Neptune Cor 20 Short and Electrocution of All Fish

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Hi to all. I had easily the most heartbreaking event occur this morning in my aquarium. I came down to a tank of dead fish, each and every one of them. From Achilles Tang to Indian Black Trigger to Gem Tang and another 20 fish. The return pump had somehow shorted and apparently electrocuted every fish in the tank. Has anyone had experience with short circuits on equipment (particularly return pumps) that have then killed livestock? I need to learn everything I can to prevent this from ever happening again.

 

[Troylee]

Maybe from low oxygen levels… there’s no ground for them to be electrocuted.

 

[Jamie814]

there’s no ground for them to be electrocuted.

On top of that the cor 20 pumps only run on 24v the OP's issue was most likely caused by something else.

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

There were two power failures, each with power out for an hour. Then the breakers for all aquarium outlets were tripped, leaving power off for quite a few hours over night. Someone at BRS told me that a pump could create an electrical surge in the tank water. The Cor would not come back on and had a voltage alert on the Fusion. I have to believe the Cor is burnt out. I just can't think that each and every fish died from low oxygen. There were some clowns that have been in there for two years....they are bullet proof normally.

 

[Troylee]

There were two power failures, each with power out for an hour. Then the breakers for all aquarium outlets were tripped, leaving power off for quite a few hours over night. Someone at BRS told me that a pump could create an electrical surge in the tank water. The Cor would not come back on and had a voltage alert on the Fusion. I have to believe the Cor is burnt out. I just can't think that each and every fish died from low oxygen. There were some clowns that have been in there for two years....they are bullet proof normally.

You say it tripped breakers… my conclusion here is yes the pump shorted out! It DIDN'T electrocute your fish thou! What it did do was shut off everything in your tank like you said and the 02 levels dropped and the fish died unfortuently. Sorry man that sucks either way! I have my tank on 2 circuits if a pump was to trip a breaker I still have my wave makers on a separate breaker so I would get circulation. Or vise versa my wave kickers kick I still have my return and skimmer on the other one… sigh… sorry

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Thank you so much for your sentiments. It’s devastating for someone who truly takes animal husbandry to heart. I’ll certainly get pump backups. How fast do you think oxygen levels can be depleted to the point of all fish dying?

 

[X-37B]

You say it tripped breakers… my conclusion here is yes the pump shorted out! It DIDN'T electrocute your fish thou! What it did do was shut off everything in your tank like you said and the 02 levels dropped and the fish died unfortuently. Sorry man that sucks either way! I have my tank on 2 circuits if a pump was to trip a breaker I still have my wave makers on a separate breaker so I would get circulation. Or vise versa my wave kickers kick I still have my return and skimmer on the other one… sigh… sorry

I do the same. 2 20 amp gfci with equipment split between the 2.
Sorry for the loss.

 

[Northern Flicker]

Thank you so much for your sentiments. It’s devastating for someone who truly takes animal husbandry to heart. I’ll certainly get pump backups. How fast do you think oxygen levels can be depleted to the point of all fish dying?

Very quickly, hours. I've gone through it too, sorry man I agree with @Troylee though.

It's ugly so I hide the airstone, but I run one of these now: auto-backup air pump.

A less ugly solution is a battery backup specifically for one powerhead, aimed partially at the surface. Either will increase your odds of having fish survive.

 

[Troylee]

Thank you so much for your sentiments. It’s devastating for someone who truly takes animal husbandry to heart. I’ll certainly get pump backups. How fast do you think oxygen levels can be depleted to the point of all fish dying?

Normally 3-4 is the very maximum your tank inhabitants can go without circulation.. that depends on your bioload etc. I’d say 2 hours without any water circulation would be the max I would go! Stirring water or water changes etc can help big time during power outages or a battery back up on your power heads etc. I know your circumstance wasn’t in essence a power outage but sorta is cause the pump kicked the breaker… my skimmer did this not to long ago as the housing swole and it leaked and rusted in my tank and kept kicking my gfci. It took me one plug at a time and resetting everything till I tracked the problem down.

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Very quickly, hours. I've gone through it too, sorry man I agree with @Troylee though.

It's ugly so I hide the airstone, but I run one of these now: auto-backup air pump.

A less ugly solution is a battery backup specifically for one powerhead, aimed partially at the surface. Either will increase your odds of having fish survive.

