Let's talk about household items that can kill your tank!

[QuarantinedCorals]

Hi everyone, wanted to start this thread so everyone can chime in on household items that can potentially cause a huge wipeout. For example, burning candles or spraying aerosols near the tank can be deadly. What are some household items or practices you have heard of that can wipe out your entire tank? Please chime in and leave some insight based on your experiences.

 

[brandon429]

sprayaway glass cleaner/lady w blue gingham dress on label is acutely toxic dont even spray near the tank as wafting can get in, quick quick kills.

formula has changed in it for sure. for about two decades prior I'd spray the actual tank walls lol then wipe


and then quit using it years, resumed, this time merely sprayed in the vicinity of the tank onto a rag and all my freshwater fish instantly died, about 40 of them. mixed danios and platys and various fw, zapped by glass cleaner gingham lady.

 

[Tamberav]

Fumigation, even outside around the house. Lock it up tight. Also seen people have losses when painting.

I am sure all those fabreeze and bathroom sprays are not healthy for us either. I had a cat with asthma so never used them and still don't.

 

[QuarantinedCorals]

sprayaway glass cleaner/lady w blue gingham dress on label is acutely toxic dont even spray near the tank as wafting can get in, quick quick kills.

formula has changed in it for sure. for about two decades prior I'd spray the actual tank walls lol then wipe


and then quit using it years, resumed, this time merely sprayed in the vicinity of the tank onto a rag and all my freshwater fish instantly died, about 40 of them. mixed danios and platys and various fw, zapped by glass cleaner gingham lady.

Definitely have heard this one before, nothing works better than a spray bottle with some fresh water and a window wiper!

 

[QuarantinedCorals]

Fumigation, even outside around the house. Lock it up tight. Also seen people have losses when painting.

I am sure all those fabreeze and bathroom sprays are not healthy for us either. I had a cat with asthma so never used them and still don't.

Any experience with those wall plug ins??

 

[LRT]

Certain scented candles. My wife daughter starting burning one few weeks ago. Stunk the whole house up and within 10 minutes some of my shrooms where balled up ready to bail. Fish even started breathing rapidly and my skimmer lines are ran outside. Just the little bit of fumes that got sucked into my overflows and mixed with water greatly upset my tank. Almost instantly.
Don't burn scented candles. We are staying away from scented anything now.

 

[QuarantinedCorals]

Certain scented candles. My wife daughter starting burning one few weeks ago. Stunk the whole house up and within 10 minutes some of my shrooms where balled up ready to bail. Fish even started breathing rapidly and my skimmer lines are ran outside. Just the little bit of fumes that got sucked into my overflows and mixed with water greatly upset my tank. Almost instantly.
Don't burn scented candles. We are staying away from scented anything now.

Did you see any affect on your ph?

 

[LRT]

Did you see any affect on your ph?

I did not check and cant remember what day it was now. I'm using seneye to Guage ph at this point but going to see if I can look back far enough and see anything unusual

 

[tnw50cal]

sprayaway glass cleaner/lady w blue gingham dress on label is acutely toxic dont even spray near the tank as wafting can get in, quick quick kills.

formula has changed in it for sure. for about two decades prior I'd spray the actual tank walls lol then wipe


and then quit using it years, resumed, this time merely sprayed in the vicinity of the tank onto a rag and all my freshwater fish instantly died, about 40 of them. mixed danios and platys and various fw, zapped by glass cleaner gingham lady.

Oh no I've been using that to clean my aquarium glass for years(still using). Nothing has died yet, when will it start?

 

[Dolphins18]

Just about anything that says "antibacterial"

 

[Downfall]

I don't see this discussed enough, thank you OP for the thread topic. Tagging along.

 

[Tamberav]

Any experience with those wall plug ins??

Nope. Don’t use anything scented.

 

[DH78]

Certain scented candles. My wife daughter starting burning one few weeks ago. Stunk the whole house up and within 10 minutes some of my shrooms where balled up ready to bail. Fish even started breathing rapidly and my skimmer lines are ran outside. Just the little bit of fumes that got sucked into my overflows and mixed with water greatly upset my tank. Almost instantly.
Don't burn scented candles. We are staying away from scented anything now.

That would worry me too if it happened on my tank.
. However, my wife burns scented candles in the same room as the tank and has wax melters she uses sometimes and I have never seen an issue with the tank when she does this. We do avoid spraying any aerosols in the room. She even uses that arm and hammer scented carpet powder when she vacuums. Never noticed any effect on the tank.

 

[LRT]

That would worry me too if it happened on my tank.
. However, my wife burns scented candles in the same room as the tank and has wax melters she uses sometimes and I have never seen an issue with the tank when she does this. We do avoid spraying any aerosols in the room. She even uses that arm and hammer scented carpet powder when she vacuums. Never noticed any effect on the tank.

Same here. Up to this point its never been an issue in moderation. The specific type of candle she burned last time was the problem. I think its still sitting in bathroom ill try to get a pic of what type and report back. Its definitely not all of them.

 

[DH78]

Same here. Up to this point its never been an issue in moderation. The specific type of candle she burned last time was the problem. I think its still sitting in bathroom ill try to get a pic of what type and report back. Its definitely not all of them.

Just curious, how large is your tank? My tank is a 120. I wonder if we'd find the issue is more pronounced and noticeable for those with smaller/nano tanks.

 

[LRT]

Just curious, how large is your tank? My tank is a 120. I wonder if we'd find the issue is more pronounced and noticeable for those with smaller/nano tanks.

Total water volume between sump and tank around 100-120 gallons.

 

[Dolphins18]

Any experience with those wall plug ins??

I have had one in my living room a 30 gallon was just moved there so we will see. It had no noticeable affect on the large tanks.

 

[LRT]

I have had one in my living room a 30 gallon was just moved there so we will see. It had no noticeable affect on the large tanks.

Not sure which ones but wife has been using plug ins well before I set up saltwater tanks. No noticeable issues with her using them that I know of. Just that one scented candle in particular.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I use scented candles regularly... haven't had an issue. If you listen to everyone on here you'll live in a dirty house because you can't clean anything. Don't even dust because that could get in the tank and wipe out everything...

 

[LRT]

I use scented candles regularly... haven't had an issue. If you listen to everyone on here you'll live in a dirty house because you can't clean anything. Don't even dust because that could get in the tank and wipe out everything...

Hi sashimi thanks for the laugh you and my wife would be best friends. On a real note she is an obsessive clean freak and it drives me insane when she cleans fish room but I still love her for it haha. She does have a plug in almost every wall except fish room because I take it out every time haha. She did dust the ceiling fan just yesterday and got dust in my tank too haha
I'll try to get a pic of bad candle and post it here. It most def cause issues
Super heavy stinky soon as it was lit.