Canister Disaster, A.K.A I just had a heart attack

[piffy]

So it's 1 in the morning, I randomly decide to stay up late tonight watching TV when I hear this loud bubbling noise coming from my shrimp tank. This is not a normal sound, I realize this immediately and dart into the room and flick on the lights.

To my absolute horror, the outtake tubing had somehow managed to slide off the spray bar and was now pouring all over the carpet. I manage to stuff the tubing back in, but I can't imagine what might have happened if I decided to go to sleep at a normal time today 20 or so gallons of water all over my floor...

I'm guessing the tubing wasn't in tight enough? Which is strange, because the filter has been up and running for weeks now.

I'm now very nervous about this and am considering wrapping all the connections in electrical tape or duct tape.

What do you guys do to secure your tubing? Is this a problem that happens often? I don't hear many stories about people's tanks being drained by their filters...maybe I was just incompetent in my setup.

[Tanen]

Hose Clamps work nicely on the "Out of Sight" connections. And zip ties for the ones that can be seen.

[RickRS]

What brand filter? It's surprising that your hose came off, if pushed over two or more barbs of a barbed fitting.

Tape is a poor choice if you really want to have assurance that a hose will stay on. As Tanen suggest, hose clamps are the absolute best, and zip ties will be better than tape.

[bsmith]

Hose clamps are you friends. The metal ones that you use either a flat head or philips screw driver to tighten. After you put those on the filter hose and tighten them you will have no issues.

You are very lucky you were up. That would have sucked bug time if you didn't catch it.

[piffy]

I have an Eheim filter, my idea for the tape was to wrap it around the connections just so they stay together.

Oh, wow. Hose clamps are exactly what I need. Thank you guys very much, I will get some tomorrow.

[CaliEAB]

+4 on the wormscrew hose clamps. That's what I have on my aftermarket hoses for my fluval cans. I also wrap the male end of the connection with plumber's Teflon tape. Just be very careful not to go too hard on the screws as you could crack the connectors if they're plastic.

[CaliEAB]

Piffy, you probably know this but just in case, the plumbers tape goes around the connector nipple and the hose slides over both. The tape serves as a gasket. Tape on the outside won't hold water and will let go if it gets wet.

[DaveK]

Hose clamps are often better that what you get, if anything, with a filter. Be careful with them, don't over tighten them.

Another thing that works in a pinch is a rubber band. Usually all you need is just enough force to hold the tube on.

[demonr6]

Zip ties.. besides making awesome handcuffs, they are awesome clamping those pesky tubes. I have a big container and snip and replace when I install new hose every few weeks.

[freph]

Odd....it normally takes the wrath of several gods to pull the tubing off of my eheim intake/output since it doesn't really push up that well to break the seal. Do you have Chuck Norris Shrimp?

[OverStocked]

For spray bars I've used zip ties for years. Just use a pair of pliers to pull on the zip tie to tighten it.

[150EH]

I don't use anything with my Eheims, maybe you just didn't have it pushed on far enough, I would just check them for couple of days, and btw the over lap of tubing should be atleast one inch.


All the sudden I'm LMAO, it's one of those sounds that really gets your heart racing and your eyes searching like crazy, it's water hitting the floor!!!!!!!!!!

[jasonpatterson]

On the plus side, if the intake for your tank isn't right at the level of the substrate, it would have just made a tremendous mess and not killed all of your stock as well.

[shrimpNewbie]

I love hose clamps, I got mine in bulk for 23c a piece

[mach_six]

I would have thought you had an Rena XP filter. I don't like how these pieces are just force fitted together.