Emergency help needed

kylith

I returned home today to find my 120L had sprung a leak. Water all over the bathroom floor. I found the leak three quarters of the way up the right hand side at the front.

I found my tiny tank, relocated my betta from the 40L to there, then moved the fish from the 120L to the 40. There are now 5 Boseman's Rainbowfish and at least 3 cardinal tetras (there were 5 in the big tank, but they're tricky buggers to catch. I think I got them all, but I can't be sure). I know that this is not acceptable.

I need either advice, a dirt cheap big tank, or someone to take the Rainbowfish and tetras.

fguinan

kylith wrote: »

I returned home today to find my 120L had sprung a leak. Water all over the bathroom floor. I found the leak

I found my tiny tank, relocated my betta from the 40L to there, then moved the fish from the 120L to the 40. There are now 5 Boseman's Rainbowfish and at least 3 cardinal tetras (there were 5 in the big tank, but they're tricky buggers to catch. I think I got them all, but I can't be sure). I know that this is not acceptable.

I need either advice, a dirt cheap big tank, or someone to take the Rainbowfish and tetras.

Tec 7 silicone can be applied under water to repair the leak. I used it and it didn't harm any of my fish.
I don't think any other brand of silicon can be used under water.
Definitely worth a try...

kylith

fguinan wrote: »

Tec 7 silicone can be applied under water to repair the leak. I used it and it didn't harm any of my fish.
I don't think any other brand of silicon can be used under water.
Definitely worth a try...

Where did you get it?

fguinan

kylith wrote: »

Where did you get it?

Any hardware shop should stock it.
I think I got it in Barrats in Maynooth.I'm fairly sure the likes of woodies would have it.

kylith

Thanks, will have a look

kylith

Until I can get to the shop is there anything I can do to avoid losing my cycle? Currently the filter sponges are in a couple of inches of tank water, they're all covered, there are definitely a few assassin snails in there, and I dropped in a couple of flakes of food last night.

paddy147

kylith wrote: »

Where did you get it?

Any builders providers,or Woodies,B&Q,Homebase and most good diy stores.

Expect to pay around 12 euro for a tube.


Its harmless to fish and gives instant sealing and waterproofing under water.:)

fungun

did it work ok?

i suppose its too late but putting your sponges into your other tank should keep the bacteria alive

kylith

I'm waiting for a delivery of silicone to fix the big tank, the sponges are still in there in a little water and I'm feeding with food every couple of days, I don't know if it will help, I hope so. They honestly wouldn't fit in the other tank and leave any room for the fish.

So far the fish seem to be ok. I've lost one cardinal so far and am doing daily 50% water changes. Hope to have it all fixed by the weekend. I'm thinking about changing the substrate while I'm at it.

Tropheus

Sounds as though you're doing everything you possible. Did you try to get Tech 7 from B&Q or Woodies? I've used it on my pond with no issues. It's silicone free so is fine for ponds/fish tanks.

Ilik Urgee

Dunno what part of the country you're in OP but McMahon's builders providers stock that Tec-7 on the shelf if that helps

paddy147

Ilik Urgee wrote: »

Dunno what part of the country you're in OP but McMahon's builders providers stock that Tec-7 on the shelf if that helps

Eh...hes in Dublin 8...;):D


Chadwicks on Thomas Street will have it in stock.


http://www.chadwicks.ie/


Chadwicks, Thomas Street, Dublin

Opening Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Friday 8:00am - 4:00pm
Closed for lunch 1:00pm - 1:30pm
Saturday 9.00am-1:00pm

Address: 66/68 Thomas St
Dublin, Co. Dublin 8

Ph: 01 454 2200
Fax: 01 454 2351

kylith

D'oh, didn't know about Chadwicks. I tried Homebase but couldn't find any, it's hard to get to other places because I don't have a car so I ordered it online. It should be here in the next day or so.

muckyhands

Would running an air pump, if you had one spare, through the filter sponges help keep the bacteria alive?

The air bubbles would circulate water/ oxygen through them Id say.

