Effect of Spraying Insecticide

[curator]

The house in which I live is going to be sprayed for bugs; fortunately I will be away, but need to know precautions I need to take for my tank.

Thanks,

John

 

[theplatypus]

I would cover it with plastic.

 

[curator]

I figured some type of cover would be in order. I'm going to get the name of the chemical they are going to use so I can get a better sense of it's toxicity and for how long I need cover the tank.

 

[theplatypus]

You probably want to leave the lights off while it's covered.

 

[soarin']

I would also run fresh activated carbon in the tank while the spraying is going on -- it would help absorb any insecticide that gets in.

 

[curator]

Yikes...that's pretty scary! I never would have thought Lysol spray would have been that toxic unless landing directly on the water. I will seal.

 

[markl]

cant hurt to cover it. ive been spraying my house for 5 years and never covered or had a problem. i dont spray from about 5 foot on each side of tank.

 

[tomphot]

I've got a hardwood floor project coming up that I'm really worried about with all the dust etc.
What a pain.

 

[fraggel rock]

I work for arrow and I can tell you that there is no pesticide that I would condone using around birds or fish. DONT SPRAY THAT ROOM.

 

[mvm]

A skimmer work by pulling air and injecting it into the water, in turn pulling the toxins out of the air and putting them in your tank. Cover and turn off the skimmer for a day and you should be OK. The biggest problem with this is the loss of o2 exchange.

 

[blind1993]

be sure to have some way of getting o2 in the tank.

 

[mvm]

blind1993;223677 wrote: be sure to have some way of getting o2 in the tank.

Thanks Blind.
I would turn off the sump pump and skimmer, cover, and only leave a powerhead running while they spray. Then, wait a few hours, uncover the tank, and start up the sump pump. I would leave the skimmer off for 24 hrs.

 

[skriz]

The only safe way I see of doing this would be to completely seal off the tank. Shut down the skimmer, return pumps etc. and just have a circulation pump going to provide air exchage. Then, I would introduce an air vent from the outside (which is filtered via mechanical filtration and carbon) to the tank.

If anyof the spray gets into the tank, you'll lose.

Good luck.

 

[theplatypus]

If I remember correctly it's a Biocube, so there is no skimmer or sump to be concerned about.

 

[markl]

i spray once a month and never had a problem. it wouldnt hurt to cover tank and shutting down pumps for a few minutes but thats about it.my last tank was an open top solana and never had issues.also had open top 90 gallon for 3 years. the spray doesnt really just go up in the ai.r mine is directed at the floor where the wall meets. if you were bomboing your house that may be different .my old bug guy said it wasnt a big deal. i watched him spray for 6 months . bought a sprayer and the exact same chemicals he was spraying with and saved huge.

 

[derek_s]

THis is a really good question. I'd have to agree that the safe route would be to just not spray the room. I'd shut the door, turn off the skimmer for a few hours, and spray everything else. Seems like the safest bet with the least hassle.

 

[skriz]

I assumed it was being bombed. If it's just being sprayed, you could simply cover the tank and open the windows to ventilate. That should be sufficient.

If there is a skimmer, I would shut it down.