Let's talk about household items that can kill your tank!

[Dburr1014]

I have glass on my tanks also.
For years, my wife uses candles, wax warmers, air fresheners, ect. In the same room of the tank. I use glass cleaner on the outside of the tank sprayed into a paper towel. I wash my hands with fragrant soap rinsed and dryed well and rarely use gloves. My sump is in the basement next to the oil fired water heater and furnace. I did box it up with plywood.

I still have yet to experience any losses due to any of this. I think if you use your head and rinse well, don't spray directly near the tank, ect. you should be fine.
IMHO.

 

[Young@Heart]

I don't use anything scented around my reef tank. I have even advised this to my wife and daughter (A little more thought about this needs to be made around the holidays). I don't use Sprayaway on my Acrylic Reef Tank. I do use it on my Glass Fresh Water Tank in the other room (about 15 feet away). No Issues. I primarily use vinegar for clean my Reef Tank (Outside and Sump) - although I am starting to use NOVUS (Step 1 Plastic Clean and Shine or Proglow Acrylic & Glass cleaner (Ammonia Free) on my DT.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

The Tile Setters used this roll on Primer / Crack Isolator. Noticed my Tang got stressed from it. Pumped air in the tank from outside to clear things up. They said they wouldn't have to use it again, but they did and the Tang died. Strange thing is, that’s the only fish that got stressed. A friend killed off a lot, in his fresh water tank from hand sanitize. Also several years ago, he went from his Community Water source, to WSSC Water, and had a loss. when I had my 90 gallon set up, I opened a ceiling light, and four foot tube fell out, and shattered, lost some Corals. BTW, on the Fluorescent tubes, there is a Dimple on the metal lamp end. When you can see the dimple in the opening of the lamp holder, the lamp is properly installed and locked into place.

 

[Charles Zinn]

sprayaway glass cleaner/lady w blue gingham dress on label is acutely toxic dont even spray near the tank as wafting can get in, quick quick kills.

formula has changed in it for sure. for about two decades prior I'd spray the actual tank walls lol then wipe


and then quit using it years, resumed, this time merely sprayed in the vicinity of the tank onto a rag and all my freshwater fish instantly died, about 40 of them. mixed danios and platys and various fw, zapped by glass cleaner gingham lady.

Anything in a spray aluminum can has got to be to toxic. Heavy metals plus propellant

 

[Charles Zinn]

Ok defo following this thread,mainly so can show mrs it ( if reading this lynds,love you lots and lots and these guys saying it not me so listen to them ha ha lol lols ^_^ )
Nah on serious note mrs got an addiction with smelly things, like plug ins,scented candles and the like,at one time every room had one plug in,little better now and only 3 rooms in house but its maybe 4 metres from reef tank and did have scented candle 1 metre away burning every night for few hours,she now moved it to table 3 metres away and says im to obsessive about the tank and it cant rule our lives,but we nearly 3k into it so far and only at early days with only 5 corals bought and 8 out of 10 fish purchased and what i know about mother nature is she wants everything to be in equilibrium so if a scented candle burns close to reef tank then in the air there is more of that scent/toxins than there is in the tank so my understanding is through surface agitation and waterfall in sump and skimmer then gas exchange happens and c02 leaves tank water and oxygen gets introduced but also scents/toxins from candle or any other airborbe particles enters also as mother nature trying her best to make it equal if get me so would be interesting to read other things that i may not even thought about and learn as much as i can and try stop possible nad things happening to the reef tank but at same time keep mrs happy and not become to obsessive about reef tank.
I live in a flat ( americans i believe call apartment so nowhere else to put tanks over than living room which has 3 tanks and 1 small one in hallway and 1 qt tank in cupboard.