Best of luck.

kylith

Don't have one, unfortunately. The Tec7 arrived last night, so I'll be sealing it up this evening and then I can get them back in there.

I think the rainbowfish may be trying to spawn in the 40L. When I came down this morning the male was jet black on his front half, keeping pace with one of the females around the tank, nudging at her. When I move them back to the big tank I'll have to put some spawning mops in there and raise the temperature a couple of degrees, see if I can get some baby rainbowfish!

Can anyone advise on a good substrate for plants that doesn't cost the earth? I don't suppose bog-standard compost would do the job?

Tropheus

No, I wouldn't put in bog standard compost as it most likely contains nitrates. JBL do one - I think Seahorse stock it. Manando I think it's called. I would settle the fish back in and don't feed for a couple of days to make sure you don't have a mini cycle. Once everything is settled you can look at adding a suitable substrate.

However, having failed at a planted tank previously, I can say that there is more to it than substrate. You need to consider your lighting and also think about adding CO2 and ferts. Sorry I can't give more advice than that.

m4r10

You could use John Innes compost, but it has to be laid in the tank and then keep it submerged for a few days, then covered with some sand or gravel, but there's always the possibility of the compost releasing some toxins if you rush it.

Another cheap substrate is the bonsai gravel like this one, works a treat for the plants.

kylith

The tank is still leaking from about 6" down from the top right hand side. I siliconed it Friday night, it was still leaking Saturday so I put a bit more on. I've spent a lot of today at it and it's still leaking. My options are now

Drain it, cut off the silicone, start again Lower water level, get new filter Lower water level, turn into paladarium Drain, start keeping reptiles/rats Sell on as terrarium, get new tank

Am banging my head off the wall in frustration here. I just want to get the rainbowfish back in a proper tank.

And I've just come across something saying that the clear Tec7 isn't aquarium safe. ****edy ****edy ****.

fungun

ive seen one in maxi zoo but was very expensive compared to normal silicone and was a lot smaller; cant remember the name but you could ring them and enquire

Tropheus

As far as I'm aware, Tec7 is aquarium and pond safe. It's silicone free so should be fine. I haven't had any problems using it on my pond. Pondhobby in North County Dublin even sell it.

kylith

Just checked their site

Q. Is it safe to use around in fish ponds and aquariums?
A. Yes, because Tec7 does not contain any solvents, it can be used in fish ponds and aquariums, however, please keep fish away from Tec7 while it is curing.

Now I just have to work out how to stop that bloody leak. It'll be out with the razor blade tonight, get all the Tec I put on over the weekend off and start again, otherwise I'll be off to Seahorse at the weekend to get a new one.

paddy147

kylith wrote: »

The tank is still leaking from about 6" down from the top right hand side. I siliconed it Friday night, it was still leaking Saturday so I put a bit more on. I've spent a lot of today at it and it's still leaking. My options are now

• Drain it, cut off the silicone, start again
  Lower water level, get new filter
  Lower water level, turn into paladarium
  Drain, start keeping reptiles/rats
  Sell on as terrarium, get new tank

Am banging my head off the wall in frustration here. I just want to get the rainbowfish back in a proper tank.

And I've just come across something saying that the clear Tec7 isn't aquarium safe. ****edy ****edy ****.

ITS NOT usable for a tank.

The clear is called Trans 7...and this cant be used underwater on/in an aquariam.




You need to buy grey,black,brown or white TEC 7....these can be used underwater and are all aquariam/pond safe.


Go down to Chadwicks Builders Providers on Thomas Street and get a tube of TEC 7.

kylith

Well, feck. I'll try and get in there before work in the morning.

m4r10

Tec7 is suited for aquarium use as it's mentioned on every fish forum I've been and if you don't believe the fish keeper's experience with it, there's some mention of that on their web site: http://www.contec7.co.uk/faqs.htm
I for sure wouldn't use any grey, black, brown or white silicone. There's no fish tank on the market bonded with any silicone of that color.

