Water Water EVERYWHERE

[SNap0283]

I did it.....

Just finished refilling my tanks and put the hose into my ageing container connected the hose to the sink and turned it on. Then I went to decide what was for dinner. Figured id go for some Popeye's just a 15 minute trip away. I threw some laundry in and hit the road. Got back about 45 minutes later and oops.......... ~100 gallons of water on the floor. Not the first time ive spilled some water and im sure it wont be the last, but it is by far the most!!

Anyone else have any nightmare experiences?? I know most of you must lets share the horror!

[Jack L]

Long time ago due to leak.
What was the flooring you soaked?

[Akili]

I did it.....

Just finished refilling my tanks and put the hose into my ageing container connected the hose to the sink and turned it on. Then I went to decide what was for dinner. Figured id go for some Popeye's just a 15 minute trip away. I threw some laundry in and hit the road. Got back about 45 minutes later and oops.......... ~100 gallons of water on the floor. Not the first time ive spilled some water and im sure it wont be the last, but it is by far the most!!

Anyone else have any nightmare experiences?? I know most of you must lets share the horror! A Wet Dry Vacuum comes in handy in times like this.

[rickztahone]

I once tipped over a 55g barrel full of water in my living room when one of the casters broke under pressure. I was living with my mother then. Lets just say she wasnt very happy....

[Filip]

OP ,did this happend in your living room?
I live on a 3 rd flor in a building and this would be more than a nightmare if it hapened to me .
Luckily it never did , at least not more than a couple of gallons. :)

[SNap0283]

I live in a one level that's on a concrete pad so its not a HUGE problem. Had the Wet-Dry handy and vacuumed the night away. The carpet will smell until its totally dried, thankfully its winter so the air is very dry and itll dry up quick.

[DJW]

I have an old Victorian house with floors that aren't perfectly level. After a flood I told my wife it would be the last time this happened. I found the lowest point in the "fishroom" and drilled a big hole in the floor for a drain.

[rickztahone]

I have an old Victorian house with floors that aren't perfectly level. After a flood I told my wife it would be the last time this happened. I found the lowest point in the "fishroom" and drilled a big hole in the floor for a drain.

My goal is to eventually build a fish room with pond liner and a huge drain hole at the lowest point as well, just in case, lol.

[MKD]

I miss count. I'm trying to finish 1 thing at the time.

[Kyla]

this was the first and the last time i answered the door while refilling a tank ;)

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/kylasfish/Mobile%20Uploads/4777458F-FF7B-401F-8D1D-2141C845D0FE_zps2lzbbxaq.jpg (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/kylasfish/media/Mobile%20Uploads/4777458F-FF7B-401F-8D1D-2141C845D0FE_zps2lzbbxaq.jpg.html)

[Kyla]

this was the first and the last time i answered the door while refilling a tank ;)

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/kylasfish/Mobile%20Uploads/4777458F-FF7B-401F-8D1D-2141C845D0FE_zps2lzbbxaq.jpg (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/kylasfish/media/Mobile%20Uploads/4777458F-FF7B-401F-8D1D-2141C845D0FE_zps2lzbbxaq.jpg.html)

this also made me very thankful i mounted all my powerbars OFF the floor... they would have been under water!!

[gunnerschh2]

I had to move a 125 salt water tank & it covered a door way to kitchen. Thought it would be a good idea to put a diatom filter on kitchen chair in kitchen with a 5 month german shepherd & when i got home the tank was half empty. Had to mop celler floor & did not notice water had gone into dryer till i used it.Nice sparks & lost half the fish when i filled it. I forgave the dog. HARRY

[SomeFin's Fishy]

After flooding our finished basement for the third time (doing water changes as well) my wife said she didn't care what we did, but the fish had to be out of the house!!! So, taking her advice, we built a new dedicated fish room addition to our garage. I wonder if she'll ever figure out it wasn't an accident.............

