Water Leak

[Sherri]

OK, I'm trying not to panic, but---I have a drip coming from the back of my 100 gal Oceanic. Looks like it is on the bottom of the tank. It is a drilled tank and the connections are not part of the problem. When we had the tank drilled, Aquarium Sales & Service (now closed) glued a black piece of plexiglass to the back glass. Gilbert glued where we thought the leak was coming from, but it is now dripping from the end (apparently the water is traveling down to the end of the tank where it can now drip from between the plexiglass & glass.

What do I do now?

Sherri

[Ram_Puppy]

Sherri,

If the leak is coming from the base of the tank, the only thing I know of to do is break the tank down and re seal it. :(

[alexwolf]

sherri, i can come by tomorow if the boss lets me and check itout.

[Sherri]

Is there a chance that it breaks from any pressure...no, right? Worried about getting thru the night.

[alexwolf]

how long has it been leaking?

[Sherri]

Sherri,

If the leak is coming from the base of the tank, the only thing I know of to do is break the tank down and re seal it. :(

That's what I'm afraid of. Crap.

Noticed some saltcreep along the left side bottom about a month ago - vacuumed it out - thought it had built up due to my working in the tank. Noticed the grout in the tile wet on the left side of the tank less than an hour ago. Didn't notice anything earlier today.

[alexwolf]

i helped brain 6 wewks ago when his cracked, no fun.

[Sherri]

Oh, I have some trash cans and stuff you can use to put stuff in, if you need them just lemme know.

Thanks, just might do Joshua, I know I don't have near enough to take care of this big of a prob.

[::pete::]

Sorry to hear that ... as Joshua said it probably will not explode, but it will get worse. The thing is it could happen quickly or slowly ... you just cant tell.

[Reef69]

I dont know what it may be Sherri..but if there is something i can help you with..let me know

[Sherri]

Thanks Diego - just trying to figure out what & how! I will post tomorrow morning as to what I'm gonna do. Thanks everybody - just gonna get thru the night.

[DeletedAccount]

I have the 55 g black tub I use to make-up water. You are welcome to that. Works well for tank emergencies, and shallow enough the corals can still be lighted fairly well.

[6LINE]

I had a 75 Gallon do the same thing on me 2 weeks before Chistmas. But it wasn't slow. It completely drained while i was @ work. Glad that you had a warning as to what was happening. I hope it holds out for you.

[Sherri]

Thanks Misti, since you're closer to me, that may be better. If I need it, when do you get off work today? I am going to have to do this today.

[SBreef]

Sherri,

This is just a idea I just thought of, to prevent a possible expolosion, why not get a ratcheting type of strap, and wrap that around the tank, taking care to be sure that the area around the rachet and hooks is covered with cardboard, to prevent any damage from the rachet and hooks. This might help and prevent expolosion fromthe glass bowing out due to water pressure.

Roy

[Sherri]

At this point Roy, I'm not worried about it busting. It is a slow leak, but wet enough that it needs to be taken care of today. We're hoping the problem is around the out take where it was drilled. From what we can tell at this point, the leak is coming from the back left side of the tank. As stated before, there is a layer of black acrylic attached to the back of the tank to shield the sun (tank sitting in front of windows facing the west). This was done at the same time the tank was drilled. So the acrylic is also cut to fit around the plumbing on back of the tank.

If this isn't where the leak is, then we'll have to strip the tank...but we're gonna try this first and hope we don't have to breakdown the whole setup. This out take is about 1/4 to 1/2 way down the tank on the left side which we can get to.

Will keep updated as to what we are doing or gonna have to do.

[DeletedAccount]

I am home. Kiley is ill today. So anytime would be good. Have to run to CB at some point, but that is all. I will do a water change now so I can empty it for you.

Actually, I may need to take it to you. Don't know if it will fit in your car.....

[Sherri]

Misti, don't hurry to do a water change since we're gonna try & see if it is the out take that is the prob. If we have to drain, it would be sometime this afternoon. I could prob use Gilbert's Jeep if I need to. Will be updating as to what we're doing & needing to do. Sorry Kiley is sick, but glad you're home! lol I also have to do a delivery sometime this morning and get that out of the way before I tackle this. Will be in touch & thanks again...I'm a bit calmer. :cry :cry

[DeletedAccount]

:)

[Jenn]

I have the 55 g black tub I use to make-up water. You are welcome to that. Works well for tank emergencies, and shallow enough the corals can still be lighted fairly well.


Misti, that tub is an awesome thing to have! Darren and I were wondering where you got it from?

Sherri, I am so sorry this is happening. Please keep us posted.

[DeletedAccount]

I got it at a feed store. I do not remember the name. Most have them in the back and you have to ask to see them.

