!@#$% ...trace amounts of gasoline now in tank...

torno

torno

Member
UGHHH.
okay so,
for the last sixish weeks, I have been cycling a 55 gallon freshwater tank.
The parameters have been all over the place. Finally tonight, ammonia is zero, nitrite is zero, signs of nitrate building. I have deemed it cycled.
So, I do a water change, take out two five gallon buckets of the water. Since this tank is in my basement, getting water back into it appeared to be a problem. However, my father gave me a hose he thought to be clean, so I attached it to the tap in our downstairs basement and filled a few buckets with that. After conditioning it to remove chlorine I added it to the tank, imagining it would be ready for stocking soon.
*shoots self in head* >_>
I've just been informed,
my dad used that hose a few days ago to siphon gas from his truck to our van.
good lord.

he said he still smelled it a little too after i transfered the water.
So basically, my entire tank is contaminated, huh?
Do i need to drain it all?
Will this interfere with the cycle?
Is there anything I can add to remove it? Will it evaporate into the air ever? (<< LOL, wishful thinking.)
Thankssssss.
 
A

alexmir

Guest
i would say drain it since there are no fish to worry about. I can imagine that gasoline would be pretty harmful to fish and coral. Was there live rock in the tank?
 
torno

torno

Member
Oohh no, this was planned to be a freshwater tank, so no live rock or anything.
I just spent all this time building up this bacteria,
for my stupid !@#!@ dad to do this and ruin everything.
It does look like I'm going to have to start over, huh?
 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
You have any idea how much fuel is spilled into a popular fishing lake in a given year? I mean a typical outboard engine exhausts below the water line. A lot of raw gas came out of those old two cycle engines.
Run the tank uncovered with some carbon. If there is any serious amounts of fuel in the water you will see it floating on the surface.
 
torno

torno

Member
hmm. Good point.
I will do just that.
Do you presume it will be safe after the carbon?
Maybe my first additions will be nothing too expensive, just to be safe..
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by Torno
http:///forum/post/2646237
hmm. Good point.
I will do just that.
Do you presume it will be safe after the carbon?
Maybe my first additions will be nothing too expensive, just to be safe..
I agree if there is any fuel in the tank then it will surface. Run the carbon. Do a water change. Change the carbon after four days and run fresh carbon. It should be fine after that.
 
camfish

camfish

Active Member
Sep is always right so it should be fine. Remember dilution is the best solution to pollution, so after a few months, those traces will be gone...no worries.
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
Werd, I'm with everyone else. The stuff that's the most harmful evaporates too, so once it reaches the top, the gas should start to dissipate. All that will be left is the contaminants, which carbon will catch.

Besides, freshwater fish are cheap, you could always test with a mollie or something, right? .... hehe
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by camfish
http:///forum/post/2646274
Sep is always right so it should be fine. Remember dilution is the best solution to pollution, so after a few months, those traces will be gone...no worries.
Your making me blush young fella

Originally Posted by m0nk
http:///forum/post/2646278
Werd, I'm with everyone else. The stuff that's the most harmful evaporates too, so once it reaches the top, the gas should start to dissipate. All that will be left is the contaminants, which carbon will catch.

Besides, freshwater fish are cheap, you could always test with a mollie or something, right? .... hehe
Yes, the fumes (for lack of a better word?) from gas evaporate quickly. The chemicals left behind will be caught by the carbon. Be sure to change it after a few days though. The carbon is active for only a few days.
 
torno

torno

Member
ahh okay! that doesn't sound too disastrous then. :]
and according to my dad, it was only an attempt to siphon the gas, so maybe there wasn't that much on it.
regardless, carbon is being run with the top off,
thanks!
 
A

alexmir

Guest
Thought of something awesome!!! haha, it would put you in a better mood. IF alot of gas does surface, throw a match into the water and you could watch the fire sit on the water!! very cool, i used to do it all the time
 
nano reefer

nano reefer

Active Member
i wouldnt worry about it. Gasoline usually evaporates or slides out. The ingredient that leaves the smell (called super-100) will linger and the cops use dogs to smell this stuff to determine if a fire was arson. So what i am saying is that the little gas that was in the hose in the first place is probably gone and the hose just smells. gas floats anyway.
Originally Posted by alexmir
http:///forum/post/2646388
Thought of something awesome!!! haha, it would put you in a better mood. IF alot of gas does surface, throw a match into the water and you could watch the fire sit on the water!! very cool, i used to do it all the time
sketchy...
 
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