[Phillydubs]

God, where do I even begin... Shall I go top 3? Haha...

1) When I was still living in manhattan, I had a 72 bow front with a 35 gallon sump under it, apparently the sump had a small leak and was slowly dripping water onto and under the hardwood floors, I didn't notice until the floors started to bubble and were so warped, it was like a wooden trampoline! Thankfully I had a big fight with management and ended up getting a bunch of $ back as well as having no questions asked about the floor when I moved out! Lol...

2) Once I moved out of that apt. I was renovating my house and my brother in law was nice enough to let me house my tanks by him as we finished the house... That is until the 55 let go in his kitchen/dining room and I got a call after we all got back from a concert around 3 am that his floor was soaked and the discus were on their sides in a few inches of water. Thankfully we saved all the fish! Also his kitchen was tile and on the first floor so no terrible damage just a lot of clean up...

3) Most recently, actually a few weeks ago now... My current tank is in my office. I fill a brute garbage can to age my water in our conference room. One morning, I decided to fill the can and usually I wait in there or make calls in there to avoid any issue. This day I was called out for something, one thing led to another and I forgot all about the water filling. Until I got a page over the loud speaker "Phil, your waterfall is flooding the conference room" Oh s*%$... I ran in to see the can spilling water all over the place... Lets just say, that conference room floor has never been so clean!!! Lol...

[HappyFace]

I did it.....

Just finished refilling my tanks and put the hose into my ageing container connected the hose to the sink and turned it on. Then I went to decide what was for dinner. Figured id go for some Popeye's just a 15 minute trip away. I threw some laundry in and hit the road. Got back about 45 minutes later and oops.......... ~100 gallons of water on the floor. Not the first time ive spilled some water and im sure it wont be the last, but it is by far the most!!

Anyone else have any nightmare experiences?? I know most of you must lets share the horror!

I have had this experience many times. I work from home and have constant distractions and used to flood my storage tanks atleast once or twice a month. I also had a HOB filter literally burst spraying water everywhere.

The worst flood I had was in the middle of the night. It was 230am, about an hour before I get up to make my husbands breakfast and lunch for work. I bolted upright in bed and looked at our 200g tank in our bedroom. It was unnaturally quiet. I always have a tank nightlight on and the door to the stand off so I can see the sump water levels since we have a drip/drain setup and there is always a slight chance of flood with how we set it up. I couldn't see the water level in the sump. I got off the bed, went over, put my hand in and it connected immediately with water. I swallowed my heart at that moment. About a week prior my husband's threated that if we ever have a flood again, the tank goes. Half of the room was flooded. The toilet float that is supposed to stop the steady stream of fresh water coming in once it reaches 15 inches had failed. I literally crawled out of the room got as many blankets as I could, crawled back in and dried up all the water before he woke up, lol. We haven't had a flood since then. I changed our drip drain setup after that.

[HappyFace]

this was the first and the last time i answered the door while refilling a tank ;)

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/kylasfish/Mobile%20Uploads/4777458F-FF7B-401F-8D1D-2141C845D0FE_zps2lzbbxaq.jpg (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/kylasfish/media/Mobile%20Uploads/4777458F-FF7B-401F-8D1D-2141C845D0FE_zps2lzbbxaq.jpg.html)

OMG we really need a like button.

[rickztahone]

After flooding our finished basement for the third time (doing water changes as well) my wife said she didn't care what we did, but the fish had to be out of the house!!! So, taking her advice, we built a new dedicated fish room addition to our garage. I wonder if she'll ever figure out it wasn't an accident.............


God, where do I even begin... Shall I go top 3? Haha...

1) When I was still living in manhattan, I had a 72 bow front with a 35 gallon sump under it, apparently the sump had a small leak and was slowly dripping water onto and under the hardwood floors, I didn't notice until the floors started to bubble and were so warped, it was like a wooden trampoline! Thankfully I had a big fight with management and ended up getting a bunch of $ back as well as having no questions asked about the floor when I moved out! Lol...