[Polkster13]

Tractor Supply carries them and I believe they are made by Rubbermaid. If yours isn't, then the rubbermaid ones will make a great substitute.

[Jenn]

Great, thanks so much.

[Sherri]

A bit of an update on what's going on...Gilbert & Alex suspected it was the out take - I just cut the acrylic partially away from the side back of the tank and I see moisture from the out take down to the bottom of the tank - so we may have found the source of the leak. Both Gilbert & Alex are on their way - so hopefully it's not the tank itself - just the plumbing.

Stay tuned! :wacko

[Reef69]

Any updates Sherri?...did everything go ok?

[dan]

i hope everything is allright now? what was the problem. just now reading the post. hope it was just the plumbing? :mellow

[Sherri]

Well...looked as tho everything was going OK...Alex, Gilbert & I replaced both bulkheads today...both were wet around them - filled the tank back up. Thought everything was OK...then noticed it was still wet in the bottom corner. Figured it was moisture left over from the leaking. Took a wet vac & sucked it up. Was ok for a while & now the wet is back - enough for me to have to put a towel back to soak it up. Very frustrated.... :cry

[::pete::]

Is the acrylic still on .. ?

Take it off if its easy enough to eliminate the capillary movement of a leak. Make sense?

[dan]

did aquarium sales and service silicone the black acrylic in? the water might be coming from between the acrylic and the tank and if your seal for the bulkhead is on the inside than the water that is leaking is finding it's way through the threads on the blukhead. if thats the case then you need to put another seal on the outside of the tank. that means you have two seals for one bulkhead. one on the inside and one on the outside. give me a pm if this is confuseing

[dan]

now that i think about it that won't work. :blush sorry. the water will pass the seal on the threads and still leak. now if you could put that extra seal between the acrylic and the tank that will work.

[::pete::]

I was referring to this, but if you take the acrylic off (if this is possible) then it will eliminate one more thing. You have to find the source before it can be fixed.

[NaCl_H2O]

Not sure if this is right or not? If your bulkhead is going through the tank AND the acrylic, that would be very difficuly to keep from leaking. Removing the acrylic, or cutting away enough acrylic so the bulkhead can rest against glass on both sides would be my next step. If not, maybe a generous amoint of silicone between the glass and acrylic before you tighten down the bulkhead, but that would be iffy.

[beareef19]

Well Sheri I Had my 110 split a seam about 3weeks ago, could not tell where the water was coming from until the entire tank was tore down.Bottom seam split just enough to leak real slow and then it leaked over 10-15 gals at night before I stepped in water. Panic set in everything was out of the tank in about 2hrs. I had my tank resealed at Aqua Trend but now I cant set it back up until the wife gets tile on the floor . All my stuff is now in a 165 that a friend let me borrow, have only lost 3 corals and 2 fish so far. If it is a seam once they have split there is no repairing them unless you compleatly have it resealed because the preasure of the tank water will continue work on the seam. I hope this isnt what has happened to your tank, it is not fun.

BARRY

[Sherri]

The black acrylic was glued on only on the edges. AS&S included the acrylic in their bulkhead installation. Yesterday, we took the acrylic off the tank and cut larger holes around the bulkheads so when it was put back on, the acrylic was not part of the bulkhead installation. We replaced both bulkheads completely. Both the old ones were leaking - moisture ran from the bulkheads down to the bottom of the tank with a little saltcreep. The new bulkheads are not leaking at this point. But I still have water leaking in the same spot we noticed a few days ago which is at the corner bottom back of the tank. The acrylic is on the tank but not glued into place. Even so, at this point the acrylic isn't an issue as holes were cut larger than the bulkheads so it wouldn't interfere with the bulkheads themselves.

[Sherri]

I tried wet vac'ing after everything yesterday and about an hour later the same drip showed up. I'm gonna redo the wet vac now - we were thinking it may be residual buildup...but that seems to be way too much IMO.

[Sherri]

Looking closer at the tank, I see moisture along the top of the tank trim on the bottom left side of the tank where the leak is coming from.

[NaCl_H2O]

Hum, sounds like too much to be residual moisture to me too, but maybe?

Use the corner of a paper towel to wick out the water along the trim. Check other spots along the trim with the corner of a paper towel. Even one drop every few minutes from those bulkheads can accumulate what looks like a lot of water. Put a paper towel below the bulkheads for 30min or so and see if they collect any water?

