View Full Version : Lost my whole tank yesterday : (
Glenstorm
03-17-2003, 7:19 PM
It was a sad day today in Orono,
Came back from a trip to find my DIY CO2 had bubbled into my tank and the results weren't pretty. . .
weird thing is that the beard algae that was on the plants is dead and is a bright purple. Java Fern and Apontogeons with purple fringes. . . It's a disco tank!!
Dan
somefinnfishy
03-17-2003, 8:22 PM
We share your loss :(
No clue why you now have disco stu's tank
cichlidgirl57
03-17-2003, 8:23 PM
I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, glenstorm... I know how you feel. About 1 month ago, came home and found my 75 gallon tank in the floor. Water EVERYWHERE.... Lost all of my fish. Since then, re-grouped, and now have my tank built in the wall with my new 2 oscars, jack dempsey and pacu.
Slappy*McFish
03-17-2003, 8:25 PM
wow...75 gallons on the floor:eek: ..how did that happen?
Well I guess the loss of algae is the good news. What else did you lose? I am sorry to hear what happened.
I have a device on my DIY CO2 that prevents that very thing from happening. My CO2 bottle airline goes into another empty bottle, then into the tank. If the gelatine/sugar/yeast bottle overflows, there is a 500 ml. overflow just in case.
I wish I could have given you this information yesterday...
NJ Devils Fan
03-17-2003, 8:40 PM
Did you add too much of something?
kevinn2003
03-17-2003, 9:00 PM
75 on the floor :( if my 55 tipped i would have big trouble
Glenstorm
03-17-2003, 10:09 PM
Originally posted by Matak
What else did you lose?
6 Giant danios
1 Black Ghost Knife
1 Green Cory
1 Female Sword
1 Boesmani Rainbow
1 Sailfin Pleco
The Pleco was still alive when I got home I tried to nurse him back, but it wasn't to be. I imagine he was pretty drunk from all the alcohol.
I have a device on my DIY CO2 that prevents that very thing from happening. My CO2 bottle airline goes into another empty bottle, then into the tank. If the gelatine/sugar/yeast bottle overflows, there is a 500 ml. overflow just in case.
I have been thinking about that and wondering how to go about it. How is yours rig up, specifically?
anonapersona
03-17-2003, 10:36 PM
I'm just curious, my DIY foamed up today. I had added a "yeast nutrient" that I had never used before to my regular gelatine mix. It made the bubbles so sticky that they foamed up to the top of the generator. I poured out most of the liquid and started over after the 3rd foam up. Fortunately the bubble counter kept most of it contained.
Oh how I wish I had a digicam.
The airline tube that runs from the cap of the fermenting bottle runs into the cap of another bottle. This bottle stays empty. Another airline tube runs out of the same bottle, then goes into the tank. The empty bottle has two airline tubes running out of the cap, one coming in from the CO2 bottle, the other going to the fishtank. Make sure all fittings and caps are airtight or you will lose pressure.
Good to see you havn't given up :)
FASTRAKR
03-18-2003, 7:19 AM
MATAK,
Would this also let you change you mixture bottle without losing your "charge"?
carpguy
03-18-2003, 7:56 AM
Here is a really good article (http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html#6) I came across on DIY CO2. In the "Construction Projects" section it has this diagram of a "gas separator":
http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/separator.jpg
If you took that same basic design and added a few ounces of water to the smaller bottle and setup the incoming line (the rigid tube in the diagram) so that its outlet was under water, you'd have a bubble-counter, a low-tech way to monitor the output of your yeast bottle (plus a handy overflow reservoir).
cichlidgirl57
03-18-2003, 8:04 AM
To make a long story short, stand was not heavy enough to support aquarium. Yes, 75 gallons is alot of water. Had to completely pull out carpet & pad, dry out, replace. I lost My oscar, jd, greenterror, (2) jewels, (3) tinfoil barbs. The bottom glass and front glass of the aquarium broke, so we had to replace those 2 pieces. Luckily, we work for a glass company so we were able to get glass cheap. The tank had to cure for 2 weeks. Anyway, all is well now....:D
beviking
03-18-2003, 8:09 AM
Wow, the whole tank? I just can't imagine:(
Sorry to hear it happend.
cichlidgirl57
03-18-2003, 8:11 AM
To make a long story short, stand could not support aquarium. The damage was bad. Had to pull out all carpet & pad, dry out, replace. The bottom and the front glass of the tank broke, but we work for a glass company, so we were able to get glass to repair the tank..It cured for 2 weeks, then it went into the wall. I lost an oscar, jd, green terror, 2-jewels, 3-tin foil barbs. I really hated this, because these fish got along so well and I never had any problems with them....But I have moved on and started over. Live and learn but doesn't make it any easier...:(
thom336
03-18-2003, 11:15 AM
most commercial CO2 units are resonably priced, so i do not see the worth of taking the risk with DIY CO2. it is unstable, and can result in disasters such as what has happened. of course, it is great if you know what your doing. your algae was probably killed through over-photosynthesis, it would have just over done it a bit.
Fastracker: No, you would still have to blow a small amount of air through the line during changes. I think you could keep the charge if you rigged up some quick disconnect coupled with airvalves to stop the gas flow when changing bottles.
PlecoKeeper
03-18-2003, 8:06 PM
Yo i would flip put if that happened i have a fish older than me i was given when i was born. He is 15 years old and his name is commet. A giant Pleco.
Glenstorm
03-18-2003, 10:20 PM
Originally posted by FASTRAKR
MATAK,
Would this also let you change you mixture bottle without losing your "charge"?
I'd imagine that would preserve your pressure if you inserted a check valve between the generator and the overflow resevoir.
Regarding the "why did it happen questions", I am not quite sure. This was my second batch and the previous batch had no such problems. I was gone for a week, but the pleco was still alive when I got back which suggests that the overflow happened later in the week. However this just gives me a timeline but not a cause. . .
I had a lot more bubbles than the previous batch, so somehow this batch was much more active. . .
Other differences were that this batch used Shaws brand gelatin rather than Jello gelatin. Seems insignificant though. . .
Dan
FASTRAKR
03-19-2003, 7:57 AM
MATAK,
I was figuring on putting a checkvalve between the two like Glenstorm said in his post.
Hopefully this post will help prevent catastrophes like this from happening in the future
carpguy
03-19-2003, 7:44 PM
The downline side of the system is open. As soon as the yeast stop putting more CO2 into the line the pressure will equalize down by the outlet: a check valve won't do anything to hold a charge.
I think the "loss of charge" comes from slow startup. A productive bottle should charge the system quickly. If its something you want to address, here are two options:
1) Use two generators on offset schedules with shutoffs.
2) The day before you want to swap out a tank, take a small amount of water, hot to the touch but not scalding (about 105 is ideal, hot tub hot), add some sugar, mix in your yeast. Stir occasionally. Add to the main mix the next day and proceed as normal. I got the technique from a winemaking site and had good luck with it -- I was near full production on day 1.
I think, from experience and from some research, that the type of yeast has a lot to do with the amount of foam. When I first started DIY CO2 I had a very foamy bottle with poor production from bread yeast. Later I switched to champagne yeast and had strong production with much less foam. Try looking around for Saccharomyces bayanus.
HTH