I'm looking at APC uninterrupted power supply and also the Ecotech one that's on BRS. For me, now, it's an imperative to have that and I agree, all I need to backup is the return pump or a MP60 or both most likely for me

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Normally 3-4 is the very maximum your tank inhabitants can go without circulation.. that depends on your bioload etc. I’d say 2 hours without any water circulation would be the max I would go! Stirring water or water changes etc can help big time during power outages or a battery back up on your power heads etc. I know your circumstance wasn’t in essence a power outage but sorta is cause the pump kicked the breaker… my skimmer did this not to long ago as the housing swole and it leaked and rusted in my tank and kept kicking my gfci. It took me one plug at a time and resetting everything till I tracked the problem

Thanks Troylee, it was a heavy bioload. The 8" Achilles was probably enough just by itself, must consume huge oxygen, always swimming into currents. You're comments have really helped me narrow down the cause and now I'm able to adjust and be ready going forward. Tough lesson.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Wow, I am so sorry about your loss!

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Wow, I am so sorry about your loss!

Thank you, I appreciate your condolences....it's very difficult, with all the effort and love put in

 

[Tcook]

Sorry for your loss. Before you replace the motor block open a ticket with neptune. I had a cor 20 failure after shutting down for a water change with same voltage error. I replaced the motor block and same voltage issue. It was the headunit which is cheaper.

 

[areefer01]

On top of that the cor 20 pumps only run on 24v the OP's issue was most likely caused by something else.

Cor 15 pumps runs that way. The 20 has an additional power supply 100 W. Still it wasn't the root cause of the issue. Also if you are running a Cor 20 plug the additional power supply out of the controller. This way should the power bar or outlet under control go offline it doesn't take the pump. Circuit breaker obviously is different (unless it is its own) but using a plug outside the controller in this case is good practice.

Battery backup will work but will only has for so long. There are smart ones that will send a SMS message or make a loud noise but again you need to be around, or someone does, to get it and react. Also if you get one don't plug everything into it. Just a single power head or maybe power head and return. You want it to last long enough to get a message or hear the alarm to react.

Oh - and if it is multi room or whole home power outage, well, then you have no network and chances are no alert. So you need to be able to hear it. You can cheat to some degree by using a cloud device like say a Sicce stream pump/power head. They do a reach back. Neptune controller does. You get the idea - something that checks for health, doesn't get it, and messages you. Note there will be a delay but maybe enough for you to react.

 

[Thales]

I'm looking at APC uninterrupted power supply and also the Ecotech one that's on BRS. For me, now, it's an imperative to have that and I agree, all I need to backup is the return pump or a MP60 or both most likely for me

The back up solutions from outside the hobby are fantastic nowadays take a look at the Eco flow river series

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Sorry for your loss. Before you replace the motor block open a ticket with neptune. I had a cor 20 failure after shutting down for a water change with same voltage error. I replaced the motor block and same voltage issue. It was the headunit which is cheaper.

that's great advice. BRS opened a ticket with them and they are supposed to call me today. I may just buy a Vectra M2, as it's supposed to be much more reliable and longer lasting. Plus, I can back up with one of the Vortech Battery Backups to ensure constant operation regardless of power outages (up to 20 hours). It also integrates with Apex Fusion and the Mobius is not too shabby itself (I have Ecotech lights, MP60's, etc.).

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Cor 15 pumps runs that way. The 20 has an additional power supply 100 W. Still it wasn't the root cause of the issue. Also if you are running a Cor 20 plug the additional power supply out of the controller. This way should the power bar or outlet under control go offline it doesn't take the pump. Circuit breaker obviously is different (unless it is its own) but using a plug outside the controller in this case is good practice.

Battery backup will work but will only has for so long. There are smart ones that will send a SMS message or make a loud noise but again you need to be around, or someone does, to get it and react. Also if you get one don't plug everything into it. Just a single power head or maybe power head and return. You want it to last long enough to get a message or hear the alarm to react.

Oh - and if it is multi room or whole home power outage, well, then you have no network and chances are no alert. So you need to be able to hear it. You can cheat to some degree by using a cloud device like say a Sicce stream pump/power head. They do a reach back. Neptune controller does. You get the idea - something that checks for health, doesn't get it, and messages you. Note there will be a delay but maybe enough for you to react.

Very interesting points. I'll have to ask Neptune how I can set it up to message me if it's not getting contact, i.e. power failure. Thank you for all that.

 

[Troylee]

that's great advice. BRS opened a ticket with them and they are supposed to call me today. I may just buy a Vectra M2, as it's supposed to be much more reliable and longer lasting. Plus, I can back up with one of the Vortech Battery Backups to ensure constant operation regardless of power outages (up to 20 hours). It also integrates with Apex Fusion and the Mobius is not too shabby itself (I have Ecotech lights, MP60's, etc.).

Don’t waste your money on a ecotec battery back up! Check out telegrams Instagram he’s been testing much cheaper and better alternatives.. less money and last longer. No reef tax! lol

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

The back up solutions from outside the hobby are fantastic nowadays take a look at the Eco flow river series

Eco Flow looks very interesting. I live in the wilderness of western Wyoming. I would really like a dedicated UPS for several powerheads/return pumps. Not sure if I see that capability to be inline with the pumps and turn on when grid power fails.