If the plug ins are killing your fish. What are they doing to you that you dont notice

 

[JCTReefer]

Notice most bug spraying companies Will Not spray in a room with a fish tank. Even though they should be using a sprayer that’s adjusted to spray a stream rather than a mist. And of course they’re spraying on the baseboards/perimeter of most rooms. If they spray in a room with a tank, they recommend it completely be covered with a damp blanket. I’m paranoid enough that if I have the other rooms sprayed, I’ll shut off the AC from fear of having chemicals drawn into the return vents and re-dispersed throughout the house.

 

[Sump Crab]

Do kids count?

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

Notice most bug spraying companies Will Not spray in a room with a fish tank. Even though they should be using a sprayer that’s adjusted to spray a stream rather than a mist. And of course they’re spraying on the baseboards/perimeter of most rooms. If they spray in a room with a tank, they recommend it completely be covered with a damp blanket. I’m paranoid enough that if I have the other rooms sprayed, I’ll shut off the AC from fear of having chemicals drawn into the return vents and re-dispersed throughout the house.

This answers at least partially one of the big questions I have after reading this thread...what do you do when you need to have areas in the house sprayed or remodeled or cleaned? What are the best practices for protecting a tank when the bug guy, painter, or whatever arrives?

 

[JCTReefer]

Do kids count?

Absolutely!!! Kids and spouses!!! My wife was mad and drunk one day. She decided to dump a years worth of New Life spectrum pellets in my 54 gallon. Didn’t realize she did it. Woke up the next morning. Living room stunk of ammonia. Bacterial bloom from hell. Lost some fish to this. Was almost grounds for a Divorce. Ammonia was off the charts. 100% water change, prime, and a bottle of Biospira later, things finally returned to normal. I was a very, very angry person. Here’s a before and after.

 

[brandon429]

shocking beautiful rebuild second pic wow!



regarding my sprayway insult lol the details may exist between fw and sw applications.


nitrite would probably be that impactful too given the chloride differences


if someone is using sprayway on / near a freshwater system and its harmless let me know if that's the case. i specifically recommend to not test it lol have never seen a more acutely toxic and rapid event since I've been alive.

 

[under.water.ninja]

What about aromatherapy diffusers? I use them all the time, and now I’m second guessing it. Same with incense. I usually burn incense or have aromatherapy diffuser going at least once a day

 

[JCTReefer]

This answers at least partially one of the big questions I have after reading this thread...what do you do when you need to have areas in the house sprayed or remodeled or cleaned? What are the best practices for protecting a tank when the bug guy, painter, or whatever arrives?

For me it would depend on what’s being done in the house. Let’s say I was removing tile from the kitchen which is open to the living room where the tank is. Tile removal creates tons of very fine dust. Especially when using an air driven hammer chisel. I would do this in the fall or spring so I could open all doors with fans blowing towards an exit. Then I would completely visqueen/tarp from the floor to ceiling to separate the kitchen from living room to keep dust particles out. Tape/seal at floor and ceiling. For bug spraying I would not allow a company to spray near the tank. I would let them do other walls that tank isn’t on. I would completely cover the tank, tape off, while the house was being sprayed. Also shut off AC UNIT. Open all doors and windows. After chemical are dry, reverse the process. For painting, I just use paint with low VOC’s. I don’t let contractors do any of my painting. Lol. I’m too picky. It is a huge pain in the butt having a tank sometimes. All the crap you have to do to prepare for stuff like this. Lol!!! Melevs reef just did a video on remodels/home construction and what he did to prep for it.

 

[Charles Zinn]

For me it would depend on what’s being done in the house. Let’s say I was removing tile from the kitchen which is open to the living room where the tank is. Tile removal creates tons of very fine dust. Especially when using an air driven hammer chisel. I would do this in the fall or spring so I could open all doors with fans blowing towards an exit. Then I would completely visqueen/tarp from floor to ceiling to separate the kitchen from living room to keep dust particles out. Tape seal at floor and ceiling. For bug spraying I would not allow a company to spray near the tank. I would let them do other walls that tank isn’t on. I would completely cover the tank, tape off, while the house was being sprayed. Also shut off AC UNIT. Open all doors and windows. After chemical are dry, reverse the process. For painting, I just use paint with low VOC’s. I don’t let contractors do any of my painting. Lol. I’m too picky. It is a huge lain in the butt having a tank sometimes. All the crap you have to do to prepare for stuff like this. Lol!!! Melevs reef just did a video on remodels/home construction and what he did to prep for it.

