House to get fogged with anti-mold gas...!

[phoenix20]

Hey guys

So we had a incident this summer where the air conditioner unit in our attic was installed improperly and it leaked water on our celing for about a year. The dry wall on the ceiling collapsed, mold grew, etc. Its been a complete mess, but lucky, we're getting a insurance settlement to correct the problem.

So to fix the mold issue, we have to rip out some drywall about 100ft away from my tank, and "fog" the attic. I'm not exactly sure what that involves, but we have to leave the house for 24 hours. Apparently, its not safe for us to be in the house while they do this.

What should I do with my 120g? My wife and I were thinking about removing all of the fish / corals / rock and putting them in tupperware containers in the basement with a heater / power head. We'll come back in 24 hours later and start testing the water in the tank to see if anything catastrophic happened to the water chemistry...

I guess I should make 120g of "backup" RODI if the water chemistry goes south? I dont have a container that large... Maybe I should pick up a kiddie pool from walmart? Or if anyone has a 120-150g water container that I could temporarly borrow to start mixing up some new salt water that would be swell.

Has anyone every fogged their house before? If I were to leave the tank alone, should I saran-wrap it? Would saran wrapping the tank have any negative effects? Any suggestions on what I could do to protect the tank? Should I remove everything?

 

[phoenix20]

I found this website..
http://www.onedaymoldremoval.com/faq.htm">http://www.onedaymoldremoval.com/faq.htm</a>


<ul>
<li>Around Pets?</li>
</ul>
Pets must be removed before the fogging process and kept until the next morning. When the building is re-entered it is completely safe for everyone including pets. Fish can remain in aquariums however care should be taken to insure adequate supply of fresh (non-fogged) air to the pumps.





So, I guess I should look at turning off the protein skimmer and somehow run a air pump from outside with air tubing into the tank with a air stone to keep the water oxygenated?

 

[phoenix20]

I'm thinking maybe if I turn off the return pump -- stick a heater and airstone in the display -- run a air pump from outside and have a few feet of air tubing into the display... Then saran wrap the display tank and cover it with a plastic sheet?

If anyone has done something like this before, I would really appreciate what you did to protect the tank

 

[snowmansnow]

wow. you may consider putting everything in a different location .. like you said.. but even at that... im not sure if you should leave your tank full of water.. just seems like a lot of water would be a pathogen trap or something.. again, i dont know.....

maybe drain it... ??????? seal the tank up with garbage bags????? refill?

Wish i could be of some help.......

B

 

[rbredding]

whatabout just covering the entire tank (and several feet along the floor) with plastic (think painters tarp)... after turning everything off (so it doesn't overheat and melt the plastic)

along with the airstone idea...

 

[jennm]

Testing the water parameters before returning fish won't necessarily reveal if anything toxic has been introduced to the water.

It's a conundrum, that's for sure - I'd be afraid to do it, period.

Sorry - that doesn't offer a solution...

Jenn

 

[dakota9]

JennM;392001 wrote: Testing the water parameters before returning fish won't necessarily reveal if anything toxic has been introduced to the water.Jenn

Basically just deleted a long reply that stated the same thing. No way you can test for an unkown unless Seachem actually makes a Mold Gas Test Kit.

I'd turn off the lights, and skimmer at the last minute, then cover everything in a heavy plastic and <u>fully</u> mask it off along the floor and seams. That's the best you can do on a tank that size.

Good Luck!

 

[phoenix20]

Whats GAC?

 

[lees]

Granulated Activated Carbon? I had a similar incident last summer only it was for a flea outbreak. Terminix told us the same thing. I covered my tank with plastic. Turned off filtration and just left a powerhead and heater running. Granted my losses would not be as catastrophic as yours but came through it OK. I would probably go ahead and start mixing water so when you do get to go back in you can begin doing water changes just to be on the safe side.

 

[ralph atl]

ares;391982 wrote: sealing the tank with a air stone pulling from outside seems like the best option...

removing all the corals/fish seems like a potential nightmare.

I vote here. turn heater down low, lights off, I would also buy a huge gallon or 2 worth of cheato and put in display.

 

[jt955]

if you want to seal up the tank i got a blower that you could use to pump air in from outside. what about a pvc frame wrapped in plastic, blower pumping outside air in and another hose venting air, just enough to keep positive pressure around the tank, think kinda like a big balloon. the pressure in should keep the fog out.

 

[delloman]

jt955;392435 wrote: if you want to seal up the tank i got a blower that you could use to pump air in from outside. what about a pvc frame wrapped in plastic, blower pumping outside air in and another hose venting air, just enough to keep positive pressure around the tank, think kinda like a big balloon. the pressure in should keep the fog out.

This is what i would do there would be now way for the fog to get to your tank. tho you do not need a venting hose as the air will find a way out you want to keep as high a positive pressure as you can. This same idea is used in scientific situations.

You would probably not even need to glue the PVC of you could probably return all the fighting after.