Oh my - forgot about a WC in action!

Yup - I fell into the mindless trap just now! Had to share as I am freaked out, and venting helps me! Sunday is WC day here, but we got behind and the 55g was set aside.

I drained out about 30% of the water, cleaned the glass, and then began siphoning water back into the tank. Well, while waiting, I checked my email and had a few pressing messages from work. Sorted everything out and then took a sigh of relief. A few minutes later, I had a horrific feeling....what was it? What was wrong? Oh, right....I was filling up the 55g!! I darted to the tank, it was full just to the top - thank goodness we siphon water from a bin for these guys, as all of the water was siphoned out of the bin! If it were from the tap, I would have had a major problem I suspect!

I have NEVER done this before and it was a wake up call! My finned babies deserve all of my attention....no more checking work emails when I am tending to their water changes!

This thing happened recently, I almost flooded my room and was on the tap! I ran and water was all the way to the brim!!
WOAH!
Luckily nothing happened as I ran there fast enough.

Been there, done that! I was filling my fifteen column which sits on my ancient old bankers desk. Was also beside my computer so I was doing emails as well. Glanced up, and noticed the water over the top of the visible glass. No worries, that tank has a two and a half inch black plastic rim so I shut off the python and thanked the gods that I noticed it.
A bit later when I got back to my desk and sat down my chair was FULL of water. It seems those Aqueon column tanks ARE NOT sealed above the glass and it was actually about an inch over the glass and into the black plastic rim, which, sadly, is NOT watertight. I suspect I was about a gallon over judging by the amount of water on my desk and in my chair.
Now I NEVER fill that one even to the top of the glass!!!!

I have had my share of mishaps over the years and my fish have unfortunately paid the price. I am so absent minded that it is a rule the past few years that I am not aloud to leave a tank while filling or draining anything. I completely forget what I am doing and end up causing a complete mess.

After the debockle with leaving the hose in the pond over night a couple of years ago I made it a policy that I would never put a hose in the pond again with fish in it. I started filling a 55gal barrel and then pumping the water into the pond.That's how bad I am.

Well it all came around this past winter as they started using Chloramines in our water so now I have to treat it anyway before I pump it in.

However this never helped me Saturday night past

My wife asked me if I was draining water out of the 55G SW tank in my office down stairs. Unfortunately the answer was no. The filter was leaking. I recently painted the inside of the closet upstairs and had moved a bunch of stuff downstairs and laid it on the floor in my office. This stuff consisted of entire collection of fish books, about 30 books all together. There was all of the wedding cards we received when we got married 27 years ago. There was several paper bags of cards and letters that me and my wife sent each other wile she lived in Chicago and I lived in NL before we got married. Lastly was a first edition book from 1923 that a dear friend gave me years ago. All of this was totally ruined and now in the garbage.

Oh well,

Steve

So sorry about your books and lost cards, Steve.

I mostly cart water from town and fill my tanks by bucket, so there is no chance of overfilling. However, I do drain by siphon but am usually cleaning the tank at the same time and do not go far.

I will tell you what happened at our church. The priest lives in the rectory which is attached to the church. Last month he accidentally left water running in his kitchen when he went out for a call.  The water ran all over the kitchen, into the office, through the hallways, and through into the basement where there is storage, large meeting room and kitchen. All floors, rugs, furniture, walls etc. were damaged. Fortunately, insurance will cover it. So Father has taken this opportunity to do other needed renovations and changes, such as replacing the 30year old carpets. So while all this is happening, furniture, appliances and other stuff are being stored in the church library. Father has to cook his meals in the reception hall kitchen which means that no other food preparations are allowed (according to Public Health), which includes weddings, funerals, or any other church functions like the youth group or seniors day program. It is going to be interesting to see how all the church groups manage without any of these rooms and facilities until the work is finished, and they do not even have the estimates yet.

So Shell, and all the rest of you. Don't feel bad, it can happen to any of us!

Wow.
Mental note to self time.

I suppose misery really does like company as it is good to know that I am not the only one to do this sort of thing!

Steve - when our washer didn't drain properly awhile back and the laundry room flooded, we also lost some memorabilia, including a photos from a trip hubby and I took to San Francisco (and I had fully intended on getting them into an album someday - that day never came and now they are gone!), as well as a box full of pictures and cards from my university graduation and letters/certificates of recognition for my research (again - 'planned' on getting them into an album at some point). We lost other random, minor things, but the kicker was definitely losing the pics, certificates, and cards from grad school.

So sorry you lost all of that memorabilia - but hey, I guess you'll just have to talk about the old memories and start collecting new memories! We may lose tangible items to floods, etc., but no flood can take away the memories in our head!

I have done the same thing numerous times over the years but have been lucky enough never to have overflowed the tank (right to the brim but when I caught it but not overflowing, thank goodness). My excuse is usually checking email or resading posts or posting on the forum.