2) Once I moved out of that apt. I was renovating my house and my brother in law was nice enough to let me house my tanks by him as we finished the house... That is until the 55 let go in his kitchen/dining room and I got a call after we all got back from a concert around 3 am that his floor was soaked and the discus were on their sides in a few inches of water. Thankfully we saved all the fish! Also his kitchen was tile and on the first floor so no terrible damage just a lot of clean up...

3) Most recently, actually a few weeks ago now... My current tank is in my office. I fill a brute garbage can to age my water in our conference room. One morning, I decided to fill the can and usually I wait in there or make calls in there to avoid any issue. This day I was called out for something, one thing led to another and I forgot all about the water filling. Until I got a page over the loud speaker "Phil, your waterfall is flooding the conference room" Oh s*%$... I ran in to see the can spilling water all over the place... Lets just say, that conference room floor has never been so clean!!! Lol...

Both stories just made me :laugh:

[Mgus]

I run my garden hose through a window to fill my aging barrel. One day a through the hose in threw a couple sticks for my dog to chase after then walk inside to a raging river coming out of the bathroom where I keep my barrel. I missed the barrel with the hose and it was pouring right on the floor. Luckily my tanks are in the basement. Wet dry vac and a few rolls of paper towels and all was good.

[ericNH]

HAhahaha this thread is hysterical - and a special shout-out to Kyla for including the pic - that says it all!! Thanks for the chuckles. I only laugh becuase I've done it myself, and it makes me feel better knowing I'm not alone in it. My brother came to visit about a year ago, and we were making merry, and I showed him my whole tank-change regimen and we went upstairs for snacks while refilling the aging barrel.........y'all know how the rest of it goes :)

My nephew was with us too, and just old enough to know how stupid the whole incident was :) It's very humbling to see that "what a dumb-*** maneuver" look on a teenager's face while you're on your hands and knees with towells and buckets trying to sop it all up.

[Jack L]

I live in a one level that's on a concrete pad so its not a HUGE problem. Had the Wet-Dry handy and vacuumed the night away. The carpet will smell until its totally dried, thankfully its winter so the air is very dry and itll dry up quick.

if it gets stinky, try natures micracle

[Jack L]

I have an old Victorian house with floors that aren't perfectly level. After a flood I told my wife it would be the last time this happened. I found the lowest point in the "fishroom" and drilled a big hole in the floor for a drain.

drain to where?

[Jack L]

this also made me very thankful i mounted all my powerbars OFF the floor... they would have been under water!!

TFS...but DANG, that is a mess

[Jack L]

I run my garden hose through a window to fill my aging barrel. One day a through the hose in threw a couple sticks for my dog to chase after then walk inside to a raging river coming out of the bathroom where I keep my barrel. I missed the barrel with the hose and it was pouring right on the floor. Luckily my tanks are in the basement. Wet dry vac and a few rolls of paper towels and all was good.

okay, this thread has now made me paranoid!!!!

i drain water out a window with the window shut slightly on the hose, now ya'll have me brainstorming how to add and attachment to end of hose to keep it from slipping back into house.

[DJW]

drain to where?

It goes into an ABS pipe to the side of the house, with a trap. If I feel wind coming through the hole I pour a little water in it.

I need to have another flood so I can have the satisfaction of watching it work.

[Jack L]

It goes into an ABS pipe to the side of the house, with a trap. If I feel wind coming through the hole I pour a little water in it.

I need to have another flood so I can have the satisfaction of watching it work.

or not...that CAN"T be good on the floor, i assume its old oak.