[Sherri]

OK....question...I have a 55 gal freshwater tank that is setup with no fish in it. I've been wanting to break it down anyway. I'm gonna empty it out & clean it & fill with saltwater so I can use as a holding tank for at least my fish & a bunch of my corals/rocks. My question is...in filling the 55...would it be wise to pump the water from my 100 into the 55? Or mix new water? Apparently gonna have to get started on this baby today...In the 2 1/2 years since I I've set this tank up, I've had no probs at all, so this is a whole new experience for me. My fish have never even been netted! They've grown up in this tank. LOL :cry :cry :cry

Also, is Aqua Tec the place for resealing?? ^_^

[Triggerman]

hey sherri,

i just read the thread this morning. you're doing the right thing by taking the tank down the leak will only get worse especially if it's at the bottom that's were the most water pressure is. i seen this happen plenty of times. the new bulkheads should of stopped leaking unless the wrong size holes were drilled, which can happen.

the best thing todo is transfer your established water into your 55 gal. so you have an instant set-up. more than likely you shouldn't lose anything. if you want fill up only 80% and put the rest with a fresh batch of saltwater just like givig a water change. this seems to work best for me if something like this happens.

you can either get the tank resealed or check with me and i'll see about getting you a deal a new one or this might be a sign to get your bigger tank. sorry you're going through this give me a call if you need help of have any questions.

ray

[Triggerman]

aquatrend in town also does resealing.

ray

[captexas]

Sherri - Sorry to hear about your tank, I just started reading some of this today. I have a 100g and a 50g Rubbermaid stock tank that I would be glad to deliver for you to use. I purchased them awhile back, but have never used them. I have the 100g plumbed to connect a GenX 1200gph pump with two returns off of a SQWD so that will help with water circulation. Just let me know if you want them to use to hold you over while your tank is getting worked on.

Chris

[Sherri]

Chris - sending you a PM...

[Sherri]

I have a question that will have to be dealt with here real soon also. The sand bed was established when we got it from AS&S, so I know we've had it for 2 1/2 yrs ourselves. Don't know how long AS&S had it set up before that. I've read lots of posts on how toxic the bottom part of a bed can be, so what is the best suggestion to do? Top off 1" or so of the existing bed & put new or clean old bed??? Argh! :cry

[Instar]

Scoup the top 1/2 inch or so off the top of the sand bed and save it in a temp container, shallow and with an air pump for circulation in some water. Then take the lower layers of the bed and rinse them till all the stink and black is completely gone. You could use the extra water in your 100 to do at least some of the rinsing. Put the washed sand in first and layer the sand you saved from the top over it. This isn't a bad thing really as it cleans out excess waste and gives the sand bed fauna new and vigorous growth. If you don't wash it, be prepared for things to die and/or do massive water changes. Since this is basically new then, you need to watch your nitrogen cycle closely. I'd use a bacteria culture for starting new tanks if it was me. StephenA knows which one. Then, when you get ready to move things back into their permanent home, follow the same procedure.

[Instar]

You can accomplish the first rinse by stirring the sand with some of the original water in the tank and push it to one end. Then siphon the water and debri out. I'd go ahead and rinse until clean right in the original tank and then move it. Buckets are a pain.

[Sherri]

Thanks Larry, I figured that was the way to do it since I had read a previous post from you helping someone else. I do have a full bag of Arogonite - can/should I use this also? Thank you!

Also, thanks Chris for lending us your 2 tubs - it will make things so much easier to do this.

[JimD]

Sherri, have you isolated where the leak is yet? If its a very slow leak at a seam, it may not be necessary to rip the tank apart.... Of course, its probably too late by now. :-(

[Sherri]

Pretty much Jim, but the leak WE THINK is coming along the left side of the tank. It's the only place I see water along the top of the tank frame on the bottom section of the tank. Have got everything in place to get started in breaking it down now.

[JimD]

So youre still not positive where the leak is originating from? Man, Id hate to see you tear your tank apart if it can be repaired. Does it appear to be coming from a seam or you really cant tell? Is there any water on your stand that looks like it may be leaking from the bottom? Or any seapage running under the stand? If we can find out exactly where the leak is, that would be a tremendous help. I have in the past successfully repaired slow leaks in older tanks and had them last for many more years.

[Sherri]

Jim, only part of the stand that is wet is underneath the tank along the left side of the tank at the seam and where it is dripping off the back at the corner. The stand sits in an Oceanic stand, so it is a bit hidden from view to get to it.

I just took a good look at it again. There is water all the way down the left side. I can take a dull knife and stick it between the trim of the tank & the glass. The water is to the top of the trim, so it's hard to tell exactly where it is coming from.

[Instar]

My tank will do that sometimes when the bulkhead overflow **** gets a little plugged up (macro grows in the teeth) and the water level rises. The water leaks at the top tank trim and wicks down the corner seam where it isn't seen and pools in the bottom trim. If you do have a bag of aragonite and it suits you, why not use it? Maybe wait till things are going back into the main tank so there's less sand to move and wash? This almost sounds like an size upgrade opportunity?