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  • Broken Tank!

    After doing a water change on all my tanks last night, I went to bed and planned on sleeping in. About 9:45 pm I heard a "pop", as I was jumping out of  bed I said "oh no that don't sound good". Then all of a sudden you hear rushing water. I run down the stairs and start looking at tanks then I realize it's my 160. It's cracked from the top all the way to the bottom. 8O  I grabbed the python, my husband grabbed the 55 gallon drum, I came around the corner grabbing a trash can on the way the water is coming too fast and from too many places. While the carpet is getting soaked and the python is not working fast enough I run upstairs to get a towel in hopes of stopping at least one part of the leak. I get back down with the towel, that don't work, the towel is soaked in 10 seconds. My hubby grabs the python extention, sticks it in the tank and puts the end out the door, then he runs to the patio grabs the garden hose and does the same. Now we are draining the tank with 3 hoses. It seems like it's taking it forever to drain. We are trying to think "What else can we do?"
    My mind is racing.........What would the geeks do? So while the tank was emptying I told my hubby to grab the trash can that we use for pure ro/di water and start filling it up with tank water. We also had another trash can that we keep the python in so I had him fill that one also. He put the two trash can's in the
    kitchen out of the way. After getting the tank down to a level that's not leaking which is almost empty. Then we had to go through the process of taking out all of the holey rock so that we could catch the fish. Now I have wet holey rock sitting on my carpet as well as a soaked floor , so we started catching fish. It's pretty easy to catch them when there is hardly no water in the tank.  Now they are in my kitchen in a 10 gallon trash can with a rena xp3. The lfs that I purchsed the tank from will not be open today but will reopen on Monday. I can't remember what kind of warranty I had on this tank but I purchsed it last year in Aug. 07.  My problem now is that I'm not sure I want another tank, I'm not even sure I want the tanks I still have. I was so jumpy last night, with every little sound, I thought another tank is going to burst any minute. I'm just so grateful that I was home and didn't have to go to work the next morning when this happened. And I am extremely grateful for an understanding husband that's quick thinking even when he's dead tired. He told me last night that tanks were a total pain and that this kind of thing happens all the time. But if that's what I enjoy we will get another tank to replace that one. Not so sure I want to do that. :(
    Now if I had a house with a fish room, concrete floors and a drain in the middle, I might say yes. Don't get me wrong I love all my fish and my tanks but I don't want to live in fear. I have no clue what to do now.
    A house without a puffer is not a Home.

  • #2
    Re: Broken Tank!

    The nightmare continues..........after moving the holey rock outside onto the patio......I'm finding my dead babies all over the floor.
    A house without a puffer is not a Home.

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    • #3
      Re: Broken Tank!

      It get's worse:
      My husband just got home, when he put the key in the door I almost fell off the sofa. My first thought was not another tank!  I can't believe how jumpy I am. When he walked in I couldn't help it, I just started crying. He's so sweet, he was telling me not to get all upset and that now I'm more experienced with tanks than ever and we will get another tank, and the odds of this happening again are slim. I told him I was thinking about taking all of them down. He said no, you enjoy it too much. I told him I was a nervous wreak. He said if it would make me feel better instead of getting one large tank we could do several smaller tanks. I just don't know what to do right now. I feel like I'm in some kind of bad dream. All I can think of is: What if we weren't home? This could have been a real disaster! He keeps saying but we were home and it wasn't a disaster. He's even laughing about the whole thing now. I'm not there yet. Last night when we finally went back to bed I couldn't find the tv remote. Well I just found it, apparently I ran down the stairs with the remote threw it on a chair next to the tank and forgot about it. I would have never looked there.
      A house without a puffer is not a Home.

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      • #4
        Re: Broken Tank!

        Don't give up....

        It happens to the best of us and absolutely nothing to give up on.
        700g Mini-Monster tank

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        • #5
          Re: Broken Tank!

          Ok Ek, I'm woman enough to admit when I am wrong.....Odyssea tanks S$#K! You were right!
          Here is a picture before the break:


          I saw this tank in a lfs and fell in love with the look. I didn't know any better at the time. I do now. Only problem is now every little noise I hear I literally jump! All my fish that was in this tank are now cramped into a 29 gallon which is better than the 10 gallon trash can I had them in overnight. Tomorrow morning they are all going to the lfs.

          Elvis keeps making noises in his tank and I keep freaking out. For some reason he's decided to start chewing on the powerheads (the plastic), which by the way is making a popping noise like the one I heard last night.   Is he trying to make me crazy? My husband said he's going to bring me to the doctor tomorrow and get me some Valium and tell the doctor the fish tank made me crazy. I might just tell him to go to a corner and get me a few before the day is up.
          A house without a puffer is not a Home.

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          • #6
            Re: Broken Tank!

            Well, then in this case " I told you so".




            Looks like Elvis is reminding you to keep the memory fresh in your head while you shop for his new tank?
            700g Mini-Monster tank

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            • #7
              Re: Broken Tank!