Dont forget the return vents

 

[JCTReefer]

Dont forget the return vents

Yes, definitely cover and tape those off!!!! Good catch!!!

 

[don74136]

Ok defo following this thread,mainly so can show mrs it ( if reading this lynds,love you lots and lots and these guys saying it not me so listen to them ha ha lol lols ^_^ )
Nah on serious note mrs got an addiction with smelly things, like plug ins,scented candles and the like,at one time every room had one plug in,little better now and only 3 rooms in house but its maybe 4 metres from reef tank and did have scented candle 1 metre away burning every night for few hours,she now moved it to table 3 metres away and says im to obsessive about the tank and it cant rule our lives,but we nearly 3k into it so far and only at early days with only 5 corals bought and 8 out of 10 fish purchased and what i know about mother nature is she wants everything to be in equilibrium so if a scented candle burns close to reef tank then in the air there is more of that scent/toxins than there is in the tank so my understanding is through surface agitation and waterfall in sump and skimmer then gas exchange happens and c02 leaves tank water and oxygen gets introduced but also scents/toxins from candle or any other airborbe particles enters also as mother nature trying her best to make it equal if get me so would be interesting to read other things that i may not even thought about and learn as much as i can and try stop possible nad things happening to the reef tank but at same time keep mrs happy and not become to obsessive about reef tank.
I live in a flat ( americans i believe call apartment so nowhere else to put tanks over than living room which has 3 tanks and 1 small one in hallway and 1 qt tank in cupboard.

My gosh. Have you ever heard of or used punctuation? lol

 

[Df1577]

My friend works at a petco in Florida, went in one day and found his boss accidentally bought sponges with soap instead of the normal ones for cleaning the glass. Almost every fish died, so soap is definitely a fish killer.

 

[claudio wagner]

Hi everyone, wanted to start this thread so everyone can chime in on household items that can potentially cause a huge wipeout. For example, burning candles or spraying aerosols near the tank can be deadly. What are some household items or practices you have heard of that can wipe out your entire tank? Please chime in and leave some insight based on your experiences.

Hello, no I did not had a problem. But, I'm planning to paint the house. What do you do guys in such circunstance?

 

[thatone08]

sprayaway glass cleaner/lady w blue gingham dress on label is acutely toxic dont even spray near the tank as wafting can get in, quick quick kills.

formula has changed in it for sure. for about two decades prior I'd spray the actual tank walls lol then wipe


and then quit using it years, resumed, this time merely sprayed in the vicinity of the tank onto a rag and all my freshwater fish instantly died, about 40 of them. mixed danios and platys and various fw, zapped by glass cleaner gingham lady.

I use this for the sliding glass doors 1 foot away from my reef tank. Time to rethink how I clean that.

 

[brandon429]

That one poster said he sprays it on his reef glass so maybe at the saltwater level of tank keeping it’s less toxic. Nitrite is like that too: zero concern in saltwater such that never running the test is ideal, but freshwater is acutely lethal


that sprayway for sure got my freshwater setup

 

[Micro-Reefs Aquarium]

Household items? How about uninvited friends come to your home via a party.

Everyone is having good time, one guest (uninvited guest) becomes intoxicated finds his way to your aquarium and pours alcohol in your tank.

This happened to me when I was in college and that guest made it to the closed back room next to the bathroom and dumped beer into my system.

System crashed and next morning he had a huge bill to pay rebooting my saltwater system.

Let's talk about household items that can kill your aquarium, drunken guest was that item for me.