My 220V Lamp Fell In The Tank Today

[quicksand]

It happened during cleaning. Fortunately I just pulled out my hand from the water a few seconds before it dropped in from the shelf above the tank. It was stupid of me to have it around switched on, but i guess we all learn.

My question is, did it kill my bacteria as well? Do I have to start all over again? With cycling and all? Are snails gone too? What about plants? Are they dead?

 

[blue acara]

It killed all your fish? wow thats harsh ive dropped flouresent yubes in tanks by accident and all had been well. Best advice is to watch your snails, if they are moving then obviously they are alive. Id think that your plants and filter bacteria will survive this for sure, but again watch them.

 

[quicksand]

It killed all your fish? wow thats harsh ive dropped flouresent yubes in tanks by accident and all had been well. Best advice is to watch your snails, if they are moving then obviously they are alive. Id think that your plants and filter bacteria will survive this for sure, but again watch them.

it wasn't a tank linghting, just a regular 40w clamp lamp from ikea. no relation to the tank, other than the proximity.

the snails are malayan trumpet snails, they are usually buried in the sand and out of sight.

would there be any reason why the bacteria would withstand such high voltage if the fish didn't?

 

[kaivalagi]

How long was the lamp on when in the water?

Bacteria is in the filter, so more chance of it being fine if in a external filter...

If I were you I would restock slowly and check stats as you go, starting with more hardy fish at first....you may be doing a fish-in cycle?

I hope the lamp is placed somewhere else now

You were lucky not to get messed up too!

 

[ZoddyZod]

How long was the lamp on when in the water?

Bacteria is in the filter, so more chance of it being fine if in a external filter...

You were lucky not to get messed up too!

the electrical current would have entered either the interal or external filter due to it passing through the entire volume of water. No idea if it kills bacteria....but if the fish are dead then quite possibly.

 

[kaivalagi]

How long was the lamp on when in the water?

Bacteria is in the filter, so more chance of it being fine if in a external filter...

You were lucky not to get messed up too!

the electrical current would have entered either the interal or external filter due to it passing through the entire volume of water. No idea if it kills bacteria....but if the fish are dead then quite possibly.

Depends, if the filter is off there might be a chance there is a gap at the top of the filter or the top of the inlet/outlet pipes...a small chance mind you

Best to do daily water changes on adding fish again for a while...and add more hardy fish at first....as you would do with a fish-in cycle

 

[Lacuna]

That's really unlucky, sorry to hear about your fish. I would add a small amount of household ammonia to the water and test after 24 hours to see if the levels are dropping and if bacteria is still present. That way you can do a fishless cycle if necessary. Even if some of the bacteria died, you might have a shorter cycle than normal.