HELLLLLLLLPPPPPPP!!!

I know, what foolish thing could I have done? Well, I made a stupid mistake of not washing FLUVAL filter pads prior to placing in my sump to rid the water of debris. I know better and have no real excuse except distraction and laziness. Now, to the concerns. There must have been some detergent or something in the pads (obviously why they tell you to wash thouroughly before using) because I put them in the sump, went to bed, and woke up to foam EVERYWHERE in my home office. Luckily for me, my wife was still alseep and it was mainly contained to the sump, stand and are in front of the stand which is hard wood. Ok, so I have carbon running in the sump, a 20% +- water change planned after work, and will see if the skimmer can be plugged in without issues. Cross my fingers and hope. THe corals and other inhabitants look fine. Polyp extension is normal, fish chase me like they always do looking for food. Is there anyone who has also made this mistake? What is in those things? Are there major concerns? Should I take more drastic action, i.e. fill the bathtub with salt water and move everyone out? Thanks for your responses, even if to just tell me how dang foolish I am.

 

Update, all the corals look good, plenty of polyp extension, clowns want to eat, all shrimp, CUC and clam are looking normal. I performed the 20% water change, carbon is still in there. Most of the bubbles in the sump are gone except for the few where my drain line enters the sump. I will not attempt to turn the skimmer on out of fear that I will cause the foam again. I assume waiting until tomorrow after work to fire it up will not be to detrimental. I DID have a fatality. My yellow tang has died. Not sure if this is related or not but he wasn't looking the best anyway. Didn't seem to eat well when I fed the tank, and quite frankly, I am not the best at feeding. I only feed small portions 3-4 times a week out of fear of overloading the system. Does anyone else have ideas, recommendations, comments, anything? Please.

 

B-Rad

Thanks for the tips. I will do just that. I have the water mixing as of last night. All looked good this morning. There were no traces of foam. I will start a daily feeding regime. Thanks everyone for the input. These are stressfull experiences and learning ones as well. Costly as they may become.