The reason the tank is still leaking is because you applied the new silicone over the old one, you need to get rid of the old silicone first as silicone won't bond with silicone.

kylith

The Juwel Rekord aquaria are definitely bonded with black.

ETA: I'm not even sure if there is old silicone to be cleaned off the inside (other than what I put on). I think the glass is bonded to this black rubber. Here's a link to an IFK thread about resealing a tank that looks like the same model, and it seems to have the same kind of problem as mine.

tteknulp

kylith wrote: »

Well, feck. I'll try and get in there before work in the morning.

Take away old silecone ,get aquarium grade silecone , put masking tape up sides 8mm from edge both ways re-seal ,remove tape let it cure ,a day at least ,re fill ,re stock ,job done

paddy147

m4r10 wrote: »

Tec7 is suited for aquarium use as it's mentioned on every fish forum I've been and if you don't believe the fish keeper's experience with it, there's some mention of that on their web site: http://www.contec7.co.uk/faqs.htm
I for sure wouldn't use any grey, black, brown or white silicone. There's no fish tank on the market bonded with any silicone of that color.

The reason the tank is still leaking is because you applied the new silicone over the old one, you need to get rid of the old silicone first as silicone won't bond with silicone.

Eh quite a few tanks are bonded together with black sealent.

My 500 litre Clearseal is bonded with black sealent,as is my cystom built 360 litre tank and custom built sump tank too.So too are a good few Juwel tanks..


Tec 7 (grey,black,brown,white) is Aquariam safe and can be uses in wet/underwater applications for fixing a leak.

m4r10

paddy147 wrote: »

Sorry to burst your bubble,but quite a few tanks are bonded together with black sealent.

My 500 litre Clearseal is bonded with black sealent,as is my cystom built 400 litre tank too.

There's no bubble to burst mate, I just wanted to help the OP by telling him not to trust one person's opinion over the hundreds all over the fish forums, that's all. If you know something hundreds of other people don't know, why don't you share it with us?

paddy147 wrote: »

ITS NOT usable for a tank.

PS. Why don't you have the courage to stick to your original post and not modify it later on (as it can be seen above that spelling was not the reason of your edit)?

paddy147

m4r10 wrote: »

There's no bubble to burst mate, I just wanted to help the OP by telling him not to trust one person's opinion over the hundreds all over the fish forums, that's all. If you know something hundreds of other people don't know, why don't you share it with us?



PS. Why don't you have the courage to stick to your original post and not modify it later on (as it can be seen above that spelling was not the reason of your edit)?

Eh I am sticking to my point.....Trans 7 cant be used underwater in a tank.
Ive said that all along,if you bothered to correctly read the posts,which you clearly havent.


Trans 7 (clear colour) does not have the "fish logo" on its side...like the Tec 7 silicones do.It cant be used under water in a tank and is not aquariam safe.

Tec 7 (black,brown,grey,white) is aquariam safe and can be used underwater in aquariams for fixing leaks...it can also be used in ponds too.






Now you have come on here saying this that and the other.


I would suggest that maybe you do your homework and also might have a look at fish tanks,before telling us all that no fish tanks are sealed with black sealent.

Its been pointed out to you by 2 different members here now at this stage.







Oh and this post has been edited,just like my previous post was...due to a spelling correction...hense me posting "spelling" below.

Thats what I do when I correct a spelling error.

I also post "adding picture" if I decide to attach a picture to a post,after its been posted

m4r10

Getting defensive already, as per usual if there's anybody not agreeing with your post?

When I said you're editing your posts other than spelling mistakes, I meant just that, for proof look at what you left out from the post no. 27 and what I quoted ("Sorry to burst your bubble" etc.). As for the sealant' color, I was wrong about the black color and if it takes me typing this to make you shut up about this, here you go.

On the other hand, you still didn't tell us how you reached the conclusion that TEC7 is not safe for use in fish tanks that you make such bold statement. Unless you have proof to back you up, don't reply/quote to my post as I won't bother to answer back.

anniehoo

Ok, keep the replies civil folks please and thanks.