HELP kid dumped bubbles in tank

[Biokabe]

Nowhere did I recommend or imply it being ok to use in a aquarium ....

My apologies if that wasn't your intention, but talking about it being used to clean off animals after an oil spill could give someone the idea that getting soap into the tank isn't something to be concerned about. For the sake of OP and anyone in the future who might stumble across this in a similar situation, I didn't want anyone walking away thinking, "Oh, right, they use Dawn to clean up wildlife after an oil spill, my fish are probably going to be fine," and then find a tank full of dead fish that could have been saved with a large enough water change.

 

[Polyp Punk]

So my 4 year old appears to have dumped 8 oz of kids bubbles into my 120 mixed reef. The sump is literally full of foam and the display is a cloudy mess. Nothing looks exceptionally ticked off. How should I proceed?

I would just do a huge water change ASAP

 

[Biokabe]

Thanks to everyone for the help!! I’ve got the skimmer running and rigged the overflow of foam into a bucket. Auto top off is topping up with saltwater. The fish all seem pretty comfortable and the corals that were doing well before this mess look fine. Big water change tomorrow.

Glad to hear it, good on you for prompt action. Breathing is going to be your fish's greatest risk for the next little while, so if they appear to be breathing without problem you're hopefully out of the woods.

 

[Tamberav]

Glad everything looks okay... soap bubbles (not sure about kids bubbles) can interfere with a fishes gills and ability to breath is the biggest risk IMO

 

[Katepete722]

Glad to hear it, good on you for prompt action. Breathing is going to be your fish's greatest risk for the next little while, so if they appear to be breathing without problem you're hopefully out of the woods.

Yes thank you, I have been closely monitoring their breathing. When I initially discovered the problem a few were breathing heavily, but all are breathing normally now. The skimmer is also producing far less foam (though still plenty) so hopefully it’s at a tolerable concentration for everyone now. I would never have guessed that small an amount of bubbles would cause this scope of a mess.

 

[Gogol_frag]

He was dying to play in the foam party. From his perspective he made a pretty ballin bubble bath! Poor kid is super bored in quarantine. I’ve got great ammunition wants he starts getting mad at me as a teenager

Hahaha ... kids do the bubbliest things! Great to know that it worked out well for y'all.

 

[Grallster]

When it’s all over just think about how clean your tank will be!!

 

[Just John]

Any updates today?

 

[Katepete722]

All’s well this morning. Skimmer functioning normally did an 18 gallon water change. Still running carbon. Livestock is all back to normal!

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Glad to hear everything made it!

 

[ZoWhat]

In the future....nothing wrong with a series of 90% waterchanges

Any live bacteria will stay on the LR if you work quick enough (under 30mins) where everythinggoes from wet to moist. its the moist to dried-out thats a problem

Take the waterline down to the minimum where your fish can still swim.


.

 

[mdb_talon]

In the future....nothing wrong with a series of 90% waterchanges

Any live bacteria will stay on the LR if you work quick enough (under 30mins) where everythinggoes from wet to moist. its the moist to dried-out thats a problem

Take the waterline down to the minimum where your fish can still swim.


.

Fish have the luxury of fast movement to stay in the water. Coral, inverts, sponges, etc generally dont. Some can survive out of water for a decent amount of time...others cant.

 

[ZoWhat]

Some can survive out of water for a decent amount of time...others cant.

I worked in a Coral biz for years and was the lead frag person. I do not recall a single coral that couldn't withstand 10-20mins out of water while remaining moist. Key was to re-wetten sensitive corals with a baster every 5-10mins.

Just my experience

 

[VermontReefs]

Anyone got a take on how safe this might be?

I am on a well and this looks good to me for an emergency situation. I'd roll with it until you can make new water. Anything is better than suds.

 

[s0mthinG]

I am quarantined because the same 4 year old was exposed to COVID at preschool

Potentially your LFS (if they have a service department) will deliver + w/c salt in the 100 to 200 gallon range. It'll be pricey but could save the life of your reef critters

 

[Waydeo]

I can relate to this happening. My 4 year old grandson goes crazy for bubbles.
Glad everything worked out for you !

 

[s0mthinG]

My apologies if that wasn't your intention, but talking about it being used to clean off animals after an oil spill could give someone the idea that getting soap into the tank isn't something to be concerned about. For the sake of OP and anyone in the future who might stumble across this in a similar situation, I didn't want anyone walking away thinking, "Oh, right, they use Dawn to clean up wildlife after an oil spill, my fish are probably going to be fine," and then find a tank full of dead fish that could have been saved with a large enough water change.

The only thing I think about Dawn dish soap is that it's the only kind of soap I will use to wash my hands anytime less than an hour before I stick them in my tank. since it is safe for the animals when they're using it with a oil spills, I feel that the minor residue that could be left over from washing your hands with it is not harmful in an infrequent minor case.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

IMO, the use of organic removal technologies (skimmer, GAC, purigen, etc.) is very useful and probably more so than water changes. No limit to how much to use applies: more is better in this context. The chemicals to make bubbles are PERFECTLY designed to be skimmed out and bound to GAC.

In an emergency (toxins from dead fish wipe out, including a long horned cowfish) I once dumped a whole container of GAC loose on the floor of my sump to allow rapid uptake of organics.

I also think that if organisms appear OK today, they are likely going to be OK.

 

[Soren]

All’s well this morning. Skimmer functioning normally did an 18 gallon water change. Still running carbon. Livestock is all back to normal!

It is good to hear that things are likely okay. Now you can hopefully find some humor in this event (definitely a good one for later in your child's life!).

 

[fishhead1973]

I wonder if we are overreacting. It's kids bubbles. Probably made safe for kids if they drink it. Probably makes extremely persistent micro bubbles so your tank will turn cloudy. I would run the skimmer really wet and dump it. I expect you could remove it that way just like Chemiclean. Run carbon.

So my 4 year old appears to have dumped 8 oz of kids bubbles into my 120 mixed reef. The sump is literally full of foam and the display is a cloudy mess. Nothing looks exceptionally ticked off. How should I proceed?

Look at the bottle of it says none toxic which it should. You’re be allright the skimmer should take care of it turn your lights of for a couple of days to carbon won’t hurt. If you got time change out 30 to 40 gallons be ready to empty that skimmer cup very often good luck