OP
OP
They have commercial ones available for restraunt hoods. I'll send the link when I have a sec.
Aquarium fire
- Thread starter Ctownjlo
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OP
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glad everyone is okay, and i am sorry for your loss. such an unprecedented event. this definitely does give me a wake up call to do better with equipment maintenance.
Jay is on a war path against Neptune, nothing new to see here.
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Sorry for your loss.
Just to throw my own thought into it, it appears the burned controller board pic may be the sump side as I’m not seeing mounting screws (but I’m not familiar with Red Sea). Which would lead me to think it may be whatever those black switches are underneath the Apex head unit. If the pic is the control board side, it makes me think it’s either the black or white controller under the EB832.
Im not discounting it could be the 832 but the burn just seems to low to be the 832 in my opinion. (Please note I’m just a random guy on the internet and not a fire inspector so yea). But glad insurance is helping you out and hopefully you can get a new tank up and running if your into it.
Just to throw my own thought into it, it appears the burned controller board pic may be the sump side as I’m not seeing mounting screws (but I’m not familiar with Red Sea). Which would lead me to think it may be whatever those black switches are underneath the Apex head unit. If the pic is the control board side, it makes me think it’s either the black or white controller under the EB832.
Im not discounting it could be the 832 but the burn just seems to low to be the 832 in my opinion. (Please note I’m just a random guy on the internet and not a fire inspector so yea). But glad insurance is helping you out and hopefully you can get a new tank up and running if your into it.
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Yeah like I said I just saw that in my local forums… don’t know the story or the people..
I can't speak to that as I'm not sure who that is. The source though would be Terrence since that was his home and display. The video was done with Rich talking about it. The timeline of it was a bigger heartbreak as their family was dealing with another issue. Sometimes life just stinks.
Anyway I do not mean to debate it. Apologies.
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Yeah idk who any of those guys are haha! Just saw it posted in my local forum by Jay… I could have sworn it was his tank by the way he talked about it..
Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Really glad to hear your family is ok. The loss of your pup must be hard, I know it would be devastating to me. Not to mention the stress of the damage to the house and of course the loss of your tank and inhabitants. Thank you so much for sharing - this is definitely eye opening! Something like this happening would be like my worst nightmare. I will for sure be putting more precautions in place with my own tank. I've already been thinking about a camera and upgrading outlets. Thanks again for the warning and sorry for your losses.
Not to mention the stress of the damage to the house and of course the loss of your tank and inhabitants. Thank you so much for sharing - this is definitely eye opening! Something like this happening would be like my worst nightmare. I will for sure be putting more precautions in place with my own tank. I've already been thinking about a camera and upgrading outlets. Thanks again for the warning and sorry for your losses. 
I'm so sorry for your losses. We just had a very close experience yesterday morning. Fortunately my wife and I had to cancel a vacation for a family emergency and were sitting on the couch yesterday morning when one of the smoke alarms went off in the house. It took about 10 seconds for us to realize it was the smoke alarm and not a truck backing up on the street.
We have 13 smoke detectors in our house. With a quick rush looking for the beeping we got to my wife's office, where 2 weeks ago we just installed a clown breeding rack for her retirement plan.
Opening the door to the room it was immediate what was occuring the wall under the tank was burning. We are in the middle of a 2 month long retiling project of the downstairs of our home, and everyroom is torn apart. So I had to run to the other side of the house to grab the closest fire extinguisher. Two short blasts and the fire was out.
With the immediate danger over, I was surprised to see the tank was still running.
I had to leave the room because it was filled with smoke.
I came back a few mins later to open the window and get a fan blowing the smoke out.
I was studying the burned area at the outlet, and while I am glancing at it I see a DROP.
After 2 weeks a small drip had started somewhere in the system. A small drip - Like a drip every 20-30 seconds. The water had collected on the middle shelf, filled the shelf and then started to drip out at the lowest point - the middle of the shelf, which just happens to be directly above the outlet. The water was dripping onto a triple plug tap. And the plug tap is what started to burn.
To protect the walls behind the tank from moisture damage I installed sheets of FRP on the wall. It was the FRP that did the major burning.
I used audible GFCI. When they trip they start beeping like a smoke detector. But the GFCI didn't trip and there was still power going to the clown system.
We feel so lucky that we were home, we weren't on vacation, our dogs weren't sitting in the window of my wife's office where they usually sit during the day, that we have smoke detectors in every room, and that we keep (normally) a fire extinguisher next to every tank.
Even with the Extinguisher powder being sprayed onto the fire and into the sump, I am happy to announce this morning that her beginning collection of clowns are all alive and well.
Again, my wife and I are so orry for what you have been thru. We were very lucky. Sadly this is one of those experiences where I don't know what I could have done differently so that it can't happen the same way again. My only thought is to place a water proof cover over the outlet - considering how close it is to the sump, that probably would have bee a brilliant idea.
The 3 Plug Tap that started the fire scorched the GFI, so in the after photo that's a brand new audible GFCI installed.
I hope the recovery of your belongings and getting your house back to normal is as quick and painless as possible.
Best of luck in a quick return back to the hobby.
Dave B
We have 13 smoke detectors in our house. With a quick rush looking for the beeping we got to my wife's office, where 2 weeks ago we just installed a clown breeding rack for her retirement plan.
Opening the door to the room it was immediate what was occuring the wall under the tank was burning. We are in the middle of a 2 month long retiling project of the downstairs of our home, and everyroom is torn apart. So I had to run to the other side of the house to grab the closest fire extinguisher. Two short blasts and the fire was out.
