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Emergency tank swap...

Kit Craft

By Kit Craft,
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Kit Craft

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What a day! 6PM rolls around and I head into my bedroom to feed the fish in the 12 inch cube I notice it is a bit low. Normally I'd top off, but I just topped it off yesterday. I see some water beside the tank in a puddle, meh, no worries I spilled some so I mop it up. I go in to check about 30 minutes later, no, I didn't spill anything but rather it sprung a leak! I've had a number of tanks over the years, and this was the first leak. 

So now it is 6:30 and I am on my way to petco to pick up a 10 gallon like I have been meaning to for a while now. Get home, clean up the tank. Play plop the fish in a bucket. Steal out the substrate, plants and hardscape and put it all back together. It is now 11PM and I have just finished cleaning up. (I took a small rest for some food after securing everything.)

Anyway, I had to add a little substrate but it is probably 75% old, both sponge filters, all hardscape filters and plants. Hope I didn't stress any fish out too bad. My purple mystery snail is in its favorite hiding spot fwiw. 

Just bleh. The good news, they have a better footprint and an extra 2-2.5 gallons of water now. But I have to make new lids, lol. 

So, how was your day?

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Tanked Grand Master

Tanked

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On 11/1/2023 at 11:06 PM, Kit Craft said:

What a day! 6PM rolls around and I head into my bedroom to feed the fish in the 12 inch cube I notice it is a bit low. Normally I'd top off, but I just topped it off yesterday. I see some water beside the tank in a puddle, meh, no worries I spilled some so I mop it up. I go in to check about 30 minutes later, no, I didn't spill anything but rather it sprung a leak! I've had a number of tanks over the years, and this was the first leak. 

So now it is 6:30 and I am on my way to petco to pick up a 10 gallon like I have been meaning to for a while now. Get home, clean up the tank. Play plop the fish in a bucket. Steal out the substrate, plants and hardscape and put it all back together. It is now 11PM and I have just finished cleaning up. (I took a small rest for some food after securing everything.)

Anyway, I had to add a little substrate but it is probably 75% old, both sponge filters, all hardscape filters and plants. Hope I didn't stress any fish out too bad. My purple mystery snail is in its favorite hiding spot fwiw. 

Just bleh. The good news, they have a better footprint and an extra 2-2.5 gallons of water now. But I have to make new lids, lol. 

So, how was your day?

Moving their world into a slightly larger box should not be a problem. Except for some additional substrate and water, everything is the same.  When I do maintenance or make a major change, I feed the fish something special. Hopefully their stress is lowered by associating the disturbance with extra food.

Woke up to 53 degrees indoors, spent 20 min. and $500. installing a new part that worked fine last week when it was 70 degrees. The aquariums were holding there own with temps in the low to mid 70s.  Fish and plants purchased Sunday are doing well.  The three new Bloodfins have hooked up with their older sister, and are busy chasing each other. The two new SAEs have come out of hiding and are now swimming with the Silver Dollars, and have found their way through the fish fence. Over all not a bad day.

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Kit Craft

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Well, everybody is alive. My mystery snail is checking out the glass almost like it is saying "hey, this is too clean". I'll have to test for ammonia or nitrite spikes in case of a cycle crash. I have never actually had that happen that I am aware of thought. I've moved fish to larger homes before, but I guess what got me worried was the rush! 

I set the leaky tank up in the garage and it takes hours for it to start leaking and I can't find it. Bottom seam maybe. It was on a wooden column stand so maybe it was causing flex and putting uneven pressure on a seam making it leak faster, ldk. In the garage the floor is cement, and the work bench is solid. I'm going to strip and reseal it and see how it goes from there. 

As an aside, I should have known better than to buy an Aqueon frameless cube. So many reports of this. But it was an impulse buy last spring during a sale. Oh well, KG has a video on resealing this exact tank, so I have a template. 

I had intended to replace this with an 11 gallon cube from UNS or Landen but time didn't allow for that, lol. Oh well, $13 dollars well spent (50% sale) anyway. My wife likes the framed tank better because she can't see the water line, lol.

As for waking up to the cold, I've been there. Luckily, we have a fireplace. We used to have problems with our unit blowing some kind of board every season change. First cold night and it would pop. Our HVAC guy changed something after fixing it 2-3 times. Hasn't done it since (fingers crossed). 

Oh and I haven't had silver dollars in years. Well, I never did, my father did. He had a 125 with an Oscar and silver dollars when I was growing up. It was a goldfish tank before that. 

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Odd Duck Grand Master

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I guess I’ve been lucky so far (knocking on wood so I don’t jinx myself) but I’ve got 2 x 6 G and 1 x 14 G Aqueon cubes and not had any leaks so far.  Bought the first 6 G second hand and the next 2 new in box from somebody that changed his mind and decided to go for a single, bigger, fancier cube.  They are all on very sturdy, very flat, level cabinets so I suspect that helps.  🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Sorry for your stress level - I had a geriatric, regular 10 G spring a catastrophic bottom seam leak so I feel your pain.  Went from functioning to water pouring onto the floor in a matter of minutes!  Luckily it was in my rack and the cories that were literally laying on their sides by the time I could walk back there went right into the other quarantine tank next to it and went about the rest of their life like nothing had happened!  Still have them.  😃 

Don’t have the tank.  That geriatric, cheap 10 G wasn’t worth even giving it away to somebody.

