snapcrackler
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have been buying (and selling) used aquariums since I was a kid.
Of all those purchases, there were a few... scary ones. I was wondering what stories you might have as well?
With that, I'll offer up my scariest used aquarium story of all..... bleagh..
A friend of a friend of a friend etc. mentioned that his brother in law had a used 55 gallon aquarium he wanted to sell for super cheap. $30 for everything incl. lights, tank, pumps, etc. So I jumped on that deal.
The friend that was closest to us, Bob, said they would be happy to grab the tank on their way into town, since they knew the town where this guy's brother in law lived and they would be going through there on their way back from a wedding.
So Bob and his wife rolled into my driveway, with the tank in the backseat of their (brand new) vehicle, right next to their nice clothes and stuff from a wedding they had been to last night. I covered him on the cash, unloaded the tank, chatted a bit and bid them farewell.
I washed the tank outside in the driveway with vinegar and water and then dried it all off and brought it inside to the lower level of my house. Later that day I went down and carefully inspected the tank for cracks or breaks.
But what's this, was that a bug? Thousands of live bugs?? Crammed up inside the plastic frame? I thought I washed this thing!
Closer inspection revealed thousands of little to medium sized bugs, and also little "pouch" things. They were all roving around and staying tight up under the trim. I could see 'em through the backside of the glass. I got the creeps and picked up the 55 with everything in it and hauled it outside. The bugs were crammed almost solid under BOTH frames, top and bottom, in EVERY conceivable spot.
So I called my best bud Mike (who was then working for a local exterminator, and now owns his own pest control service called Hawkeye Exterminating) and described these little friends.
Yep, they were cockroaches and egg casings, he said.
I was pissed off big time that this tank had been in my house, and threw the SOB in the burnpile near the garden, along with the equipment. Out of morbid curiosity, I unscrewed the back panel of the 48" flourescent striplight and when I lifted it off, hundreds of large cockroaches poured out.
About three gallons of gasoline and a very large, very hot fire later, I called up Bob and told him he better check his new truck and clothes and stuff. I was not the only one that was mad as hell after that. I got my money back too.
Well I burned that aquarium to the ground. Mike came over and exterminated the whole house just in case, and put down monitoring devices everywhere. Fortunately since it hadn't gotten dark around the tank yet, they never ventured away from their little home, and my house was not invaded.
Turns out that the aquarium guy's house was a total disaster inside, infested with cockroaches (go figure). He had apparently hosed the tank down prior to having it picked up and set it outside, so the Bob never knew of the horrors that were inside the house.
Of all those purchases, there were a few... scary ones. I was wondering what stories you might have as well?
With that, I'll offer up my scariest used aquarium story of all..... bleagh..
A friend of a friend of a friend etc. mentioned that his brother in law had a used 55 gallon aquarium he wanted to sell for super cheap. $30 for everything incl. lights, tank, pumps, etc. So I jumped on that deal.
The friend that was closest to us, Bob, said they would be happy to grab the tank on their way into town, since they knew the town where this guy's brother in law lived and they would be going through there on their way back from a wedding.
So Bob and his wife rolled into my driveway, with the tank in the backseat of their (brand new) vehicle, right next to their nice clothes and stuff from a wedding they had been to last night. I covered him on the cash, unloaded the tank, chatted a bit and bid them farewell.
I washed the tank outside in the driveway with vinegar and water and then dried it all off and brought it inside to the lower level of my house. Later that day I went down and carefully inspected the tank for cracks or breaks.
But what's this, was that a bug? Thousands of live bugs?? Crammed up inside the plastic frame? I thought I washed this thing!
Closer inspection revealed thousands of little to medium sized bugs, and also little "pouch" things. They were all roving around and staying tight up under the trim. I could see 'em through the backside of the glass. I got the creeps and picked up the 55 with everything in it and hauled it outside. The bugs were crammed almost solid under BOTH frames, top and bottom, in EVERY conceivable spot.
So I called my best bud Mike (who was then working for a local exterminator, and now owns his own pest control service called Hawkeye Exterminating) and described these little friends.
Yep, they were cockroaches and egg casings, he said.
I was pissed off big time that this tank had been in my house, and threw the SOB in the burnpile near the garden, along with the equipment. Out of morbid curiosity, I unscrewed the back panel of the 48" flourescent striplight and when I lifted it off, hundreds of large cockroaches poured out.
About three gallons of gasoline and a very large, very hot fire later, I called up Bob and told him he better check his new truck and clothes and stuff. I was not the only one that was mad as hell after that. I got my money back too.
Well I burned that aquarium to the ground. Mike came over and exterminated the whole house just in case, and put down monitoring devices everywhere. Fortunately since it hadn't gotten dark around the tank yet, they never ventured away from their little home, and my house was not invaded.
Turns out that the aquarium guy's house was a total disaster inside, infested with cockroaches (go figure). He had apparently hosed the tank down prior to having it picked up and set it outside, so the Bob never knew of the horrors that were inside the house.