With the immediate danger over, I was surprised to see the tank was still running.
I had to leave the room because it was filled with smoke.
I came back a few mins later to open the window and get a fan blowing the smoke out.
I was studying the burned area at the outlet, and while I am glancing at it I see a DROP.
After 2 weeks a small drip had started somewhere in the system. A small drip - Like a drip every 20-30 seconds. The water had collected on the middle shelf, filled the shelf and then started to drip out at the lowest point - the middle of the shelf, which just happens to be directly above the outlet. The water was dripping onto a triple plug tap. And the plug tap is what started to burn.
To protect the walls behind the tank from moisture damage I installed sheets of FRP on the wall. It was the FRP that did the major burning.
I used audible GFCI. When they trip they start beeping like a smoke detector. But the GFCI didn't trip and there was still power going to the clown system.
We feel so lucky that we were home, we weren't on vacation, our dogs weren't sitting in the window of my wife's office where they usually sit during the day, that we have smoke detectors in every room, and that we keep (normally) a fire extinguisher next to every tank.
Even with the Extinguisher powder being sprayed onto the fire and into the sump, I am happy to announce this morning that her beginning collection of clowns are all alive and well.
Again, my wife and I are so orry for what you have been thru. We were very lucky. Sadly this is one of those experiences where I don't know what I could have done differently so that it can't happen the same way again. My only thought is to place a water proof cover over the outlet - considering how close it is to the sump, that probably would have bee a brilliant idea.
The 3 Plug Tap that started the fire scorched the GFI, so in the after photo that's a brand new audible GFCI installed.
I hope the recovery of your belongings and getting your house back to normal is as quick and painless as possible.
Best of luck in a quick return back to the hobby.
Dave B
I had two dedicated circuits for my tank, each with a GFCI outlet, installed close to 15 years ago. No problems until the last couple of years when inline power switches on my skimmer and one powerhead started tripping the GFCI about a third of time when I flip the switches off. I also recently had a different powerhead on a wavemaker that worked fine for several years, then started flipping the GFCI every time it cycled on. No problems after swapping it out for a new one.
I hadn't thought about the age of the GFCIs, but that may be it. Online sources give a wide range of how long they last - some say 7-10 years, others say 10-15 years or even 25. Family Handyman says "their circuitry eventually wears out, usually after about 10 years". Guess it's time to replace mine, just to be safe and to prevent fall trips.
I'm adding one of these to my "to buy" list. I've seen too many pictures of burned up tanks and stands lately.
They are designed for marine boat engine compartments.
I'm currently designing a basement fish room right now. Now I'm contemplating tapping into one of the water pipes and connecting a fire sprinkler just to be prepared for the worse. They are surprisingly cheap and look easy to install if you have pressurized water pipe in the room along with some DIY skills.
So sorry to the OP about your losses, especially your dog.
They are designed for marine boat engine compartments.
I'm currently designing a basement fish room right now. Now I'm contemplating tapping into one of the water pipes and connecting a fire sprinkler just to be prepared for the worse. They are surprisingly cheap and look easy to install if you have pressurized water pipe in the room along with some DIY skills.
So sorry to the OP about your losses, especially your dog.
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@Ctownjlo So sorry this happened to you and thanks so much for posting to spread awareness. @trevorhiller This is a great idea, I'm about to leave for 2 weeks and just bought one for peace of mind. Thanks a ton for sharing.
@Ctownjlo I'm very saddened to hear this happened; especially the loss of your pup. I cannot even imagine the pain. Praying that things get better for you and family soon. You have opened the eyes of others, me included. I'll be adding more fire detectors around my tank along with a water mist fire extinguisher nearby.
Water Mist AC Fire Extinguisher
Water Mist AC Fire Extinguisher
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So sorry for your loss, especially the tank and your fur baby. Your tank was truly beautiful! Keep your head up and I'm sure you'll get through and rebuild even better. When you get set up again, please reach out to me and I'll ship a frag pack to you at no charge.
OP
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I really appreciate the kind words. People in this hobby are really good people including yourself. I may have to take you up on your offer down the road. Thank you for your kindness.
The fire department report states nothing more than "...equipment beneath fish tank in home entry way had caught fire." No specifics.
Until proven otherwise, anything else is just speculation.
Having read the fire report, there was nothing to explicitly indicate the apex caused the fire. Jay is an unpleasant person, and has been on an anti neptune war path for years. The TL;DR was that the fire started under the tank, likely electrical, but seemed like it was not investigated beyond that to determine the specific component or even if the tank leaked first causing the electrical fire. It's definitely not good practice to put EBs under the tank but there's nothing to say the tank leaked.
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Sorry for your losses. I hope you can recover soon. Moving forward, I strongly suggest you, and EVERY reefer reading this, install a gfci outlet, or plugin adapter, AND a ground probe. It will immediately trip the gfci upon any short, such as water being splashed on a power strip. If a gfci keeps tripping, it is either bad, or some tank equipment is. I wish you well in rebuilding your lives.
I think all you can say in terms of cause is that it looks like it originated at the site of the power board, whether it was the power board or something connected to the power board or the interface between the two would be difficult to say.
You'd think it'd be more than likely a piece of AC equipment, but not water ingress related given all the cables appear to be running up into the board.
You'd think it'd be more than likely a piece of AC equipment, but not water ingress related given all the cables appear to be running up into the board.
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