Give Me One Reason Why I Should Stay With Fish One

[a1wonder]

I'm so upset right now,
For the past four weeks I've been building a tank, buying supplies, doing custom decorations, tonight after a week of testing the tank for leaks.
I fill it up slowly... everything is fine... ok everything is in now... so I add some decloranator and wam everything falls apart. My basement is flooded there is glass everywhere.

Do you have any idea how much it cost to build a real nice custom tank from scratch
I've put so much work into it. There was under the sand LED lighting, handing picked granet stones which are really hard to come by here.

I've never been so depressed in my life.

If my parents found out how much money I put into the tank they would kill me.

The basement floor is covered with sand and water just covered

I'm looking at the 10 gal and thinking maybe that I should just drop the entire thing and give everything to the pet store for free.

I so serious.

It's only a matter of time I figure before I kill all of the fish in my care.

Hell I've had a molly now I've been treating for fin rot for two weeks now.

 

[juliethegr8t]

Oh gosh, that's awful. It can happen though, we all have our bad runs of luck. I know I do... too often! I have fish start dying left and right and want to quit. I would say you should stick with it because of the end result. You will end up with a lovely tank sometime. The benefits from a happy healthy tank full of beautiful fish is worth more than money to me.

 

[a1wonder]

Yeah but it's 500 dollars that I've been saving up for a long long time
I'm in university and a student.
Money isn't the only thing I think I've just ruined the basement

 

[Ahmad]

Oh A1 Wonder

I Am So sorry!!!

But we all have Our bad moments...thats what make us better fish keepers and better people.!

Infact I have a story to tell you. A couple of years ago.....I bought 2 100g aquariums along side with gravel, filters live plants and everything for 2 100g tanks to look amazing including stands (ALOT OF MONEY). I put them side by side so it gives the look of a aquarium wall you know? lol.....Ok so I finnaly finshed. They look amazing after 2 months of cycling and preparing the tank for the fish. The big day came the fish went in and the tank was completed. It Lasted 2 weeks then went straight to hell lol.


I was At work (This is 2 weeks after I finshed with the tanks) and My wife called my cell Phone and said Hunny your tanks are LEAKING!!!! I was in a panic I drove home as fast as I can. I opened the door and heard a bug CRASH of glass filters and decor hit the CARPET floor the stands where ruined aswell.

I spent more than 3 thousand dollars on the tanks and everything to do with them and it lasted me 2 weeks and Had to clean a 200 gallon spill on our carpet floor.....It was Hell for me and my wife. The fish died and the tanks gone. We Had to remove the carpet and get tile flooring because the carpet was destroyed.!!


Well I Thought I would never go into fish keeping agian...I infact hated it and did not want anything to do with it. But you know..Once a fishkeeper always a fish keeper. So I decided to give my passion of fish keeping one more chance. Over the years I now Have 5 55g tanks and a 100g and a 125g. And it was not easy. But I am glad that I went threw that horrible experience..because it helped me be a better person...be wiser...and be a better fishkeeper than I was before.

So I hope this helped...Becuase I know what your going threw, bealive me time goes on and soon you will look back at it and laugh.!

 

[a1wonder]

That helped a bit actually so did feeding my 10 gals occupents

 

[Ahmad]

I am Glad I helped.

I am Sure everything will turn out ok....Nothing stays bad forever.

 

[Phantom Thief]

Dont worry a1wonder.

I'll tell you something else. A while ago, i fully stocked my tank. there were about 13 cardinals, 5 cories, 4 dwarf gouramis, 4 guppies, 3 zebra danios and i think about 7 glow lights. Now, within a space of 2 weeks, everything except 4 cardinals, 5 glowlights, 1 guppy and the danios survived. At least 1 fish died per night. I nearly gave up myself. Now i have restocked, and am happy as can be. Keep strong man, keep strong.


P.T.

ps: Ahmad, how did the tanks break? were they of cheap quality or something?

