Ok. Here’s my stupidity. It was about a week after I put fish in my tank. Being a newbie doesn’t give you an excuse to do this -->
I got a 20g tank and put fish in it a week or so after adding the water (oh yeah, and I didn’t cycle it) There was a gap between the filter and the lid so I was worried my fish would jump out (later learned the gap was too small and my fish don’t usually jump.) So anyway, I put a towel around my filter so the gap would be closed. The next morning I discovered the towel hanging in the water, sucking up the water, and dripping it behind the tank onto the other towel under my tank, the table, and then the carpet. There was probably at least one gallon of fishy water all over my carpet. I spent most of that day emptying the tank and cleaning up what I could. I had to empty the whole thing so I could move it, wash the towel under the tank, and wipe the table which now has water marks all over it. Meanwhile, my fish spent the day in a bucket.
So, what have I learned? Never hang a towel in the tank. The water will go up and over. Nice opportunity to "megaclean" your tank though...
