internal pump blew

that sucks. What kind of filter was it?

It seems like today's the day for exploding filters
see this one from one of our mods
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84803

I have no idea what to tell you, sorry. Just wanted to let you know you're not alone.

Oh, and another one of our members had his filter (canister, I think) explode after he came home from vacation and his mom had unplugged everything. I think that one was probably because it was running dry :huh:

xwirthx said:

dont know if anyone had this problem before but i heard this sound and then this black smoke started coming out and the filter was fried. the tank is heaps clean now but dunno if i should put the fish back in, all the tests prove good, but there might be **** in there the tests dont pick up on? want expert advice not a newb who thinks they know everything, i worked in a public aquarium so i know a wide deal. never heard of this but.

Click to expand...

Is it my imagination, or has there been a trend lately of people posting, and then stating who is and isn't allowed to take their personal time to, out of the goodness of their hearts, assist the poster? What's next? "I need help, but please PM your resume for permission to help me?" Sheesh....

OK, in spite of the above...

You didn't specify what tests you ran, and you didn't post any parameters. That makes it a bit hard.

What kind of filter was it? Was the part that fried submerged? Meaning, did the smoke pass through the water column?

If it was submerged, then there could very well be toxins present. Did you test pH? Some of the toxins in the smoke could cause a drop in pH in a small tank which could be a clue as to their presence. Is this a 2gal, or a 200gal ?

Do you have another filter available? You could load it up with fresh carbon and run it for a while, that should remove any toxins in the water, it indeed there are any.

if it was a powerhead, it was probably submered in the water when it ignited? If so, that's what CaptnDan is referring to when he says there's probably undesirable stuff from burnt plastic in your tank. To be safe, I'd recommend as large a water change as you can get away with. I've done 75% water changes and left my fish in the tank, followed by another 50% WC (after refilling the tank nearly to the top) to remove as much junk as possible.

Is the powerhead the only type of filtration you have, or is it powering an undergravel filter?

xwirthx said:

all the tests are healthy i did a 30% water change and yeah just wondering if there were other toxins in there?

thanks for the help

Click to expand...

It's a definite possibility. When synthetic materials are heated or burn, they tend to give off noxious gasses. Burning plastics and carpet are often bigger dangers to firefighters than the fire itself - they're synthetics. So you see where I am going with this...

Water soluble noxious gasses could have found their way into the water. In addition to the water changes, it wouldn't hurt to run some carbon filtration if you don't already.

Simply overheating a Teflon coated pan can release a toxin that can kill a bird like a Macaw in another room. Our fish are smaller than a big ol' honkin' parrot, so it stands to reason that they would be less able to tolerate toxin.

The synthetic materials we have are great, but they are also potentially dangerous. Play it safe, and good luck.

Thank you, Captn (or should I say "aye-aye" ). I was just going to add that burning plastic is highly poisonous. I'd personally do another huge water change immediately. You do have a lot of filtration running on your tank, but they can't remove all those nasty compounds.