Finally did a tank overhaul

[Fishyfanatic]

I replaced the Visi-Therm Deluxe heater with a Visi-Therm Stealth. Replaced the old loud air pump with a Marineland Air Master. Tossed the Eclipse lights and filter. Added a glass hood, double tube light strip, and an AC70. it's like a whole new tank.

The reason for the overhaul is because about two weeks ago I came home from work and the lights on the 29 gal tank were not on. I clicked the button on the top and nothing happened. I opened the lid and the filte wasn't moving. Opened the cabinet and noticed the surge protector light wasn't on. My cat sometimes gets back there and has flipped it off before so I tried to turn it back on. Nothing.

My husband got home and I told him about the problem so he switched outt he outlet thinking it had gone bad. Sure enough, it was burnt up. You could see the black on it. Plugged in the surge protector and it still didn't work. He picked it up and water was dripping out of it. Somehow water worked its way down a cable and into the surge protector. Not cool. It could have burned down the apartment.

SO, instead of just trial and error we ordered a new heater, filter, air pump, lights, and hood. better to be safe than sorry. Plus, I like the new look better. Honestly I ordered a single tube light strip but PetsMart by mistake sent me a twin tube. They told me just to keep it. NICE.

 

[Zagz]

Nice, so where are the pics? My cats do that too, turning off the power bars sometimes. Do you have drip loops on your cords?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

No pics at the moment. I want to do a change in regards to the scaping but after that is done I'll post pics. I'm thinking of making it planted.

 

[rich311k]

Sounds like a great overhaul. I am looking forward to the pictures. After reading this I made sure all my powerstrips and outlets were dry and I had a drip loop in front of them.

I think planted is a great idea.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I forgot to mention the drip loop.

Everything had a loop but the light strip wasn't as loose. The cord was a little short and didn't allow for the loop. I just never figured it would do that. And I'm talking about a LOT of water. He picked it up and water was pouring out of the strip. I'm surprised he didn't get electrocuted.

 

[Jchillin]

James should chronicle his adventures, some of them are quite funny.

I'm thinking of making it planted.

No reason to think about it...just do it.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

lol Yes, he has had his fair share of aquatic mis-steps over the years. Perhaps this evening I will move some Jungle Vals over to the tank.

 

[An t-iasg]

Wow, a light strip full of water? I'm glad nothing bad happened, to James or the apartment. I have seen water pour down a cord before! It's always great to get new equipment, though. It's too bad your old stuff had to fry first, lol, but everything is safe now and that's the important thing. I'm sure it will be a nice planted tank!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Oh no, the light strip wasn't full, the surge protector was full because of the power cord to the light strip. It all emptied into my timer. lol Which then of course emptied into the surge. We wrapped a towel around the end of the cords and plugged them into a new surge until the new stuff came. Checked it twice a day just in case. It hasn't happened since.

 

[An t-iasg]

Oh, I see. The surge protector strip, not the light strip. That's worse than I pictured then, lol!

We wrapped a towel around the end of the cords and plugged them into a new surge

OMG. I'm glad that worked out, though, until you got a new surge, with no further problems.

I got shocked on my old laptop and I thought that was bad, lol! You are braver than me!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Oh I didn't do it, James did. lol I refused to touch it. That night I shut down the entire tank because I was afraid it would catch the house on fire while we slept.