Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank) - split

[scubadan206]

An incident on this scale is akin to a death in the family. I'm sure anyone who has been with you in any way is more than a little heart-broken tonight.

Thank you for allowing us to accompany you on your journey. Best of luck on your new journey.

Daniel.

[dave.m]

As I read your description I could feel the bottom of my stomach dropping out. I am still in shock. I guess none of us could foresee such a massive seeming tank failing so catastrophically.

On the other hand, knowing what a forward thinker and visionary you are, I am already starting to get excited about what you will choose to do to top this tank. The possibilities are seemingly endless. I can only wait with baited breath to see where your journey will take us all to next. Naturally I make myself available to you for any small contribution I may be able to make.

Dave.M

[silentscream]

Peter, I am very sorry for your loss. This makes me want to re-evaluate my plan for catastrophic failure, do I have the necessary equipment and tools in place to deal with an event like this (though on a much smaller scale)? I thank you for sharing your journey and look forward to what you come up with next.

[koko maung]

That was an amazing tank. I feel sorry for your lost.

[dodgerblew]

I can't even imagine the different emotions you must be experiencing. It's amazing how these tanks, no matter the size, become a part of us. I'm sure in the weeks to come you'll know what's next in this journey. Whatever the direction you take, what you and your fellow reefing friends have done in the advancement of bringing the ocean to life outside of the ocean is unparalleled and the memories and experiences will be with you always and with us as well since you've been so generous in sharing them. I hope one day you will benefit this community even further by teaching us all in print and authoring a book.

[danfeig]

Peter, my heart goes out to you and Judy. You have just experienced one of my biggest fears and my stomach is in knots thinking about what you must have gone through. The enjoyment that we receive from our hobby can't be replicated or replaced. I hope that you find it in you to rebuild and continue to share your experience and passion with all of is.

- Dan

[Taipan]

Peter; I can not begin to fathom the emotional impact that this event has caused. The depth and breadth of this epic journey you have shared with the Community at large is awe inspiring.

".....and I realized that I would probably love to do it again only better.

Imagine starting with the accumulated knowledge and experience that we have gained in the last five years and it’s a no brainer. We would have the tank of the century. I am retired and I have learned that this hobby is a very respectable way for someone like myself to spend his time. I have felt well supported by this community in the past and would presume to keep that family together and even grow it substantially......"

I'll give Mr. Wilson a shout and co-ordinate with him of how I can lend a hand when your Team is ready.

[rholguin]

Wow. Totally the opposite type of update I was expecting. I'm really sorry for all of your loses. I can't even begin to imagine what you are going through. One can only wish you can recover from this and hope for an epic comeback and see one of the greatest home aquariums come back to life.

Robert

[terri_ann]

RIP

[Fury165]

Peter, I can't begin to imagine the heartbreak you are going through. Your tank has been an inspiration to a lot of folks including myself - I wish you well and look forward to your next build.

[Bjoern]

Hi Peter,
I’m in shock. It’s unbelievable. This is what the biggest fear of all of us is. Even if you are prepared to something like that it can only be technically but never mentally. When i think about "what if that happens to my tank?" it can only be "What first?" and "How can i fix that?" So best wishes to you and your family (including all the fish) for a fast recovery from this shock. I can’t wait to hear how you wish to go forward.

Yours
Bjorn

[tripdad]

Thank you for sharing your tragic event with such grace and honesty. Having suffered great tragedy in my life I can empathize with your loss but realize I cannot feel the depth of your emotions. Know that all of us who have followed along on your journey are grateful for your sharing it with us. I do hope you can find the resolve to move forward, I am sure you will, as you seem like as dedicated of a custodian of life as there has been in this hobby. Please feel free to reach out to this community if you need any help moving forward. I wish you better days ahead.

[xroads]

My deepest condolences from someone who knows exactly what you are going through!

[Made2Rock]

Peter,

I am so sorry to hear what happen. While this has been a major tragedy you should not lose sight of how much you have done for this community. It may be hard now to get moving but you are right the best thing to do is to get in front of this. Best of luck and I'll be praying for a brighter tomorrow for you.

Joe

[reefjunkie86]

Peter I'm terribly sorry to read about this. If there is anything I can do to help let me know. You have not only leant a lot on this journey but have taught many as well.

[mr.wilson]

Thanks for all of the kind words of condolences.

This certainly isn't how we wanted to put more life into the thread, but here we are, so let's discuss how to move forward.

The key to Peter's success thus far has been the ability to recover from adversity. The experience with his aquarium has been no different. When a disaster of this grad scale happens, there really is no time to deal with the shock. I find that smaller hurdles where you know you made a mistake are much harder to deal with. I got the call from Peter at 11:00pm and it was already too late to do anything about it.

Peter gave a good description of how it played out, so I won't bother going through that nightmare story again. When I arrived on scene for the emergency, there was no water in the tank, just wet sand. The short leg of the L shaped aquarium is 8' long. There was a six foot section of the bottom seam on that side that had completely delaminated and was now hanging past the bottom panel. A crack had formed on each side of the failed seam where the pressure became too much after the rupture. It looks like it popped and drained extremely fast. The floor drain exported the water amazingly well, considering the volume and speed at which it played out. An our after the incident, one would never guess there was a flood of that magnitude.

We would have liked to share the news earlier, but Peter needed some time to tai to the insurance company and the manufacturer in question. Peter will be able to update the community on how that played out. All I can comment on with regard to that is it is not going to be an easy path to travel.

What I can say is the tank has been an incredible teacher and with that knowledge we intend to move forward. As much as these incidents make it easy to just walk away with your heart on the floor, Peter thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium up to the last day. One of my last memories with Peter and the aquarium in all of its splendour was helping him feed his prized dwarf moray eel. His fish collection was the best I have seen anywhere in one aquarium. It truly was an incredible site to see.

I find the best way to put these learning experiences behind you is to gather the lessons you have learned and focus on how to rebuild even better. The chance to start all over is sometimes a blessing in disguise.

I have put together some of the photos of the tank that I have taken over the past five years as it matured. I only hope that there is an equally impressive picture show at my wake (many, many years form now).

Here are some pictures I took the night of the disaster.






If I didn't see it for myself, I wouldn't believe 1500 gallons was drained onto this floor only an hour earlier.

[mr.wilson]

Here are some pics of how the mangrove system has matured over the past four years. Growth was slow until we replaced the 580w of plasma lighting with 500w of LED.

[mr.wilson]

Here are some very early pics of the 8' front panel where the seam failure occurred, starting when the tank was initially started almost 5 years ago.

[mr.wilson]

[mr.wilson]

[mr.wilson]

Here are some pics of what I call the "inner L". This is the side of the L shaped aquarium that faces the stairs. It's a more confined view, but always once to see a second, alternative view of the same reef.

[mr.wilson]

Here is a view of the outer corner of the L. The seam failure was to the left. The front panel is 1.5" thick if I recall correctly. The panel where the seam failed is only 1" thick.

[mr.wilson]

The "through the arch shot" was always a fun one to take.

[dazza0685]

I must say this is truly a tragic loss for the entire reefing community. I cannot begin to image how devastated everyone who was a part of this tank must feel.

I very much hope this experience doesn't put you off reef keeping for good as your spectacular efforts have inspired many reefers i guarantee.

[mr.wilson]

This is the 16' long panel that Peter views from his desk.