So there I am changing the water in the tank, carefully making sure I don’t get in the way of the fish, moving around the gravel making nice a clean, lost in my own little world. So lost am I in the admiring the plants, fish and general layout of the tank that I forget to check just how much water I'm siphoning out.

That’s when I notice water around my feet.

Blind panic, shouts of you stupid “£!£&^ idiot, don't you ever look at what you’re doing.

Apologies lost in the generally “blue atmosphere and colourful language”, some of which I hadn’t heard before and I have to say most of what was told I could do with the tank and fish is probably illegal anyway.

No sure how much I spilt, but according to the other half it was about, "%$£”$%^&* gallons" and we will probably need a new rug.

Still the water in the tank is sparking and fish all doing well.

PS
May not be around for a time, but only be until the bruising and swellings go down

You're not alone - last week I suddenly realised I was blithely aiming the syphon a foot to the left of the bucket, with similar consequences

I believe arnica is good for reducing bruising!

Oops

You're not alone, I think all of us, at one time or another, have had water where it shouldn't be I've certainly had a few 'incidents'. The end of the hose flipped out of the bin when I was siphoning once, it took a while to register, I remember looking at it thinking 'that shouldn't be happening ... aaarrrrgggghhhhh!!!' When we moved house recently we discovered something ghastly had happened under one of the tanks. One was on carpet, the other on laminate flooring - the one on carpet had clearly had some water go under the cabinet at some stage as there was a 'lovely' and very large colony of variously coloured furry mould on the carpet Ew. I'd been sharing my lounge with that.

BTW - should you ever drop a half defrosted cube of bloodworm on the carpet, that's not nice!

Get well soon Try making OH a nice cuppa

Oh i did that loads of times in the beginning, used to flood my kitchen all the time. My goldies tank is on a ledge between the kitchen and the extension and i put the syphon straight into the sink and stand on a chair to move the vac around, loads of times the syphon has come out of the sink without me knowing and flooded the kitchen!!!
Hasn't happened for a while though!!!!!

My kitten spilt enough Prime to dechlorinate the London Aquarium while helping with a water change.
These things happen ... unless you have as many arms as an octopus ...

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Top tip from one who's expert in flooding the place - I use a cable tie/food bag 'twister' to tie the hose to the mixer tap so it can't run away.

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I hadn't thought about how Ellie will try and help me... Think she might get shut in the dinning room for a bit when it's time for my first water change

I have done this quite alot over the years and yes the air has been blue... until one day i came up with an idea that has turned out to be well brill for me. I bought a much longer piece of tubing for my gravel cleaner so when cleaning tank I now put the end of the tubing out in the drain (just out side my back door) so not only do I not flood my kitchen on a regular basis but I dont have to lugg so many buckets of water around. It works perfectly for me and cleaning the tank doesn't take so long

Plastic sheeting is a godsend, couple of quid for 2mx1m from the garden centre. Spread it out in front of the tank when doing any work so that if you do spill a little bit it can be mopped up easily. Doesnt matter how careful I am there is always some water that goes on the floor from removing plants, dismantling a filter etc, have even had a bucket skid along the top of the tank when topping up and dump a bit on the floor stick my arm into prune a plant or such like there is aways some water.

Doesnt help when your external malfunctions though