Roach spray, How do i protect my tanks?

so long story short, the apartment i live in is getting sprayed for roaches. I have two tanks and am worried about the chemicals killing all my fish and plants. Is there a way I can safely protect them for around 8 hours or so?

 

Oof that is a hard one. Is there any way you could take the fish/plants out of the apartment? Like in storage tubs or something? I feel like that would be the safest thing to do, but not always feasible either.
If not, you could try putting heavy blankets or something over it to cover all the openings and make sure to have an air stone running to make sure there's at least air getting into the tank.

 

I agree with kattiq. If not, maybe use a bunch of cling rap around the tank for a tight fit and are sure theres no openings or gaps. You will have to take out your filter though and maybe even the heater

 

you could saran wrap your tank maybe? over the filters everything covered, dont know if thats perfect but its better than nothing

 

If not, you could try putting heavy blankets or something over it to cover all the openings and make sure to have an air stone running to make sure there's at least air getting into the tank.

That's what I would do but you'd need to ensure that the air pump was not sucking in contaminated air and pumping it into the tank. If it was inside a cabinet it should be ok.

 

That's what I would do but you'd need to ensure that the air pump was not sucking in contaminated air and pumping it into the tank. If it was inside a cabinet it should be ok.

I'm going to suggest the same solution I posted the other day for the person that was going to use an ozone generator in their house. Saran wrap the heck out of the tank making sure to cover everything. Then run an air line out to an air pump on the porch/balcony. Try to keep the door closed but make sure that the air line isn't pinched shut. Connected to an air stone in the tank, this will create positive pressure so that air will slowly leak out of the Saran wrap and the roach sprayed air won't get in.

 

If they are fogging, you need to do all the above suggestions. If they are just "spraying", just turn off any air pumps and lay a bath towel over the top of your tank, making sure it covers any of the openings in the lid. You'll be fine. I managed a few not-great apartment complexes for six years, had to spray for roaches on a pretty regular basis, and never had anyone's fish killed.
My office gets sprayed for bugs monthly and I have a tank at my desk that hasn't had any problems with it.
Remember the exterminators are people, too. You could leave a note inside your door and just say hey can you please be careful around the fishtanks.

 

I'm pretty sure they are just spraying, and I currently don't have any air pumps connected to the tanks just the filters.

 

so long story short, the apartment i live in is getting sprayed for roaches. I have two tanks and am worried about the chemicals killing all my fish and plants. Is there a way I can safely protect them for around 8 hours or so?

Wow oddly enough I have a friend that went thru the same issue with his bldg he has a 55 gallon he used a grill cover made a few cuts and taped it up all was great and he had it wrapped up for a day or two until he was done cleaning

 

Get a cheap cardboard box and put it over the tank?