Whats the dumbest thing you've ever done?

bluemarlin

Member
Once I added fresh carbon to my magnum and forgot to wash it out. My tank turned black for about 2 days. Then everything settled or was pulled back out by the filters. DUH! <img src="graemlins//yeahright.gif" border="0" alt="[yeahright]" />
 

neutronics

Member
The dumbest thing I have ever done is overstocking the tank with fish.
Used to have this "one more fish" syndrome and keep adding one after another until sudden death comes to all the fishes due to deteriorating water quality.
Darn! I discovered money actually have wings! <img src="graemlins//uhuh.gif" border="0" alt="[U-Huh]" />
 

cap'n pete

Member
Putting a power head in the corner where my Maroon Clown liked to sleep without using a sponge on it. I thought, hey it's got a screen to keep stuff from getting sucked in. The next morning I awoke to find my clown suctioned onto the bottom of the powerhead. I shut it off and he limped off with a nice waffle pattern on his side. He died hours later. <img src="graemlins//uhuh.gif" border="0" alt="[U-Huh]" />
 

bluemarlin

Member
Ah, the old "sucked up the powerhead torture". I've done that too. I made ths same mistake. My intake sucked a snail right out of its shell! Live and learn.
 

kuyales

Member
Let's see where do i start?? do i start with the cycling with 3 damsel where one of them died?? or do i go with the strong over hang emporer 330 sucking in the pink tip anemone?? or what about what happened last week...sticking my hand in the tank right after i washed my hands?? and the final result of all these are....a dead fish....a dead anemone....and a bunch of soap in my tank....hmm....im not off to a good start huH? but on the plus side everything looks good (according to the books ive been reading)and my polyps and my xenias look to be multiplying....and my fishies are getting bigger...yay!! anywyas...thas my 2 cents
 

tangdude

New Member
I forgot to put the cap back on the end of my UV sterilizer before I turned it on. I had about 1 to 2 gallons of water on the floor before I had a chance to shut it off.
<img src="graemlins//yell.gif" border="0" alt="[yell]" /> <img src="graemlins//urrr.gif" border="0" alt="[urrr]" /> <img src="graemlins//silly.gif" border="0" alt="[silly]" />
 
I flushed one of my condylactus anemones. He shrunk down to the size of a 25 cent gumball and I thought he was dead. I didn't want a dead anemone to poison my tank so I flushed him. We now have a rule that I have to have another opinion before I can flush anything from the tank.
 

cap'n pete

Member
Here's another one. When I was fish only I had a Royal Gramma that loved to hide and play in some barnicle shells I had. One day I took the barnicles out to clean them in the sink. About a day later we realized that we couldn't find the Gramma. My wife found him sometime later when she shined a flashlight into the garbage disposal. OOOPS!
<img src="graemlins//confused2.gif" border="0" alt="[confused2]" />
 

demosthenes

Active Member
HD, I remember reading that awhile back, in a topic about anemones. Well, on to my dumbest mistake ever, I accidently stuck my hand in without checking where the Volitan was, boy was that a mistake. I was moving a small piece of LR, and BAM! something hit my hand. I dropped the LR, pulled my arm out, and hit the deck, within a matter of seconds. Turns out it was my Kole Tang, just having some fun, at my expense obviously. Well, let's say my heart rate is permanently raised since then, and I always check from now on, though I no longer have the Volitan, perhaps you've read my "A Murderer In My Tank" post. Oh well, different day, different topic.
 

fshhub

Active Member
you can't say that here(mine that is) :D
so, the dumbest thing in sw i ever did was try a brackish tank with the help of a lfs, now i am here doin sw
 
L

lexatomic

Guest
...put a catalina goby in the tank with a strawberry dottyback..RIP catalina goby. :(
 

grayne

Member
About a year ago I had a 10Gal freshwater tank that sat on counter that was in between the kitchen and dining room. My fiance nagging me to move it so I thought that a half full 10 gallon was easy to move. Well, I picked it up and the bottom busted out of it dropping very fine gravel, about 5 gallons of water, and a socolofi cichlid on the dining room floor. Talk about a mess.
 

bluemarlin

Member
That reminds me of another one. Heck, I've been doing this so long I could write a book. Anyway, one time I had a 5 gallon tank on top of an old cheapo entertainment center. After filling the tank I thought that maybe it was a bit too heavy for the center to hold so, being the intelligent fishkeeper that I am, cough, cough, I decided to pound a couple 3.5" nails into the wood under it for support. Well, I hit the first nail three times, unfortunately I had swung four times and, you guessed it, I put the hammer right though the side of the tank. SPLASH! Five gallons, rocks, fish and everything else just spilled out in seconds!
You should see me around my 180 gallon now. NOTHING gets too close to it and its built right over a floor drain and a sump pump. :D :cool:
 

rhomer

Member
Let's see, building the cabinet, filling the tank, getting the sump, realizing the sump won't fit in the cabinet, removing all the water in the tank dis-assemble the cabinet, add the sump, repeat.
Putting brass fittings on the ball valve for the return line from the sump.
Ordering a clean-up crew during a hard freeze (nothing survived).
Not checking the heater for five days when the temp rose to 88 degrees. Just kept adding bags of ice.
etc..
 

broomer5

Active Member
Believing that my tap water was good because the lfs guy said his was.
Trying to keep a Mandarin Dragonette in a young tank.
Stuck my head in under the crowded tank stand to peak at what was happening in the refugium, and knocked the HOT suspended pc light fixture off with my head and it landed on the back of my neck <img src="graemlins//urrr.gif" border="0" alt="[urrr]" />
 

wrassecal

Active Member
added a pygmy angel before my tank was ready-RIP, bought a really pretty WHITE bubble tip anenome - duh,RIP killed my beloved yellow tang in a rock slide during changeover to dsb-RIP, turned my tank into a milk vat during changeover to dsb so much so that my green brittle star went carpet diving and commited suicide( probably couldn't tell which way was up or down)-RIP. Tried to put a percula with a tomato clown (got that one out in time) and that's probably enough for now but by tomorrow there will probably be more of "the worst thing I ever did" <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />
 

rhomer

Member
This thread gets posted every now and then, and the best I've read is about the guy who bought base rock for his tank from a local landscaping store. When he got done washing it, he put it in his tank, problem was it floated. OOPS
 

ruaround

Active Member
This one time at band camp... :D
I disconnected my fluval 304, with it still running. Who'd a thunk thar was still water in that thar canister thingy...huuh huuh <img src="graemlins//silly.gif" border="0" alt="[silly]" /> <img src="graemlins//urrr.gif" border="0" alt="[urrr]" />
 
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