Ann7667
Aquarium Advice Activist
Whew! After getting some really bad and incorrect information from the manufacturer of LA Totally Awesome Pure Ammonia from the dollar store saying that it was made of only water an ammonia, I spent from April 27, 2011 to June 7, 2011 patiently dosing my tank and testing daily, waiting for it to cycle. In early June Blaucher24 (I believe) warned me about it so I called the company again and asked them to read the ingredients to me from the MSDS sheet on this product - there were 4 really BAD ingredients before ammonia was even mentioned. Ammonia was the last item on the list. Yikes! So the first person said there was only ammonia and water in it and that she had confirmed that with the "scientists".
Well, I will write to Totally (not) Awesome later, but today I started emptying my tank and cleaning it so that I can set it up correctly with ammonia that has no additives for my fishless cycle.
I just had to find the humor in this. . . so this is what has happened so far.
This morning I drained the water with the syphon hose that I will throw away when this is all finished.
While the water drained out, I started scooping up the sand in a dust pan which was perfect for the job because it had a hollowed out handle through which the water would drain back into the tank while the sand stayed in the pan. But after one scoop into the plastic bag (the girl way) I thought to myself "This is going to take forever!. . . "What would a GUY do to get this sand out of the tank and house?" He probably would not use little plastic bags. And then it came to me . . . He would use a wheelbarrow!!!
So I went out to the patio, wheeled the wheelbarrow into the family room (being careful not to let Bob-the-cat out because he is an indoor cat and loves to escape on a nice day) and started scooping! This was MUCH better and it's definitely the GUY-way! So I just about had all the sand into the wheelbarrow, looking down at the floor; the wheelbarrow was leaking. So I quickly turned it around, dripped it to the door and wheeled it out (being careful to not let Bob-the-cat follow me). I wheeled it out front and emptied the wet polluted sand on top of the patch of weeds I was sure it would kill (the GUY-way).
Going back into the house, the syphon had done its job pulling out all the water it could manage, but there was still some water it there that I thought I could just mop out with some towels. But WAIT! How would a GUY do this????? Not with towels. I thought for a minute and thought - I be he'd use the Shop Wet'n Dry VAC!
After I get the last bits of sand and water out. I'll drag in the outdoor hose and use that to wash the tank real well. Wash and syphon, wash and syphon until every bit of the tank is clean.
Well that's as far as I've gone, but my goal for today is to finish cleaning the tank and the furniture, the cannister filter and the other appliances - basically everything that was in the tank. I have all new media for the cannister filter. I'll be buying new tubing for everything and tossing the air stone because I don't think that's cleanable. But I'm sure I'll get that finished today.
Then tomorrow I'll purchase the new tubing to refill the tank and set it up again.
I'll keep you posted.
Ann7667
Well, I will write to Totally (not) Awesome later, but today I started emptying my tank and cleaning it so that I can set it up correctly with ammonia that has no additives for my fishless cycle.
I just had to find the humor in this. . . so this is what has happened so far.
This morning I drained the water with the syphon hose that I will throw away when this is all finished.
While the water drained out, I started scooping up the sand in a dust pan which was perfect for the job because it had a hollowed out handle through which the water would drain back into the tank while the sand stayed in the pan. But after one scoop into the plastic bag (the girl way) I thought to myself "This is going to take forever!. . . "What would a GUY do to get this sand out of the tank and house?" He probably would not use little plastic bags. And then it came to me . . . He would use a wheelbarrow!!!
So I went out to the patio, wheeled the wheelbarrow into the family room (being careful not to let Bob-the-cat out because he is an indoor cat and loves to escape on a nice day) and started scooping! This was MUCH better and it's definitely the GUY-way! So I just about had all the sand into the wheelbarrow, looking down at the floor; the wheelbarrow was leaking. So I quickly turned it around, dripped it to the door and wheeled it out (being careful to not let Bob-the-cat follow me). I wheeled it out front and emptied the wet polluted sand on top of the patch of weeds I was sure it would kill (the GUY-way).
Going back into the house, the syphon had done its job pulling out all the water it could manage, but there was still some water it there that I thought I could just mop out with some towels. But WAIT! How would a GUY do this????? Not with towels. I thought for a minute and thought - I be he'd use the Shop Wet'n Dry VAC!
After I get the last bits of sand and water out. I'll drag in the outdoor hose and use that to wash the tank real well. Wash and syphon, wash and syphon until every bit of the tank is clean.
Well that's as far as I've gone, but my goal for today is to finish cleaning the tank and the furniture, the cannister filter and the other appliances - basically everything that was in the tank. I have all new media for the cannister filter. I'll be buying new tubing for everything and tossing the air stone because I don't think that's cleanable. But I'm sure I'll get that finished today.
Then tomorrow I'll purchase the new tubing to refill the tank and set it up again.
I'll keep you posted.
Ann7667