I have to give a HUGE thanks to Richard (wishntoboutside), a fellow reefer and most of all, a friend.
I flew out yesterday for a weeklong business trip to Minneapolis. Before I left, I had explained to my Dad what to feed the fish and a couple of things to keep an eye on for the week. Everything else is automated so I wasn't worried. The system survived another 7 days trip back in April without anyone watching it.
During my layover in Phoenix, I called Richard just as a backup in case something happens and my family can't figure it out. Of course Richard readily agreed to do whatever was necessary.
I landed in Minneapolis several hours later, around 5:30 west coast time, and got a new voicemail. In the message, Richard said that he got a phone call from my wife saying that water was leaking out of the tank and into the driveway - my system is in the garage. I laughed to myself thinking that he was just messing with me. I then called home to tell my wife that I had arrived and jokingly to her that Richard said she call about a tank leak. She said it was NOT a joke!!!
Well, to make a long story short, Richard agreed to come over last night to help with whatever was necessary, even though he was working late into the night. In the meantime, I was able to figure it out with my Dad's help that it was my Ca reactor return line that had fallen out of the sump and simply draining water onto the floor. The feed pump and reactor were then turned off. So I told Richard that he could come over today instead to help with getting things back in order. My family wouldn't have understood the equipment lingo enough to bring the reactor back on line. And without it, Ca and Alk would probably be depleted to dangerously low levels when I get back. Don't want to see a 300 gallons tank of death.
So things are all good now. The moral of this story is: respect and be good to your friends. You never know when they'll help out at the most unexpected moments.
Thanks Richard!!!
I flew out yesterday for a weeklong business trip to Minneapolis. Before I left, I had explained to my Dad what to feed the fish and a couple of things to keep an eye on for the week. Everything else is automated so I wasn't worried. The system survived another 7 days trip back in April without anyone watching it.
During my layover in Phoenix, I called Richard just as a backup in case something happens and my family can't figure it out. Of course Richard readily agreed to do whatever was necessary.
I landed in Minneapolis several hours later, around 5:30 west coast time, and got a new voicemail. In the message, Richard said that he got a phone call from my wife saying that water was leaking out of the tank and into the driveway - my system is in the garage. I laughed to myself thinking that he was just messing with me. I then called home to tell my wife that I had arrived and jokingly to her that Richard said she call about a tank leak. She said it was NOT a joke!!!
Well, to make a long story short, Richard agreed to come over last night to help with whatever was necessary, even though he was working late into the night. In the meantime, I was able to figure it out with my Dad's help that it was my Ca reactor return line that had fallen out of the sump and simply draining water onto the floor. The feed pump and reactor were then turned off. So I told Richard that he could come over today instead to help with getting things back in order. My family wouldn't have understood the equipment lingo enough to bring the reactor back on line. And without it, Ca and Alk would probably be depleted to dangerously low levels when I get back. Don't want to see a 300 gallons tank of death.
So things are all good now. The moral of this story is: respect and be good to your friends. You never know when they'll help out at the most unexpected moments.
Thanks Richard!!!
