the pairs and 2 for more discus. I added (4) 150w heaters to the load.
When the second winter came I wanted to add an extra heat source just in case the tank heaters could not keep up. So I added a small room heater that is rated at 500w. It was hooked up to a timer to come on at night. I calculated the total wattage, which comes out to be less than 2300w...about the max for a 20Amp circuit. I figured with this external heater the tank heaters would not come on as often. Even if all the devices were on I'd still be safe.
In November the temp dropped to low 30F and everything was working fine. I double checked to see if all the tank heaters were on when the external heater came on. Sure enough only about half of them were on so I was confident the external heater took some load off the tank heaters.
Then, in December, my family and I went out of town for the weekend. The outside temp was still in the low 30's, so I didn't even give it a second thought knowing all is well. I came home late on a Sunday night and after I put the kids to bed I went to check on the fish. I walked out to the backyard and towards the shed. I looked up at the skylight and I got a strange feeling...it wasn't the way it used to look...it was dark. Normally, there would be a slight glow from the nightlight shining through. I thought(and hoped) the nightlight had burnt out because I had put in a used bulb. As I walk closer towards the shed, there was an eerie silence when there should be a slight hum from the pump and the bubbly sound of the water. A million things went through my mind and just as I opened the door, I got the coldest sweat I have gotten in my life. It was like walking into a room of death...literally.
It was pitch black and the silence was horrible. I took a flash light to them and there was not a sign of life in any of the tanks. The only thing that was working were the thermometers because the were on batteries...and they read 54-61F... except for the 75 gallon that reads 65F.
Apparently, something had tripped the circuit and my money was on the external heater. So all was lost, I thought. But somehow, don't even remember that I did, I went to reset the breaker and thought I would clean out the shed AND my hobby tomorrow. It would proved to be a move that would keep me in this hobby today.
To this day, I still wonder why I had reset the breaker...because the next day when I pulled myself to step into the shed, I had the most pleasant surprise...one that I would never have thought possible. I found in the 75 gallon, 5 discus swimming up to the front glass as if nothing had happened to them...except for some frayed fins. I almost have to do a double take because among all the dead were these 5 fish looking for food. Needless to say, they get special treatments from then on. If anything, these guys have taught me some perspectives of how I look at things. It's like the light at the end of the tunnel. They are my miracles. And to add silver to the lining, a pair have formed last year and they have given me a lot of joy raising their babies to adulthood, although things are done differently now.
I still don't know how or why the circuit tripped AND on the days I'm not home (talkin' about Murphy's Law). My best guess is that when the external heater came on, all the tank heaters were already on. When that happens in the first fraction of a second, it pulled more current than stated and thus overload the circuit.
In closing, I hope that by learning from my mistake, someone else's disaster is averted. It definitely has taught me NOT to push things to the limit. I was just lucky I have something to look forward to... and THAT is a second chance at this wonderful hobby.
Sorry if this is a long post. I felt I needed to tell my story. I have included some pics of before and after the incident.
WARNING: If you have a weak stomach don't click on last 2 pictures.
Take care.
Derek