Home tile renovation project - how to protect aquarium?!
- Thread starter AntyPam
- Start date
if you are installing tile there shouldnt be ANYTHING to worry about at all. What "debris" are you worried about?
tell your tile installers they have to mix the mortar and grout in a contained area- preferable outside! Why would you let them fluff up all that mess inside your house when it would only take a minute to wet it down in the garage? Once its wet it wont float around at all..
tell your tile installers they have to mix the mortar and grout in a contained area- preferable outside! Why would you let them fluff up all that mess inside your house when it would only take a minute to wet it down in the garage? Once its wet it wont float around at all..
If you are doing demo- a plastic sheet will be fine for a day or two. Dont tape it down, you need air exchage- just drape a 9x piece over the tank.
If you're putting in wood or laminate, just throw an old sheet over the tank to keep saw dust out-
and you should STILL insist the contractors "contain" the mess to a single room/location where all the boards will be cut. Dont let them make a mess all over your house. Its perfectly reasonable and appropriate to insist.
If you're putting in wood or laminate, just throw an old sheet over the tank to keep saw dust out-
and you should STILL insist the contractors "contain" the mess to a single room/location where all the boards will be cut. Dont let them make a mess all over your house. Its perfectly reasonable and appropriate to insist.
In the end, although it's still not 'the end', here's what I did:
I emptied my tank of all but about 1 or 2 gallons of water, and I put about 3 or 4 gallons into a clean styrofoam chest (which we had received from Omaha Steaks) that also had a lid. I caught all of my fish and snails, and placed them in this 'tank' along with my live plants, one piece of mopani driftwood, and submerged the unrinsed filter from the tank. I put this setup into a closed off bedroom with a towel under the door to keep the tile dust out of the room as much as possible.
It was not NEARLY as messy as we had feared! I cleaned the tank and parts thoroughly, and then it was at least ten days before I could refill the tank (bad tile, painting the interior, etc.). I used the dirty filter, plants, and driftwood to start cycling the tank. I did daily testing but never did have any spikes in ammonia, nitrites, etc. (My pH always runs very high.) I replaced the fish "too soon" I knew, but they had survived almost 2 weeks in unfiltered non-aerated water, and I took a chance.
It has been six or seven weeks now, and I did not lose a single fish or snail. I have added both new snails and new fish, and the tank looks and tests just great.
In the meantime, we had to remove the newly laid tile due to obvious flaws - I just placed a/c filters over the top of the tank - and it has not seemed to affect them in the least. (We have been living on bare concrete floors these last six weeks, and no kitchen cabinets or appliances since May. Truly a home updo from hell, but at least my aquarium has not suffered!)
I would not recommend this procedure, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, and in my case, it worked!
Pam
Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
I emptied my tank of all but about 1 or 2 gallons of water, and I put about 3 or 4 gallons into a clean styrofoam chest (which we had received from Omaha Steaks) that also had a lid. I caught all of my fish and snails, and placed them in this 'tank' along with my live plants, one piece of mopani driftwood, and submerged the unrinsed filter from the tank. I put this setup into a closed off bedroom with a towel under the door to keep the tile dust out of the room as much as possible.
It was not NEARLY as messy as we had feared! I cleaned the tank and parts thoroughly, and then it was at least ten days before I could refill the tank (bad tile, painting the interior, etc.). I used the dirty filter, plants, and driftwood to start cycling the tank. I did daily testing but never did have any spikes in ammonia, nitrites, etc. (My pH always runs very high.) I replaced the fish "too soon" I knew, but they had survived almost 2 weeks in unfiltered non-aerated water, and I took a chance.
It has been six or seven weeks now, and I did not lose a single fish or snail. I have added both new snails and new fish, and the tank looks and tests just great.
In the meantime, we had to remove the newly laid tile due to obvious flaws - I just placed a/c filters over the top of the tank - and it has not seemed to affect them in the least. (We have been living on bare concrete floors these last six weeks, and no kitchen cabinets or appliances since May. Truly a home updo from hell, but at least my aquarium has not suffered!)
I would not recommend this procedure, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, and in my case, it worked!
Pam
Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
