Well, lets start from square one for this story.
I get off work and make a little pit stop to pick myself up some cories and otos.
Get what I need and head home, walk downstairs, open the door to my room, and notice that my filters appear to be rather noisy, like air stuck in them or something, so I'm thinkin "geez, what now"
walk around my entertainment center/33G stand.....and am greeted to 40+ gallons of water all over the carpet, look up and see 3/4 of the water GONE out of my prize tank.
"WHAT THE?????"
First thing I do is check to see if everyone is still alive, thankfully no one got dumped during the rush of water on the floor, and it must have rushed out because my bed which is next to, but with a space in between, was even a little damp and occasional wet spots.
No one was on the floor, WHEW
So, next I yank all the plugs to avoid shocks and burning out my canisters. They are all good, still running. ok, things are looking ok
Now I examine what the frick happened to the tank, maybe a filter leaked or something.
No such luck, the tank actually split from one of the corners.CRAP.
So, by this time its around 7:30. And on a monday, so the only LFS I know of that may be open is about 40KM away.....20-30miles for you imperial people. BUT!! the local Petsmart IS still oepn. So I rush down there, peruse the available tanks, and find a 50G tank for $150. Now I know I probably payed a little but much, but it did include a full canopy and tubes for the fixtures.
So, pay the bill, zip back on home, and start the teardown.
Grab myself a 5G bucket, and ever so gracefully put 36 fish into it
That went smoother then I expected, most of my fishies just took it in stride.
(BTW, the cories and otos I bought earlier in the day are currently residing in my pleco tank untill further notice)
I grabbed all the gravel aka biobed I could and transfered it over, goodness that stuff kinda reeks after a while, lol.
replanted all my plants, and moved the tank onto my bed.
THEN started the process of moving the broken tank, that was hard, specially with just one person.
But I got that done and moved out of my room.
Then I muscled the 50G onto the stand and made sure everything fit.
"wow, it looks way better then that ratty old tank....it actually suits the oak it sits on!"
So there was light at the end of the tunnel.
Its now 10:45
rechecked all my filters, they are good, position everything else into the tank, heaters, etc
and start the process of filling *sigh*
got the tank full, started the filters, they rattled to life and started pumping!!! So relieved.
heater still heats!!
So, everything is going ok, gettin ready to dump the fishies in.
BTW this whole time I have been running VERY low on Amquel, hehe.
Finished off the Amquel, and it was BARELY enough, whew.
All this time the fish have been swimming away in a heated 5G bucket, not good. So, grabbed the bucket, started movin the fish over. Most of the fish are out, cept for the stubborn ones who dont wanna get caught.
SO I just take whats left in the bucket and dump it into the tank. ACK there was more then I thought!! MORE water on the floor *SIGH!!!*
But that was literally it. Lots of rocks and potholes, but i got by them all just fine.
I think I only lost one or two ottos during this whole process, I cant confirm yet.
But everyone is happily swimming in their new tank, and they all made it thru the night with no further deaths.
Wow, that was alot to type, thanks for reading.
PS.
Although the cost was hard to swallow, I do really like the new tank, its alot shorter then my 55, so the lighting is way better, and the tank came with two 15 watt fixtures, bringing my total WPG to 3 now.
So, thru the darkness comes the light, literally.
MORE PLANTS HERE I COME!!!
BTW, any ideas for a 55G, I am gonna repair it, perhaps a massive sump?? lol
I get off work and make a little pit stop to pick myself up some cories and otos.
Get what I need and head home, walk downstairs, open the door to my room, and notice that my filters appear to be rather noisy, like air stuck in them or something, so I'm thinkin "geez, what now"
walk around my entertainment center/33G stand.....and am greeted to 40+ gallons of water all over the carpet, look up and see 3/4 of the water GONE out of my prize tank.
"WHAT THE?????"
First thing I do is check to see if everyone is still alive, thankfully no one got dumped during the rush of water on the floor, and it must have rushed out because my bed which is next to, but with a space in between, was even a little damp and occasional wet spots.
No one was on the floor, WHEW
So, next I yank all the plugs to avoid shocks and burning out my canisters. They are all good, still running. ok, things are looking ok
Now I examine what the frick happened to the tank, maybe a filter leaked or something.
No such luck, the tank actually split from one of the corners.CRAP.
So, by this time its around 7:30. And on a monday, so the only LFS I know of that may be open is about 40KM away.....20-30miles for you imperial people. BUT!! the local Petsmart IS still oepn. So I rush down there, peruse the available tanks, and find a 50G tank for $150. Now I know I probably payed a little but much, but it did include a full canopy and tubes for the fixtures.
So, pay the bill, zip back on home, and start the teardown.
Grab myself a 5G bucket, and ever so gracefully put 36 fish into it
That went smoother then I expected, most of my fishies just took it in stride.
(BTW, the cories and otos I bought earlier in the day are currently residing in my pleco tank untill further notice)
I grabbed all the gravel aka biobed I could and transfered it over, goodness that stuff kinda reeks after a while, lol.
replanted all my plants, and moved the tank onto my bed.
THEN started the process of moving the broken tank, that was hard, specially with just one person.
But I got that done and moved out of my room.
Then I muscled the 50G onto the stand and made sure everything fit.
"wow, it looks way better then that ratty old tank....it actually suits the oak it sits on!"
So there was light at the end of the tunnel.
Its now 10:45
rechecked all my filters, they are good, position everything else into the tank, heaters, etc
and start the process of filling *sigh*
got the tank full, started the filters, they rattled to life and started pumping!!! So relieved.
heater still heats!!
So, everything is going ok, gettin ready to dump the fishies in.
BTW this whole time I have been running VERY low on Amquel, hehe.
Finished off the Amquel, and it was BARELY enough, whew.
All this time the fish have been swimming away in a heated 5G bucket, not good. So, grabbed the bucket, started movin the fish over. Most of the fish are out, cept for the stubborn ones who dont wanna get caught.
SO I just take whats left in the bucket and dump it into the tank. ACK there was more then I thought!! MORE water on the floor *SIGH!!!*
But that was literally it. Lots of rocks and potholes, but i got by them all just fine.
I think I only lost one or two ottos during this whole process, I cant confirm yet.
But everyone is happily swimming in their new tank, and they all made it thru the night with no further deaths.
Wow, that was alot to type, thanks for reading.
PS.
Although the cost was hard to swallow, I do really like the new tank, its alot shorter then my 55, so the lighting is way better, and the tank came with two 15 watt fixtures, bringing my total WPG to 3 now.
So, thru the darkness comes the light, literally.
MORE PLANTS HERE I COME!!!
BTW, any ideas for a 55G, I am gonna repair it, perhaps a massive sump?? lol