 

[Ahmad]

Phantom Theif...


They where great quality Most of my friends had the same tanks that I had. I ordered them online.

They where damaged during shipping (Yeah My luck Both of them where) and the tank could only hold that amount of pressure with crack at the bottom and side of the tank. The wierd thing is I saw these scratches but they where so small and did not asume anything would happen ...It was that or while I was handleing them I broke something without paying attention..and I filled up the tank and BAM But I was so extremely careful!!!!...so I really doubt it. but..

Whatever the reason it happend and theres nothing I can do now.

 

[a1wonder]

small things that looked like scratchs eh? I've ever thought of it before but I had similar things on my glass. At least in the futar I'll know what to look for.

Question to all? Does anyone know of a products that will remove silcon from a surface?

 

[Opcn]

I have a glass shop right up the streat from me and was going to custum build a 55 gallon but was afraid of what happened to you happening to me. I personally dont trust my silicone skills but I'm on the second floor I'm sure you didnt wreck the basement mabey a little carpet and some pad but most people don't run wires throught the basement floor or anything other than pipes basements are by there nature wet and I'm sure yours will recover infact I'll bet all that is unsalvagable is the glass and siliconeplastic components such as filters and hoods can useually handle a tumble or two with out loseing any more than a gasket or seal and the sand can be sifted throught some bug screen. I refuse to beleve that you maqnaged to ruin some blocks of granite I just dont think thats possible not if the floor was nything other than concrete or stone block and if the floor was a hard substance like that getting it wet in the summer isn't going to dammage it. 500 CDN is about 350 USD right?

How big was it? If you want you can rebuild with 2 cm marine plywood for about 45 CDN a sheet (.90MX1.80M) painted with OIL (enfasis on the OIL) paints designed for marine use (LATEX either poisons or rots and ACRILIC outgassess for years and years) and then one sheet of either glass or plexiglass attached firmly to the front I'll look for a link If your interested in trying or if anyone else wants me to. I think it has something to do with GARF.

Look at the bright side of life you did enjoy building it didnt you.

 

[a1wonder]

I'm sure you didnt wreck the basement mabey a little carpet and some pad I refuse to beleve that you maqnaged to ruin some blocks of granite

I'll give you a bit of a run down on my basement, it's build on solid concert with a roll of barber carpet on top. The tank was a nice 33 gal (thick glass) tank There were glass layers, bubble columns everything though done with glass. I work with a lot of glass and have made several tanks in the past None of them have sprung a leak. I managed to get a steal shop to make me a rimmer for the bottom and top. The garnet which I was referring to was beautiful natural slabs. I spent the last four weekends hiking in the brush in the White Shell (Canada) lucky grabbing a slab each trip. They were about 8 inches longs (the smallest) and about one to two inches thick. One the front of the glass came off the layered platform that I had created landed up on the floor and smashed (with the exception of one piece). Imagine if you will plates, this was a very similar sight with my garnet. There was at least 500 dollars Canada in this tank. What I can’t figure is where I went wrong? Everything was added so carefully and tested for a great length of time is just doesn’t make any sense.

 

[jeffrey]

not to sound like a dick, but how old are you?
you said you were in university.

Yet, your english lacks. I know we all make mistakes, and dont always proofread, but your writing reminds me of middleschool, or maybe just a different first language.

Sorry if I seem like an a hole, not meaning to.

Anyways, 500 in, all I can see being needed to "get back up" is a tank, maybe some rocks. so what ~120 bucks.

And I dont know about you, but I LOVE going for a hike, and dont even need a reason to.


You say you work with lots of glass, then you should know, that #### happens, and with a tank the first fill should be made somewhere that a blowout wont matter more hten having to pick up the glass.

You have make sure everything is level too.


at least it was only 500 bucks.
I paid 5000 for a repant of my car only to have a truck run a red and write it off not two weeks after. and insurance doesnt increase the cars value for maintence items replaced.