Fumigating apartment

[Cajun]

So I get this notice hung on my apartment doorknob that my landlord plans on fumigating all the buildings----NEXT WEEK! The company contracted to do the work is called Terminix. They will be tenting the entire building and gasing it with Vikane ( sulfuryl flouride), which is a gas and not a vapor. We have been ordered to remove all plants, pets, and AQUARIUMS. The tenants must vacate the premises for 48 hours. :evil: Needless to say, I am concerned about my 75gal FOWLR tank that runs off a sump and houses a purple tang, flame angel, maroon clown, and a dottyback. Is there any way to seal this tank off using a tarp or plastic of some kind and duct tape? :? Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.
Cajun

 

[bleedingthought]

Yeah, just make sure you get a tarp, or large piece of thick plastic and make your tank completely sealed with duct tape. Go right over the lights/canopy and all around the tank and stand to the floor. One piece of plastic. Tape it real well to the base of the stand or floor.

Good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

Whenever I had to treat with fleas I just covered my tanks with comforters. But that was using those little bug bombs.

This might be very tough to do, but I would try and run the air intake from your skimmer outside and away from the tented area. With the tank covered so tightly, and for so long, you're going to have some pH issues and oxygen issues as well.

Good luck man. That has got to suck.

JP

 

[Len]

Sorry to hear about the impending problem Is there any chance you have a friend or LFS that can hold on to your fish for a few days? You can seal the aquarium pretty well, and the fumigation will probably not have too deleterious an effect for fish (corals would probably be another story). However, if the tank is sealed well enough to keep the bulk of the chemicals out, it may suffocate the tank within 2 days, especially with your fish stocked. That is why I really recommend you remove the fish for these few days and seal up the tank the best you can. And have some new saltwater on hand for a water change after the fumigation.

 

[Anonymous]

To help with the air intake you can connect a nice strong airpump to the airline tubing you ran outside.

 

[bleedingthought]

Yeah, forgot about the oxygen. Run a line outside like JP suggests.

 

[Anonymous]

That sucks. Since you're in Florida, I would highly suggest moving everything to a big Rubbermaid storage tank outside for the few days. Seal up the tank anyway, as you normally would.

Large Rubbermaid storage tanks are available at cattle feed or farm supply stores in sizes up to 300 g. It'll run you less than $100. Then you'll just need a very long extension cord to run some powerheads and a heater. For two days, you can do w/o a skimmer or lights. I'd completely skip feeding the fish as well.