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Kit Craft

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On 11/2/2023 at 10:49 PM, Odd Duck said:

I guess I’ve been lucky so far (knocking on wood so I don’t jinx myself) but I’ve got 2 x 6 G and 1 x 14 G Aqueon cubes and not had any leaks so far.  Bought the first 6 G second hand and the next 2 new in box from somebody that changed his mind and decided to go for a single, bigger, fancier cube.  They are all on very sturdy, very flat, level cabinets so I suspect that helps.  🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Sorry for your stress level - I had a geriatric, regular 10 G spring a catastrophic bottom seam leak so I feel your pain.  Went from functioning to water pouring onto the floor in a matter of minutes!  Luckily it was in my rack and the cories that were literally laying on their sides by the time I could walk back there went right into the other quarantine tank next to it and went about the rest of their life like nothing had happened!  Still have them.  😃 

Don’t have the tank.  That geriatric, cheap 10 G wasn’t worth even giving it away to somebody.

I mean, to be fair, I am sure loads of people have these tanks without having issues which is why I took the chance but it has to happen to somebody. Looking at the regular tanks yesterday, none of them were very clean. On the website even the regular framed tanks have a fair number of horror stories. Idk if it is poor quality control or simply more people sharing their experiences than we had access to in the past. Fingers crossed not to have the issue a second time, lol. 

As an aside, the inhabitants are happy with their footprint upgrade thus far. I've never seen my mystery snail so active. Never, I mean, I have only had this one for like 45 days.

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Odd Duck Grand Master

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I think it’s a bit of both.  I’ve had a Marineland 12 gallon (same square footage as a 10 G, but a little taller) that I bought in 1999.  It hasn’t been in continuous use since then, but I’ve never resealed it and I didn’t hesitate to pop that puppy into place when this 10 G sprung its leak.  I just pulled it back out of service last week because I got some 10’s from a guy that were only 3 years old and barely used.  I’ll be replacing other geriatric tanks over the next couple weeks because I don’t want another leak.  I’ll keep the 12 G for emergencies, but it’s too tall to be handy for the rack.

Glad everyone seems to be living it up in their new digs!

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Kit Craft

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On 11/2/2023 at 11:11 PM, Odd Duck said:

I think it’s a bit of both.  I’ve had a Marineland 12 gallon (same square footage as a 10 G, but a little taller) that I bought in 1999.  It hasn’t been in continuous use since then, but I’ve never resealed it and I didn’t hesitate to pop that puppy into place when this 10 G sprung its leak.  I just pulled it back out of service last week because I got some 10’s from a guy that were only 3 years old and barely used.  I’ll be replacing other geriatric tanks over the next couple weeks because I don’t want another leak.  I’ll keep the 12 G for emergencies, but it’s too tall to be handy for the rack.

Glad everyone seems to be living it up in their new digs!

Honestly, I've never given it much thought when it comes to filling a tank with water as I've never had a leak before now. Thinking back, I couldn't tell you who made my tanks in the past. I had a 90, and a hex that I don't recall the gallons on (20ish) in my bedroom in middle school through university. Brown/wood trim from Petsmart. I don't have the space for that sort of thing now and my wife likes things like the Fluval spec. 

Speaking of fluval, it was a chi that got me back into fishkeeping. My mother took my wife to the fair and she came home with a goldfish, and they had stopped and picked up a chi. Needless to say, it was rehomed. She ended up with a betta but my gosh was that chi a nightmare. It held water though. Everything else systematically failed pretty rapidly. Light first then the "filter" and the lid, if you want to call it that, warped. 

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Odd Duck Grand Master

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Had to look up what a “chi” tank was.  That just looks like a really bad design, especially that lid.

”Hey, folks, let’s make a cheap, acrylic lid, then put a pump, filter, and light in the middle of it and we’ll hide all that stuff inside a weird black box!”  “It will look like the box is floating, really!”  😆 I suppose it is a very minimalistic, clean, Feng Shui look, but bound to fail sooner rather than later.  I don’t even have to touch it to know it’s too cheap and gimmicky to last.  It definitely does not look easy to maintain like their ad said.

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On 11/2/2023 at 11:52 PM, Odd Duck said:

Had to look up what a “chi” tank was.  That just looks like a really bad design, especially that lid.

”Hey, folks, let’s make a cheap, acrylic lid, then put a pump, filter, and light in the middle of it and we’ll hide all that stuff inside a weird black box!”  “It will look like the box is floating, really!”  😆 I suppose it is a very minimalistic, clean, Feng Shui look, but bound to fail sooner rather than later.  I don’t even have to touch it to know it’s too cheap and gimmicky to last.  It definitely does not look easy to maintain like their ad said.

Just like anything else, my wife isn't "into" fish and she though the tank was pretty. I am sure we are all guilty of this at some point. I know I have made the form over function mistake on more than one occasion. I have loads of junk in the garage and shed that I don't use. 

