Disaster and a dream come true all in 3 days....

Yes.... What I think is everyone's worse nightmare happened..

Wednesday evening we get home from work and Cesar's 2.2m which we bought a few months ago had popped a seam at the bottom....

Tank was half empty... power had tripped and the fish fighting for their lives...

Arowana (55cm) and flagtail were battling but the ones in better shape as they do breath some air from the surface...

The geophagus were all laying flat at bottom literraly on their way out, the clowns all in a corner battling for their life, etc...
I can not explain how we felt... there are just no words....
We quickly connected as many airstones as we could in the tank and placed them directly under the dying fish and slowly they started looking a bit better but some were not good at all..
Thank God I have loads of 25l buckets and some big containers and MTS... and big sumps... and some spare air pumps...

Quickly drained water into buckets and containers and started moving fish across, tried to put my oscars with grumpy so arowana could have their tank as there is no way she could survive in a container, but that was no go as all hell broke loose...so... they went into the sump and arowana went into their tank...
By 12pm the fish were all moved and..... ALL SAFE!!!! I still cant believe they all pulled through.....
If we had been 30 min latter I think we would have lost most of the fish...

Thursday Cesar ran out in the morning and we had to buy another 2.2m for now as his 3.3 doesnt fit in the cottage and by 12pm thursday night everyone was back in their homes...

I dont wish this upon anyone but to all the newbies out there... dont ever think it cant happen to you... and make sure you always have the necessary at home to cope with something like this..... it can be heartbreaking if you dont....

Pics... no... no pictures.... only tears and panic... there was no time to think of pictures...

Amongst ALL the chaos..... Cesar received a call saying my lifelong dream and what he has been hunting high and low for for me and someone promised him nearly 2 years ago was landing that morning..... But.... will start a thread on that...

We have now taken the tank in for repairs and I am having the overflow box built in, as well as, a 1.2m sump done for it.....

How much more can happen in 48 hours??????????????

 

Sounds very chaotic! But glad all the fishies are ok!

 

Hectic stuff! Must have tripped soon after you left for work for the fish to have been so far gone by evening. Imagine if this would have happened in a couple of months with warmer weather and water... Doubt the fish would have made it then... Lucky!

 

im glad all the fishies are ok. could have ended up much worse then what it did.
you have me very curious about the life long dream thing now:tongue:

 

So sorry to hear this Maria, it happened to me before and I didn't have spare unused tanks to use.
Good luck, I hope you get the tank back soon

 

Thanks everyone for the good wishes... I didnt say anything all weekend as we just watched and prayed they would all be ok... By last night everyone was eating so I am sure all is over... hopefully...
The only one not eating yet is the Arowana but we are used to that.... When we moved her to the new tank last time it took over a week before she ate again
She looks perfectly fine.... but she sulks if things are not to her liking....
@Broder, yes... I think it must have happened much earlier in the day and they had been without powere for quite a while.
Also they all quite big fish which also depletes oxygen much quicker

My first tank has a Resun AC/DC air pump which I had bought for loadshedding days so the minute the power goes, it kicks in and works a good 8 hours
After MTS set in and loadshedding was for hours on end we invested in a small generator and I didnt get one of the Resun pumps for each tank which would have helped but I guess its one of those things....
At least they all ok... cant say the same about my nerves!!!! Still in after shock... if I hearnoise in the tanks I jump!!!

@Linxie.. Thanks... They said about 3 weeks on the tank for the repairs and add the sump intake while they at it but I also want it to cure properly and not rush.
We had to buy another one as there was no way fish could sit in containers and sumps that long..
Meantime, if all goes according to plan, the aim is to set it up the longweekend at the end of September with my new unexpected kids.... they in quarintine for now..
Will take some pics tonight and post

 

Yeah, rather safe than sorry

 

Wow, what an experience @MariaS. Glad all is well now

 

I believe that tonight is now last night!?

 

Thanks.... They all looked ok last night, just saw 2 of the Geos had a white spot each on them so I added some salt before it gets worse

Aro is still not eating... still sulking... She will probably only start eating by the weekend

Yes @Broder... haha last night....
Will satisfy your curiosity shortly