Pine-Sol poisoning??

[StephS]

My husband (not a reefer) used Pinesol to clean the wall behind my reef tank. Now my tang is acting very strangely, laying on it's side gasping, hiding behind the rockwork.

He covered the tank very well with plastic, but I'm concerned about the fumes of the cleaner.

Any toxicity I should worry about? Maybe stick the hang on filter on there full of fresh carbon? Water change? I'm getting worried! Any help is appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

It's possible that is what is happening. I also wonder if the oxygen level droped from covering the tank with plastic. If that's the case I guess the tang should improve soon. You can increase oxygen in the water by agitating the surface of the water with a powerhead or running a hang on filter.

If you think the tank is piosoned, I would, in order:
1. Do water change.
2. Add some carbon if you have it.
3. Add a polyfilter if you have it.

 

[Anonymous]

I concur - just make sure you don't exacerbate things by rushing the water change and not matching temp and salinity perfectly.

 

[StephS]

Thanks for the replies - this is the almost-end of a near disaster anyway, so I'm still freaking a bit. The timer under the tank caught on fire yesterday and burned up most of what was under my reef and went up the back wall. That's why the DH was cleaning...boy am I in trouble! What a mess.

Now I come home from work today to THIS!

 

[gee_lo]

your TIMER CAUGHT FIRE!!!

I'm sorry...are you talking about a lamp timer? Oh my...thats scary. Was it a Home Depot mechanical type...or a digital...or controller ? What a mess that must have been. Sorry to hear that.

How do you think it happened...faulty timer? Seems that a GFI would of helped if there was any kind of short circut or surge? Were you using one or a surge protector?

Angelo

 

[reefland]

If you happen to have some pictures if you wouldn't mind posting I would be interested to see what happened.

 

[StephS]

Here are the photos:

First, the actual site of the fire, but after my husband replaced the outlet and one of the cords.

next, you can see how far the flames went up the wall behind the tank (about 4 ft. - almost burned up two framed prints hanging above the tank, that's the outline you see):

Here's another shot of the wall, slightly offset, you can see the blistering of the drywall better:

And not to leave everything on a totally negative note, here's a shot of the tank

I'm bummed though because my bi-color pseudochromis is MIA, and my yellow tang died. Everything/one else seems ok. I'm running new carbon, did a partial water change last night, started some Polyfilter today. Now I'm just hoping the disaster is over, and I can finish cleaning and painting without any more casualties.

 

[brokekyle]

just a quick question.. did you have the cord in the traditional loop to prevent water from running into the outlet??

 

[StephS]

yes, but it would have made no difference. What I believe happened is this: I had an AquaClear filter positioned directly above the outlet with the timer with my lights plugged into it. I had put some live sand in a couple days before and made a mess of the water column. So I had some filter floss in the AquaClear on top of the carbon bag (which is all I usually have in there).

I believe the filter floss got clogged up, caused a backflow over the top of the filter and dripped down onto the timer and the outlet, causing a short, and then the fire.

The drip loops were below the timer and outlet! Believe me, I have a totally different setup as of today!

I know someone asked about the timer - well, I don't think it was the timer anymore, after I realized how soaked the carpeting was behind the tank. (t first I thought the moisture was because my husband threw water on the flaming timer/plugs/wiring after he got it out of the wall)

 

[danmhippo]

Wow, sorry about hearing the disaster, or near disaster anyway. I had similar mini fires as well long ago and it was due to water dripping down from the cord as well.

BTW, you can taste the moisture on the carpet to determin if it's salty or not.......... :mrgreen: (Best to have your hubby do it..........)

 

[reefland]

BTW, you can taste the moisture on the carpet to determin if it's salty or not..........

Hope they don't have a dog.

 

[StephS]

BTW, you can taste the moisture on the carpet to determin if it's salty or not.......... :mrgreen: (Best to have your hubby do it..........)

:roll: LOL, I already did the taste test myself, that's how I know it was SW--even around the the side of the tank, the carpet was salty. There was apparently quite a bit of tank water.

Anyway, he burned his hands pretty bad in a couple spots trying to put out the fire. The extinguisher lost it's charge, and I guess he panicked and finally started grabbing melting wires and pulling... I felt pretty rotten about it.

He's feeling bad now because my two favorite fish died, so we're just having a regular pity party around here I know it could've been MUCH worse.

 

[JohnD]

Steph,

The Postives:

1. At least your house didn't burn down.
2. The picture of the tank looks great.
3. You have learned a lesson about GFCI.

We have all lost critters. While it is not fun, learn from your mistakes and get some new ones.

Regards,

JohnD

 

[esmithiii]

3. You have learned a lesson about GFCI.

I hope you have learned your lesson about GFI's. Nothing electrical should be run near a tank without one. It would have probably kept the fire from happening.

Ernie

 

[Anonymous]

I had a similar experience a few weeks ago when a snail blocked by CPR BAKPAK skimmer return and the skimmer overflowed onto the floor and down the back of my tank onto a wavemaker power strip. Thank god that the other power strip's circuit breaker tripped.

That day I went out to HD and got GFCI's for ALL of my tank outlets.

Still nervous now seeing sparks flying, but I guess that is what insurance is hopefully for.
_________________
us economy recession

 

[StephS]

I hope you have learned your lesson about GFI's. Nothing electrical should be run near a tank without one. It would have probably kept the fire from happening.Ernie

I should say so! Well, after keeping aquariums since I was 12 (that's about 30 yrs.) and never having anything like this happen, I guess you could say my luck ran out! Amazing how you can get a false sense of security...but not anymore. If nothing else maybe this thread will serve as a warning to others. ("If you can't be a good example, at least serve as a terrible warning")

 

[esmithiii]

StephS: I hope things improve in your tank. The last picture looked great! I hope it recovers with no more loss.

Ernie

 

[Osama]

Sorry to hear about the accidental fire. Another thought for all of us hobbiest. If we need to add an outlet for our tanks It would be best to keep such an outlet above the tank whenever possible. I still put a GFI

 

[StephS]

Thanks for all the replies and well wishes. All seems to be going smoothly now, no more losses. I guess I get to go fish shopping again soon

A few days older, a WHOLE LOT wiser!