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Odd Duck Grand Master

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On 11/2/2023 at 10:57 PM, Kit Craft said:

Just like anything else, my wife isn't "into" fish and she though the tank was pretty. I am sure we are all guilty of this at some point. I know I have made the form over function mistake on more than one occasion. I have loads of junk in the garage and shed that I don't use. 

Yep.  Been there, done that!  😆 

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Chick-In-Of-TheSea Grand Master

Chick-In-Of-TheSea

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On 11/1/2023 at 11:06 PM, Kit Craft said:

What a day! 6PM rolls around and I head into my bedroom to feed the fish in the 12 inch cube I notice it is a bit low. Normally I'd top off, but I just topped it off yesterday. I see some water beside the tank in a puddle, meh, no worries I spilled some so I mop it up. I go in to check about 30 minutes later, no, I didn't spill anything but rather it sprung a leak! I've had a number of tanks over the years, and this was the first leak. 

So now it is 6:30 and I am on my way to petco to pick up a 10 gallon like I have been meaning to for a while now. Get home, clean up the tank. Play plop the fish in a bucket. Steal out the substrate, plants and hardscape and put it all back together. It is now 11PM and I have just finished cleaning up. (I took a small rest for some food after securing everything.)

Anyway, I had to add a little substrate but it is probably 75% old, both sponge filters, all hardscape filters and plants. Hope I didn't stress any fish out too bad. My purple mystery snail is in its favorite hiding spot fwiw. 

Just bleh. The good news, they have a better footprint and an extra 2-2.5 gallons of water now. But I have to make new lids, lol. 

So, how was your day?

Oh man, I had a similar issue once, right before bedtime. I had a clear tote with Christmas decorations in it. I dumped that onto the floor and rinsed the tote really well, then that became my new aquarium until I got to the store the next day. I also found the stand had swelled and that was why the tank leaked. So, new stand was necessary too. Fortunately that was an easy Amazon order of the Aqueon forge stand, which accommodates 2 tanks (😉) - just thinking about fish room versatililty here.. 🙂  I am annoyed by fiberboard stands. I think they are a bad idea because they don’t hold up over time to water. 
 

On 11/3/2023 at 3:31 AM, Kit Craft said:

Looking at the tank I think it is in need of another mystery snail.

Approved! 💛

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On 11/3/2023 at 6:09 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Oh man, I had a similar issue once, right before bedtime. I had a clear tote with Christmas decorations in it. I dumped that onto the floor and rinsed the tote really well, then that became my new aquarium until I got to the store the next day. I also found the stand had swelled and that was why the tank leaked. So, new stand was necessary too. Fortunately that was an easy Amazon order of the Aqueon forge stand, which accommodates 2 tanks (😉) - just thinking about fish room versatililty here.. 🙂  I am annoyed by fiberboard stands. I think they are a bad idea because they don’t hold up over time to water. 
 

Approved! 💛

Wow that sucks. If it had been any later, I would have had to do the same since petco isn't super close. I think my stand swelled a bit too on the surface, it is real wood but the leaking got worse over the course of an hour it took me to get everything tore down. I set the tank back up in the garage and it does still leak but it took hours to show, and it was a very slow drip. Way slower than on the stand. The tank was wet on the bottom first and I cannot see where the water is coming from. So, I am guessing the stand was wet for quite a while before I even realized it was leaking. Maybe expanding a bit, unevenly, put pressure on the seams and made it leak faster. 

I went with a 10 gallon because I could easily accommodate it but i wanted to go with a 20 high as it fits the spot in our bedroom perfectly. Though, if I were to go that route, I'd love to shoehorn a 29 in... I just didn't have the time to build a stand and deal with this at the same time. So, I thought a 10 was a good way to go because even if I do change it, I have a useful tank for either another project or in case of another emergency. Plus, I use a 2.5 for QT atm so that would get replaced. Though, I think I am at the point where if I set a new tank up I need it to be replacing an old one. My wife won't be please if I start putting them in random places. Maybe replace the 1 gallon jar with something in the 3 gallon range (I don't trust anything more on the coffee stand). 

As for the new mystery snail. I can't decide. I love my purple snail! But there are so many cool looking ones. My wife likes the gold, but she has only seen Gold, Purple and Blue. I think a Chestnut would be really cool however Idk where to get them in person and Idk about ordering just a single snail, lol. I am kind of interested in breeding them eventually. So whatever cross would likely get me Magenta would be cool. 

 

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Cinnebuns Grand Master

Cinnebuns

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On 11/3/2023 at 10:56 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Blue, ivory, purple, or magenta -  you could get magenta babies. Right @Cinnebuns?

 

 

https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/files/file/58-mystery-snail-genetics/

Sorry I only glanced at the other posts. What's the specific question?  Has purple and wants to make magenta?  Ivory X purple is an excellent way to make magenta babies. 

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On 11/9/2023 at 12:49 AM, Cinnebuns said:

Sorry I only glanced at the other posts. What's the specific question?  Has purple and wants to make magenta?  Ivory X purple is an excellent way to make magenta babies. 

Yes, that was the question. Thank you. 

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