[MD.David]

Replumbing my fish room currently, for the very reason I'm tired of over flowing tanks.
I left my filler valve open on a 55 gallon drum, (this was before I had an auto fill valve).
This tank would fill in 20 mins.
I left the vale open for 7 hrs, do the math but I think I poured alot of water on the floor.
I found out that my basement will hold about 2inches of water till the water finds a floor drain.
My energy bill was $608 that month.
Using water in the winter time is more expensive here.
*I know it sounds funny but our energy provider is crazy.

[ericNH]

alright, let's make the math easy, and estimate 50 gallons in a half hour. This is conservative. So 7 hours would mean about 700 gallons. Minus the 50 gallon barrel you filled you have about 650 gallons overflow!!!. Holy Canoli!!

[Boyd Luth]

More than once, I have been filling , and became somehow distracted, lol. I just completed ripping up my wood stick on flooring to bare concrete slab, painted it with slip proof paint due to water leaks, and overflows :-)

[drondy]

Looks like we have all been in this position at some point. I use a marine garden style hose from my faucet directly to my tank to fill it up. The hose is loosely propped over the side of the tank. Turn the water on and the hose flops out of the tank. The best way to deal with this is to set the light hood on top of the hose allowing the weight to hold the hose in. There has to be a better way!!! Is the a hose holder that people can use to help with this job? Thanks, Dean

[DJW]

Looks like we have all been in this position at some point. I use a marine garden style hose from my faucet directly to my tank to fill it up. The hose is loosely propped over the side of the tank. Turn the water on and the hose flops out of the tank. The best way to deal with this is to set the light hood on top of the hose allowing the weight to hold the hose in. There has to be a better way!!! Is the a hose holder that people can use to help with this job? Thanks, Dean

Plastic clamps. You can find them at any hardware store.

93754

[rickztahone]

Plastic clamps. You can find them at any hardware store.

93754

Yes, that is what I use. I clamp the hose inside of the tank to where the whole clamp can't kick out even if it tried.

Edit: Googled "Clamp Hose Holder" and found this:
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSQNrqCFbztsEfqUmCMMGmmKZZ56UzqY qk1vwDYxK-qVM2Bb49v4g

93758

[Jack L]

Replumbing my fish room currently, for the very reason I'm tired of over flowing tanks.
I left my filler valve open on a 55 gallon drum, (this was before I had an auto fill valve).
This tank would fill in 20 mins.
I left the vale open for 7 hrs, do the math but I think I poured alot of water on the floor.
I found out that my basement will hold about 2inches of water till the water finds a floor drain.
My energy bill was $608 that month.
Using water in the winter time is more expensive here.
*I know it sounds funny but our energy provider is crazy.

where is "here"

[Cosmo]

My 180gal tank is on the second floor - I pump my water change water up from the basement via tubing between the walls. I control the pump in the basement via a switch inside the cabinet under the tank with the wiring also running through the walls.

One day the wife and I were going grocery shopping, and I thought I'd turn on the mechanical filter while we were gone, so I opened the cabinet, lifted the switch cover and threw the switch - then - proceeded to go shopping. Got home over ah hour later and walked into the house to find it raining in the first floor dining room :antlers: Half of one wall had "melted" by the onslaught of the water and the ceiling was a mess. THEN IT HIT ME, the mechanical filter switch did not have a safety cover - that was the switch that activated the pump in the basement!! I ran upstairs and turned off the pump. I went down into the basement and determined roughly 120 gallons had overflowed the tank

I went back upstairs and found her in shock - I thought I was a deadman, but all she said was "can you fix it"? I said yes and she said "ok" and that was the end of it. Took a couple months for the walls etc to dry then I rebuilt them good as new (thank god)

The next day I called Jehmco and ordered and auto off system that uses a tiny float connected to the pump switch through a small circuit board that kills the electricity once the float goes up. Keep the float shaft clean and it works like a charm every time. That was at least 10 years ago and the switch still works great - MORE than worth the price I paid Jehmco for the system!

[Mustanggtandgsxr]

Did it these last two days in a row! On carpe...forgot about the water watching the discus eat.