Just starting? Make sure you have the following:

[Sparky74]

A wet/dry shop vac.

Many do, but I'm sure there are a few that do not.

Here is the reason:




What would you do if you had no shop vac and instantaneously had 75 gallons of water pooled on your floor?

Just something to think about(paper towels don't cut it lol). It's something that most likely will never happen to most people, but the one time it does, you will be glad you had a shop vac(as will your flooring/carpet).

Also, make sure your power strips are not on the floor. Thankfully I thought ahead and had them all hanging.

 

[Tarkus2112]

OUCH! I hate seeing that.

How did it happen?

 

[Bubble_B0y]

oh my...did your tank leak or the glass cracked!

75 gallons would have flooded the house. Yikes.

 

[Sparky74]

oh my...did your tank leak or the glass cracked!

75 gallons would have flooded the house. Yikes.

Just cracked open and emptied in about 5 seconds

Mystery as to why it happened. I was sitting on couch watching a Mets game.

 

[HN1]

Argh! Sorry to hear that.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

that sucks!

I know exactly how you feel.
It happened to me too, last year

I had this beautiful hex 20 gallon tank.
On the side of the tank, some of the silicone sealant started to jade and wear out. I didn't notice it leaking.
The Next morning, I woke up, the tank was half empty and the carpet was all wet.....sigh.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

That sucks

This is one of the reasons why I'm not allowed to have multiple tanks, my mom's afraid if they all leak at once we'll be living in an ocean...

 

[librarygirl]

That's a good idea. I'm a bit clumsy and tend to get some water on my carpet now and again. Thankfully it's been small amounts but I think a shop vac would be a great idea. I have nightmares about coming home and finding my tank on the floor. Did you lose any fish when your tank broke? Sorry about that!

 

[Sparky74]

Luckily I hadn't broken down my 55 gallon yet(was to be sump for 75), so I netted all the fish but 3 bloodfin tetras did not make it. Not quite sure where they ended up. Possibly in the AC vents

If I wasn't home or didn't have the shop vac, things would have been much worse. There would have been mass fishocide and the newly installed pergo would have been toast(still may be anyway...time will tell). And it probably would have covered the whole first floor had I not made temporary dikes with my area rugs

I think a shop vac is one of those must haves if you own a tank. I have no idea what I would have done without it. I had run out of paper towels that day as well Not that they would have done much(unless I had several hundred rolls lol).

 

[Bubble_B0y]

good luck !!

I hope everything turns out ok,
and I hope little damage was done to your home and fish.

 

[FishieMomma]

Yikes! Thanks for the heads up. I need to ask hubby where the shop vac is.

 

[WendiDell]

If you don't have a shop vac a carpet steam cleaner works well. Tank water doesn't always smell good on your carpet even after you suck it up.

I've had pets all my life and there are 2 things I never go without. One, is the carpet Steam Cleaner, and the other is renters insurance. In case the Steam cleaner doesn't do the job.
This goes with any pets I've had. So far I've never had to use the insurance (knock on wood). But I did have to learn how to put in a linoleum floor, after my wolf puppies ate a 3' hole in the kitchen. One of many things they ate.