If you're in college with a tank...

Do I just do a whole bunch of 50% water changes and carbon the piss out of it?

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Yup, that's what I'd do. *shakes fist at the drunk college kids* Sorry to hear it man.

I would drain it completely, refill it, and repeat a few times. Alcohol is toxic to plants as well so I would want to flush it out completely ASAP. Your bacteria should be well established in your gravel, but alcohol is probably toxic to them as well so you may need to re-cycle the tank. Maybe remove the filter media from your filters to prevent the bacteria colonies from being destroyed.

"Drunk as a Fish" :fish:

I know the feeling, that is why my nano is in my room far away from the tipsy hands of inebriated folks.

ouch, that sucks.

you'll always going to get a bonehead that's going to mess with your tank.

i'd take all the water out too but you wont need to tear down the whole tank.

Sorry to hear about it.
Could have been worst though, the tank is still holding water & no-one got drunk enough to eat your fish on a dare.

First of all, never host an open party, period. Anyone who shows up to my house to drink my beer will be someone I know well enough to know the address, phone number, and major of the person (and I could probably get the social security number if I wanted to). That way, if something gets broken, fingers get broken. Last year, some drunk girl at my house poured laundry detergent all over the floor. I had a very bad surprise at 4 am.

I hate a vengeful roomate put french horn oil in my tank. Bastards. Basically, its god telling aquarists out there to be loners.

Saraja87 said:

I would drain it completely, refill it, and repeat a few times. Alcohol is toxic to plants as well so I would want to flush it out completely ASAP. Your bacteria should be well established in your gravel, but alcohol is probably toxic to them as well so you may need to re-cycle the tank. Maybe remove the filter media from your filters to prevent the bacteria colonies from being destroyed.

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gah...

I hope this isn't the case. I've washed all my plants and temporarily moved them to my 40g. I'd plant them and put the rest of the tank crap in Craigslist, but there's not enough room to

If this was the case, wouldn't I destroy my other tank? I mean, I just put 8 cardinals, 2 4" pearl gourami, 2 SAE, 2 Zebra Loach, and 7 Rummynose in there... I'm testing for ammonia twice daily in case I get a spike, but I'm being told it's going to screw up my 40g with all those new fish.

fishscale said:

First of all, never host an open party, period. Anyone who shows up to my house to drink my beer will be someone I know well enough to know the address, phone number, and major of the person (and I could probably get the social security number if I wanted to). That way, if something gets broken, fingers get broken. Last year, some drunk girl at my house poured laundry detergent all over the floor. I had a very bad surprise at 4 am.

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It wasn't necessarily an open party. I invited a few people over and they brought some friends I knew anyways. I did kick 3 guys out for being general tards though... I wouldn't be surprised if they came back in when I wasn't paying attention :/

Oh well, there's always a first time.

just throw a sheet over it next time, and put a picture of some boobs on the other wall, it will never, ever get noticed.

thats pretty weak! never had that happen while i was in school...
my suggestion? instead of ditching the tank, and never allowing strangers back to your pad, look for some new friends who will stand up for you and your belongings. this time its a fish tank, next time its your laptop in the shower! seriously.

and if you find out who put beer in the tank, pour a beer in thier bed, or some other liquid which is equally smelly. college was freakin' awesome!, and very very cruel.

bgoodwins said:

just throw a sheet over it next time, and put a picture of some boobs on the other wall, it will never, ever get noticed.

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Hahah! This is a great solution that would probably work.

Yeah, a tank is def at risk at an open party, esp when it's a college party. I would've covered it or put a ton of tape over the top so that the water is inaccessible to anyone who wants to be a jerk.

haha. nope, never had that happen. My mother told me about a time when she was college age (~40 yrs ago).
She had a party w/ some people and someone dumped beer into her goldfish bowl. Apparently the goldfish was swimming upside down in a drunken sort of state. She eventually rinsed it out w/ fresh water and the fish recovered.

bgoodwins said:

just throw a sheet over it next time, and put a picture of some boobs on the other wall, it will never, ever get noticed.

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:icon_lol:

ringram said:

someone dumped beer into her goldfish bowl.

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I know a guy who used to throw feeder goldfish in his piranha tank (I know, bad idea to start with), and the RBP would actually be too slow to catch them! He would dunk the goldfish in beer and then toss it in the tank. Terrible.

I've seriously choked people out for less.

bgoodwins said:

just throw a sheet over it next time, and put a picture of some boobs on the other wall, it will never, ever get noticed.

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But what if a planted tank addict was invited? and he was drunk and saw a silhouette of an aquarium and totally missed the pictures of the jugulars... HA!!! theres always a chance.... wait.. hopefully he has enough smarts to know that alcohol and the precious planted tank does not mix:icon_roll

I don't think you need to go so far as to sell the tank, but I would deff change out all the water a few times. You should also take out your filter cartridges and rinse them out/soak them in water. You could put them in a dish of water and change the water out everyday for a few days. After you've filled and refilled the tank 3-5 times, run a great big filter stuffed full of carbon for 5-7 days. This should kick any alcohol still in there right in the behind. Then I'd re-cycle it almost like a new tank, put your old (rinsed/soaked) media back in your filters with fresh carbon and transfer your plants back over. Give the bacteria a few days to repopulate, you could speed it up with some Bio-spira, and then slowly transfer your fish back over.

If the fish are still alive and you washed the plants really well, I don't think they'll be a problem in your other tank.

Good luck!

If someone tried to do that I would tie their hands to an aquarium heater and plug it in and tie them to a seat.

EDIT that would not work.

I would get the out of my house or dorm, depending on location, and lock them out.