Started as a good idea... bad ending...

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Retired_AF

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
738
Location
Gastonia, NC
I wanted to change the way 37g tank looked. I wanted to give it a Greek look but also be able to put a planter high enough to be able to plant something that would start in the tank and maybe drape over the sides. I wanted a DIY project and came up with the idea of something like the temples made from glass dishes and PVC.

To give it a look like it had been underwater for centuries, I coated the glass and PVC with silicone and covered them with crushed coral.

I bought the materials and got set up.

To be continued...
 
Finished covering it and let it dry for a few days to make sure it was solid (plus I had been sick a couple of days)... Put it in the tank and set it up along with my regular PWC... Was planning on getting some statues and stuff to put in and removing the stumps....
 
Lesson learned.

This morning, the water in the tank looked like milk... I had a dead albino tiger barb, a dead jade tiger barb, and a dead rubber-lipped pleco... All the other fish were at the top breathing air, including my catfish...

Did an emergency 75% water change twice and took out the new decoration. The fish started swimming normally again and so far looks pretty good... I will check water parameters later...

Lesson learned: DONT FORGET THE SIMPLE STUFF!!! I got focused on the end result and forgot to rinse out the coral before putting it into the tank. My carelessness cost me 3 of my favorite fish.

I think I will take the coral off and redo it with sand....
 
No bashing! I must say it looked amazing to me. Next time... The simple things will rule the day. :) Glad you're feeling better.
 
forgot to rinse out the coral before putting it into the tank

Are you sure the unrinsed coral is what killed your fish, I wouldn't have thought it was that dangerous. It is a natural product and I'm sure they do some rinsing before they package it. I can't see what would have killed your fish as long as the silicone was properly cured? Your idea should have worked. It looks cool!
 
Are you sure the unrinsed coral is what killed your fish, I wouldn't have thought it was that dangerous. It is a natural product and I'm sure they do some rinsing before they package it. I can't see what would have killed your fish as long as the silicone was properly cured? Your idea should have worked. It looks cool!

I'm 99% positive. The silicone has a 24 hour full cure time. I let it sit for 3 full days before putting it into the tank. I didnt rinse the coral at all and the powder from the fragments leached out into the water and turned it so cloudy that I could hardly see the back of the tank. When I changed the water there was a film of the powder left on the glass that had to be removed. As soon as I changed the water the surviving fish started behaving normally.

What makes me feel foolish is that I preach so often on how everything must be cleaned before putting it into a tank, then I failed to do it myself. Even stuff that is supposedly "pre-rinsed" needs to be done to remove dust from the packaging process, shipment and storage.

I posted the thread just to show how important the small details can be and hoping someone can learn from my mistakes.

Oh, and thanks for all the compliments on the looks of the thing. I havent given up on it, I just have to rethink my strategy. I can just redo it like this (after cleaning the remaining coral) or I am considering a white/black sand mixture.
 
It's kind of strange that crushed coral caused that to happen. That "dust" is fine for SW fish. Maybe it has to do with freshwater fish. I tend to agree with Lohoyan. Did you use the correct silicone? The stuff for windows/bathroom use has anti-mildew chemicals in it that will kill fish. Just curious.
 
Retired_AF said:
I'm 99% positive. The silicone has a 24 hour full cure time. I let it sit for 3 full days before putting it into the tank. I didnt rinse the coral at all and the powder from the fragments leached out into the water and turned it so cloudy that I could hardly see the back of the tank. When I changed the water there was a film of the powder left on the glass that had to be removed. As soon as I changed the water the surviving fish started behaving normally.

What makes me feel foolish is that I preach so often on how everything must be cleaned before putting it into a tank, then I failed to do it myself. Even stuff that is supposedly "pre-rinsed" needs to be done to remove dust from the packaging process, shipment and storage.

I posted the thread just to show how important the small details can be and hoping someone can learn from my mistakes.

Oh, and thanks for all the compliments on the looks of the thing. I havent given up on it, I just have to rethink my strategy. I can just redo it like this (after cleaning the remaining coral) or I am considering a white/black sand mixture.

Recently I made a cave using PVC pipe, silicone and gravel. It says that silicone needs at least 72 hours to fully cure. After that time my cave still had very strong smell of silicone so I left it for few more days to dry. Finally after one week smell is gone and silicone is safe for use underwater.
Good luck with your project. It looks awesome.
 
...Did you use the correct silicone? The stuff for windows/bathroom use has anti-mildew chemicals in it that will kill fish. Just curious.

Yeah, I'm absolutely positive it was right. I used the GE Type I 100% pure clear silicone.
 
Retired_AF said:
Yeah, I'm absolutely positive it was right. I used the GE Type I 100% pure clear silicone.

Ah bummer. Guess the crushed coral residue must have done it. A shame really. Your project looks awesome! Think you'll do it again and wash the coral?
 
That much crushed coral dust floating around in a freshwater tank all of a sudden would cause a rapid and substantial rise in the water's ph wouldn't it? Maybe that's what did the damage?
 
i had a bad time w/ crushed coral too.. same result, water got milky, but i cleaned mine good before adding it .. luckily i was smart enough (for once) to add it to a fishless tank.. never again though lol

the structure you made is SICK!! i would try dolomite if you dont wanna use sand.. i have it in my african tank & its quite pretty

good luck!!!
 
My guess would be that the coral residue raised your TDS high enough to affect the respiratory process in the fish. I find it highly unlikely that you got that significant of a change in pH that quickly. Personally, I run many of my African tanks with aragonite sand or CC substrate. Can't say I'm real familiar with the fish you were keeping, but the change in pH should have occurred slowly enough that it wouldn't kill fish. Make them uncomfortable perhaps, but shouldn't have shocked em to that extreme. Personally I think if you give the existing structure a very good rinse job, you should be able to use it as is.
 
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