              Edmlfc - I realize this is quite a drive for you, but I have a 150gthat is relatively empty at the moment. If you would like for me to pet-sit your fish until you get a new tank set up, I would be more than happy to do so.

              Sorry to hear about your tank breaking.
              Scarecrow : I haven't got a brain... only straw.
              Dorothy : How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?
              Scarecrow: I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?
              Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Broken Tank!

                Thanks armthehomeless, but I'm going to have to pass on your offer. I've decided just to bring them to the lfs and try to get some information about the warranty on my tank. It may be months before I can get another one. If I decide to get another one. Right now I'm leaning toward not. I'm hoping they can just give me a credit and I can get some lighting or something besides another tank. I don't think I can trust another tank made by them. I really appericate the offer.

                And yes Ek, I expected you to say I told you so! But where were you when I was looking for a tank to buy.
                :aua: I should've called Ek first! :aua:  :aua: ! :aua: I'm still not laughing but I have finally stopped crying.
                A house without a puffer is not a Home.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Broken Tank!

                  Edmlfc...girl...I feel your pain.  The paranoia will pass over time.  This stuff happens.  BUT the ratio of the fear, pain, and water soaked carpets vs. the happiness and joy you get from the fish is 1:1,000,000.  You are a fish person.  You wouldn't be happy without the sound of the tanks in your house, the looks on your puffers faces when they see you, and the funny stories you get to share with the rest of us.

                  We have a tank full of Tropheus who, by all rights, should have clobbered any and all desire to have Tropheus.  When we brought them home, they just tortured each other.  I was a nervous wreck ALL THE TIME.  Was I going to wake up and have another dead troph in the tank?  Was the stress they were causing each other going to kill them all one by one?  We just stuck it out through a few deaths (tears and all) and now they are our 'puppies', and I could kick myself for ever even thinking it might not work out.

                  When the center brace popped free on our 210g I never once considered getting rid of anyone.  I was terrified it was going to happen again.  And I recognize that it probably will in my lifetime, but until then I'm going to enjoy the fish.  I also have accepted the fact that we will likely have a tank crack and have to go into emergency mode like you did, but still, I am going to keep caring for these guys and enjoying their quirks and personalities.

                  When our pH dropped in 2 of our big tanks, it was a nightmare.  These fish can't take drastic changes in pH, and I couldn't figure out what the Hell was causing it.  I was testing the water 2-3 times a day.  Big water changes every day.  Setting up buckets of water with different parameters in various parts of the house trying to figure out if it was something from the air getting into the water...it was painful and A LOT of work, but everything has worked itself out and I can relax.

                  When all that stuff happened with our pond, seriously, I should have been thinking "Screw it!  We'll just fill it in!  I'm not messing with this crap anymore!", but instead we are looking at expanding the pond and adding a waterfall.   8O  Everything happens for a reason.  Maybe this is the opportunity you needed to do something different with the tanks that you had been pondering?  

                  Now, having said all that, what can we do to help?  Anything at all, just say the word.  You have friends here who will help you move through this and get back to the happy-happy-fun-fish times.  
                  Our Fishhouse
                  Sleep: A completely inadequate substitute for caffeine.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Broken Tank!

                    Thanks imagirlgeek, you just made me start crying again.  I really don't know what I'm going to do yet.  Right now I'm terrified of putting up another tank. And I can't let them stay cramped in a 29 gallon for months on end. I have talked it over with my husband and we both agree to take them to the lfs so they can get better homes and go from there with our other fish. I know that Elvis really needs a 300 gallon tank to be happy once he's grown. But after this I'm not even sure I want a tank that big in the house. First thing I have to do is find out about the warranty on the tank and go from there.


                    Btw: The tank that broke had my african cichlids in it. I don't think I had mentioned that.
                    A house without a puffer is not a Home.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Broken Tank!

                      I'm sorry.   :(  No more crying.

                      So, there ya go.  Opportunity to work towards getting Elvis into a bigger tank....eventually.  See what I'm sayin'?  

                      You really are in a bad place right now. Give it some time.  You'll feel better once the shock of what happened wears off, I promise.
                      Our Fishhouse
                      Sleep: A completely inadequate substitute for caffeine.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Broken Tank! Pictures added.

                        This was after I took everything out of the tank. Ignore the sand on the glass, I would have cleaned it, but I figured
                        that would be useless, I would proabally end up with more water on the floor.

                        Pictures of my crack....







                        Btw: I talked to our apartment manager today and told her what happened. She is going to call the carpet cleaners in the morning and have them come
                        over and clean my carpet at no cost to us. She is so good to us.
                        A house without a puffer is not a Home.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Broken Tank!

                          wow!  thats a bummer!

                          you mentioned you have a 55 gallon drum you used during the immediate cleanup... can you put your fish in that?

                          I'll make sure to steer clear of large Odyssea tanks...

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                          • #14
                            Re: Broken Tank!

                            Right at the bend too....
                            700g Mini-Monster tank

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                            • #15
                              Re: Broken Tank!

                              If you need a tank I may have one.

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