# Sad House fired destroyed all my fish etc



## Vince (Dec 10, 2010)

Had a house fire on 4/4/11................had two 10 gal tanks one 20 g, 2- 5g, 2. 5g, etc. 
They are saying that the tanks are not safe to use for new fish, filters heaters etc. I just got started with this new hobby in Dec. 2010..........put lots of time into it and $$$$$$$.
Do I need to purchase all new tanks filters gravel etc. will be 9-12 mo before house is restored so have lots of time to think about what I should do. 
Thanks for listening..................


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## FishTeen (Feb 6, 2011)

Sorry to hear about the fire. The equipment is probably not a good idea to use, and as for the tanks, they were in the fire correct? If so are they covered in black grease?


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## Vince (Dec 10, 2010)

No not covered in any grease in fact the water left in them is clear looking even plastic plants look good, the 20 g has broken glass rest look fine to me still holding water but do have some chunks of dry wall floating in them. how about the filters will they be ok to clean and useful again ???
Of course all fish are gone. Been cold and no heaters working since no electricity in house
Thanks for your reply..


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

not good! i'm sorry!


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## mec102778 (Feb 17, 2011)

That's horrible I'm so sorry for your loss. If i have any breed i'll shoot them yur way.


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## pringleringel (Apr 3, 2011)

Sorry to hear about your fish.

I would reuse them myself, if they are holding water they are probably fine.


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## Alasse (Mar 12, 2009)

I wouldnt use them. The fire brigade may have spray a fire retardent foam onto the house fire. Also there could have been toxic fumes etc that have got into the tanks or onto the glass. Heat may have damage the silicone or glass itself. Not worth the risk IMHO

If you were insured...claim them on your insurance

Sorry for your losses!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Sorry to hear. Hope nobody was hurt. I wouldn't have a problem re-using if they suffered no heat damage. Most all chemicals can be cleaned to safe levels. They can't impermeate the glass.


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

Alasse said:


> I wouldnt use them. The fire brigade may have spray a fire retardent foam onto the house fire. Also there could have been toxic fumes etc that have got into the tanks or onto the glass. Heat may have damage the silicone or glass itself. Not worth the risk IMHO
> 
> If you were insured...claim them on your insurance
> 
> Sorry for your losses!


I'll second this and Jrman's statement. It's not what you can see in and on the tanks that should worry it, it's what you can't see. There could be any number of contaminants that will leach out and kill your fish, silicone/glass/plastic could be compromised; it could ultimately end up costing you more in fish and equipment losses to use them than it would to just get new equipment.


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## Carassius (Mar 29, 2011)

I'm so sorry for your losses. Praying for you!


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I wouldnt use them either.I would be too worried they would have been sprayed and something got into the silicon.I know it seems like a waste but its better to start over with new clean tanks and equipment and have healthy fish than to use the others and constantly lose the inhabitants.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

First off, terribly sorry about the accident. Horrible situation and sure hope all works out ok.

The only concern I would have would be due to heat issues. If they were exposed to the excessively high heat, it may have compromised the seal. However, nothing a like a quick water test wouldn't solve. Fill them to rim and let them sit for a few days to see what happens.

Otherwise, since they were all still holding water, I would wager the silicone is still good on them, give all a very good cleaning and should be good to go.

But, if in doubt, as mentioned above, claim them as a loss on the insurance and get rid of them. But please do inform any other person that may pick them up of the incident so they can keep a close eye out on them.


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## melplusanimals (Nov 30, 2010)

I wouldent be too worried about they spraying stuff, from experience, glass is easier to break after it has been through a fire, I had a house fire years back and stuff that you could have normally been dropped from a short distance and been fine would then shatter after the fire, I would just worry that the heat alone had altered the tanks, you can probably sell the tanks as terrariums but thats it.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Do you know how close the fire got to the tanks? Are any of the wires on the filters etc melted or damaged? Are the plastic rims on the tanks melted or damaged? Did the fish die in the fire or afterward due to loss of electricity? As said glass that has been overheated will not be strong afterward but it may be the tanks didn't actually get that hot.

As for chemicals, personally (if I decided they were not heat damaged) I'd clean a tank well, let water sit in it for a couple of days then empty it and refill and set it up with a couple of snails or shrimp. If they seemed to do fine I'd add a fish and wait a while before adding more. If everything was still going well you'd probably be fine, it would take a while as you will have to go through the cycle again too.


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