I lost a razor blade in my tank

[Floyd R Turbo]

Today I was fragging some xenia and anthelia for someone and dropped a razor blade into the tank. 4 people there an no one saw it happen. Can't find it.


It's gold colored and titanium coated. I got a magnet from an old algae scraper and I'm going to attach it to a stick and go fishing.

If I can't find it, what the #$Q@%$ do I do, tear the tank apart???

 

[melosu58]

My only problem is what if the fish flashes there. It could get cut and you might also.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Yeah you need to get that thing out. You could cut your finger open sometime, a fish could get injured too. Magnets are probably the best idea to find it.

 

[mandy2936]

I agree with the above post. I'm no expert, but it can't be good for the tank if that thing starts to rust..
Good luck finding it!! Let us know what happens.

 

[Zbatey]

I not sure about this but couldn't the metal rusting cause some damage to the tank

 

[aquabeast]

the rust might.. but yea, get that out quick..

 

[Bettababe1011]

Yeah, a magnet should work. It is best for yours and the fishs' safety to get that the heck outta there, FAST! Good luck.

 

[Zer0]

lol.. are you guys kidding? Here, let me put this as simple as possible. A razor blade is a flat object, with a thickness of 0.30 mm. There's a one in a million chance that the razor blade fell facing upwards on the rocks, or the sandbed, or whatever. It MOST LIKELY fell FLAT on one of its sides. So unless it fell in a crevice, and the actual blade part is sticking out far enough from the rock, NOTHING is going to be getting cut by that thing. Common sense people. It is HIGHLY unlikely that a fish or even someone's hand is going to get cut by this razor blade.

Using the magnet like you first states Floyd, is most likely your best bet to finding it. I would also try using a flashlight or LED flashlight and shining it through the rocks and such to see if you see anything reflecting the light back to you.

Either way, the one sure fire thing is that if it isn't stainless steel, it will rust. And that's bad news. But the whole bit about it cutting up fish or your hands... Wow. Just no.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Yeah, I shut the pump off, power heads off, took off the light fixture and had head over the tank w/LED flashlight for at least 20 minutes, not even a glimmer. I'm not even sure it's in there, but I don't know where else it could be. We looked on our shoes, under chairs, I took everything out of the area and searched each item before taking out, I looked near power heads (magnetic), in the overflow tower, moved rock in area that I thought it could be hiding, NOTHING. It had to have fallen in back. Here's a picture of the tank that I'm dealing with.

so I got a rectangular magnet out of a really, really old school algae scraper - one that used to use one of those double-sided razor blades that you snap in half, then insert the blades in so they're perpendicular to the glass - and zip-tied it to the end of a kiddie fishing pole. You're gonna laugh when you see pictures. I'm literally going to be fishing for a razor blade.

And I agree less worried about getting cut up. More worried about it rusting. It is "titanium coated" but I'm sure it's an alloy and that it will eventually rust.

Called my LFS and he said it might be OK, but it the softies start dying, that's the first sign.

I pray this works...

 

[Homedog98]

Yikes... I didn't realize all the live rock you had in there! Good luck! I hope your fish are ok!

 

[mandy2936]

Gorgeous tank! ...but wow there are TONS of little nooks and crannies for the blade to be hiding in. It's so full of stuff I imagine this is like finding a needle in a haystack for you! Good luck!!!!

 

[Zer0]

Yeah Floyd, regardless of the type of Alloy, i think if it's exposed to prolonged saltwater exposure it will rust. But seriously, judging by the size of that tank, and the amount of live rock, and the fact that most of it is resting against the back, i think you may have quite some trouble finding that thing. It could have dropped in to the sand and went in deep enough that you can't find it. I would try dragging that magnet over every inch of visible sandbed to see if you get anything.

 

[subliminalanarchy]

Oh I see it. right there near the bottom.

 

[redneckgearhead]

It could be that when it hit the water it hit it on its side and kinda "glided" for some distance. And is nowhere near where you think it should be. Just a thought.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Oh I see it. right there near the bottom.

ha ha you are so funny. seriously though, I did laugh...

 

[Zer0]

It could be that when it hit the water it hit it on its side and kinda "glided" for some distance. And is nowhere near where you think it should be. Just a thought.

I definitely agree with this. Check a few inches from where you thought it fell.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Oh yeah, and w/ 2 Koralia 3's and 1 K4 could be anywhere. last time I dropped one at least I saw it and it fell straight down.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

You could also try turning the lights off and shining a torch/flashlight around... Try to spot a reflection.

 

[Zer0]

lol, Tim, he did that already.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

So I dragged the tank today with my magnet-on-a-stick:

and came up empty.