It's never good when your fish lay at the bottom of the fish tank.
It means there's something seriously wrong with your water.
And considering this particular tank was our display tank at work....
Having sick fish in that tank wasn't really a good thing. It doesn't do good for selling fish....
So I did a water test, trying to figure out what was wrong.
And ended up changing the water about 50% of it to try and get ammonia and nitrate levels down.
-Which was a trial and a half because the hose to take water out and put water into the tank wasn't staying hooked up to the sink and spraying water everywhere.
In any case.
In the middle of the water change, I noticed that the outtake nozzle that should be putting fresh water into the tank from the canister filter below....wasn't doing it's job.
No water was coming out...which meant somewhere....something either wasn't working or was blocked....
I couldn't see to the problem right away.
But when I had a spare moment.
I decided to look at the canister filter underneath.
Because I had this thought in my mind.
Brought into life from the other day when the head manager was complaining about gunk build up on the outtake baskets in our wall of fish, that maybe the canister filter was all gunked up.
After all....
I didn't know when or if it had ever been changed.
-One of the other managers said the last time he'd changed it was like six months ago.....though I believe it's been longer....
In either case.....it's not good to never change a filter....
As those things should be changed monthly or every other month at least to make sure the water stays clean and healthy and such.
But I didn't know all that needed to be done with a canister filter.
I mean, I'd told people how to take care of them. How to set them up.
But actually take one apart and clean it and put it back together?
Ha. I don't think I've ever done that.
Well.
I was about to learn.
Because those goldfish were suffering, and I wasn't going to let another moment pass.
The first trial was figuring out how to get the contraption apart.
Because it wasn't easy for sure!
And then, when I finally popped the lid off.
I realized I'd made a huge mistake.
As for some reason, I hadn't connected "Canister Filter" to being "Filled with Water" to "Still Pumping water" to "Needs to be unplugged."
Yah....
The canister filter was still plugged in and doing its best to work when I pulled that lid off.
Which meant the tube that sucked in water from the tank....yah still working.
Which meant. WHooosh!!
Water started spilling out everywhere like a fountain piece in the middle of the garden.
And I had no idea what I'd done to get the lid off in the first place!
Let alone put it back on. ()_()
So there I was, water spilling everywhere as I struggled to get the lid back on, and was failing miserably.
I tried pulling it out better for a better angle, but the tubing was too short.
So I couldn't get it out far enough to get a good grip on it.
And I was panicking cus the water was going everywhere. Dirty, brown sludgy water. Going everywhere.
Including....
Into the Electrical sockets (that mutli socket strip that allows us to have a hundred things plugged in at once)
:S Not.
Good.
If the fountain I'd created kept splashing enough water that way.
something was going to short out.
I might cause an explosion. A fire. Who knew what else.
Because water and electricity.
Yah. Don't mix.
So with one hand trying to hold the lid on, I reached out with the other to flick the red switch to turn off the strip.
I didn't make it.
My hand seemed to barely touch that red button.
When I felt a zap go up my arm.
Owww!!
A zap I'd felt before, months earlier, when I'd been feeding the gravel vacuum back into the back room to put it away, and it's wet tube -still leaking some water- brushed the electric light above the fish tank and my hand came into contact, giving me that same sort of zizzt zap feeling.
Crap.
Electricity.
The water was conducting the electricity so I couldn't touch the switch with my hand!
What to do what to do?!
I couldn't reach the socket that held the plug to the strip. It was behind the fish tank.
The floor covered in water!
I took a step back.
Grabbed the bucket part of the canister filter and pulled the lid off.
Hoping that would stop the flow of water.
It stopped it from being a fountain.
Which was good as that meant water wasn't splashing everywhere.
Even if it was still seeping from that hose drawing water from the tank. :( Figures that the pump part drawing the water would be in the LID and not the Bucket. *sighs*
-I didn't notice it right away.
but when I did, I reached into the tank and grabbed the intake hose and pulled it from the tank so it couldn't suck in any more water.
Then again tried to shut off the electricity.
I couldn't touch it with my bare hands. So I grabbed my box cutter from my pocket, and holding the plastic side, went to put the metal side to the switch.
Not sure, if it was the metal touching the switch, or if I touched/brushed something else, maybe it was the water itself.
But Zapp!
Another jolt went up my arm.
-Which isn't a pleasant feeling let me tell you.
I took a step back.
Looked around for help.
Wasn't going to get any.
And so tried again. As if the water was now going to hold a current.... :S There were customers in the store. They could get hurt if they accidentally walked through the growing lake in front of the tank.
Either by getting zapped themselves, or slipping and hurting themselves cus the floor was wet.
So I flipped the box cutter.
Holding it still by the plastic.
and carefully insuring my other hand wasn't touching anything conductive.
I leaned in, and pressed the end of the plastic handle against the red switch.
And finally.
Finally!
It turned off.
Yah!
No fireworks.
No electricity.
No more flowing water!
Getting the help of the janitor, we mopped up the water.
before I turned my attention to the canister filter.
()_() That thing was filthy!
Like a half an inch thick coating of brown sludge covered everything.
Eww!!!
So I took it all apart.
Tossed most of the old stuff within it out and pulled brand new product off the shelf to replace it.
And got it all clear and clean again.
Putting it together again was a little bit of trial and error.
But finally I got it all together.
Hooked it back up.
Made sure the strip was dry and cautiously.
flipped the switch.
The filter turned on! Making a grumbling noise.
OH.
Right.
Water.
Gotta fill it up with water!
So I took it apart and did that....
And.....the filter turned on and worked!
But....
:(
It wasn't flowing water into the tank!!
So I took it apart again.
Got head manager in to help me figure it out.
And after a miracle and lots of moving things around.
We got it to work!
So the filter is all clean and the water is flowing like a geyser in the tank and all the goldfish are happy!!!
Yay!!! ^^
.....
But.....
My arm has been aching since that point.
The tip of my ring finger where I'd first attempted to turn off the strip feeling kinda tingly.
And my arm, all the way up to my elbow.
Has been aching off and on.
Like I'd worked it out like crazy.
Yah...apparently the result of being shocked.
Hopefully it doesn't last long.....
But now I know better.
When messing with the canister filter.
TURN IT OFF FIRST!
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
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