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House struck by lightning

1K views 21 replies 13 participants last post by  Tim224DT 
#1 ·
Our house was struck by lightning last night. Luckily the tank was on all surge protectors...and they worked!! But not so lucky for many other things in the house including our AC. Needless to say I am most thankful for 2 things....chiller and surge protectors....and that our house didn't burn down of course.

The source of my question is...it is 88 degrees in our house. (Both of our house ac units are fried). Chiller is running 24/7. It is gradually getting warmer in the tank. I have the chiller set to keep it at 80 degrees. It is now up to 82 degrees. Should I worry? or trust in the chiller alone? Lights are now going off for the night on the reef tank, so that will help. Can I turn the lights off all day tomorrow to keep the temp down? It is in a well lit room.

Also if anyone knows anything about freshwater tanks, that tank was up to 86 degrees. I have floated bags of ice in the filter and brought the temp down to 84 degrees, but it is now back up to 85 degrees.

Any ideas?
Luckily it is evening and the temp should start dropping.
 
#2 ·
Youll be fine with the lights of for a few days. if the heat continues to rise, put a small fan blowing across the water surface, this will help cool by evaporation but you will need to top off with fresh water (not salt water) in order to keep salinity etc. stable.HTH

Robert
 
#5 ·
Yes, me too! We were home, and had dinner guests over. No one hurt. Just a few crying, scared kids. Now hot kids!

I am looking to see if we have a small fan to blow over the water. I turned the lights off and set them to only come on for a short time in the morning tomorrow. I'll check the temp before the lights are supposed to come on to be sure its not too hot.

Thanks!
Kristy
 
#6 ·
Something to keep in mind, a radical and quick temp change is more damaging than the actual high temp itself (with in reason) so even if the tank temp does rise a bit, it is more important to keep it as stable as possible than anything else. Try not to do anything drastic top the tank while youre in this boat, minimize any changes so there is as little shock to the system as possible. Look at Wall Mart, Target or Home Depot for fans, aim them directly at the water surface and keep an eye on the wter level.

Robert
 
#8 ·
Thanks! I have a oscillating fan which I have just pointed at the sump with the cabinet doors open. Lights are off for now. Temp is 82 degrees.
I just checked the level. Looks good right now! All fish and corals look great!

My freshwater tank is tropical community fish...mollies and platys. And some baby platys. The temp is 84. One of the mollies isn't looking so good, I treated the freshwater tank with aquarium salt and did a water change earlier today also. (To help out the mollie). How high is safe for the freshwater to get up to?

Thanks.
 
#12 ·
Glad that no one was hurt and your house didn't burn down. The fan will help and so will the ice. Good luck. Keep us posted.
(on the note of the house burning down... the president of the TCMAS, ticomike from WI, was called home from his vacation due to a house fire. He lost everything. The fire dept. was only able to save some family photos.)
 
#13 ·
My 180G FW planted tank runs at around 82, a fan will help that tank too. Once again, a sharp change in temprature is worse than than the high temp itself.

If you have a glass top on the FW tank, you may want to think about removing it. Plus with the FW tank, if it is not planted will have no problem without light for a while.

HTH,
Whiskey
 
#15 ·
Thanks for everyone's concern. This morning is much better. House temp is down to 78 degrees. Chiller is actually off right now.
I'll start freezing ro/di water for cubes!

So sorry to hear about Ticomike's loss! I feel very fortunate. Just the hastle of getting everything fixed is much better than a full blown fire.

Kristy
 
#20 ·
Things are getting better! AC in the main floor is back up!! Tanks all back to normal. Temperatures are all back to normal, and I refilled the evaporation loss. We do have an outbreak of cyano....wondering if that is due to the increase temp...even for a short time??

The AC unit for the bedrooms is still out! No phones. TV's out. Garage doors of all things not working. Other miscellaneous things got fried. The big things are all on their way to getting fixed.

I think our homeowner's insurance is going to cover most of it. So that is good!

Thanks again for everyone's concern.
Kristy
 
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