220 gallon leak!

[colesjensen]

I finished plumbing the 220 and thought hey lets do a leak test. Man was that a bad idea. My carpets are now soaked. It looks like it is leaking from the bottom support beam. It doesn't leak until it's about half full. Why is it doing this and how do you fix it?


Here's some pics

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[Stolireef]

Do you have bulkheads drilled into the tank? My bet is that it's not the tank but the bulkhead(s) that are leaking. Is it a new tank?

 

[colesjensen]

Do you have bulkheads drilled into the tank? My bet is that it's not the tank but the bulkhead(s) that are leaking. Is it a new tank?

We do have bulkheads. We originally thought it was those so we filled the tank up and not the overflows and it still leaked. So it wasn't the bulkheads. And it's used.


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[Stolireef]

I hate to be a Debbie Downer but...
If it's not coming from the bulkheads and is dependent on the amount of the water in the tank, there are only two possibilities.
A. One of your seals is leaking (but I think you'd see that on one of the bottom edges or
B. You have a small crack in the bottom of the tank that expands when it starts bearing the weight of the water.

The only other possibility is that you have a small leak in your overflow that is allowing water to get in there and it is a leaky bulkhead.

If it's a crack, I'd trash the tank. If it's a seal, you can get it resealed.

 

[heathlindner25]

I'm pretty sure you don't put foam board underneath a rimmed tank

 

[colesjensen]

I hate to be a Debbie Downer but...
If it's not coming from the bulkheads and is dependent on the amount of the water in the tank, there are only two possibilities.
A. One of your seals is leaking (but I think you'd see that on one of the bottom edges or
B. You have a small crack in the bottom of the tank that expands when it starts bearing the weight of the water.

The only other possibility is that you have a small leak in your overflow that is allowing water to get in there and it is a leaky bulkhead.

If it's a crack, I'd trash the tank. If it's a seal, you can get it resealed.

There is 2 supports under the tank and when it's filled it comes from both. Could that still be a crack


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[Stolireef]

You can use foam board but it's not necessary.

When you say there are two supports under the tank, do you mean that that there are cross supports rather than a solid surface on the top of the stand? If that's the case, I'll bet they were slightly uneven and as a result, one of your seals is leaking. A couple of picture of the inside of your stand would be worth a thousand words.

 

[Sk8r]

As for your unhappy carpet situation, I'd call something like Stanley Steemer or another rug recovery company, fire or water damage. Having mold develop can be a real problem.

 

[colesjensen]

220 gallon leak!

You can use foam board but it's not necessary.

When you say there are two supports under the tank, do you mean that that there are cross supports rather than a solid surface on the top of the stand? If that's the case, I'll bet they were slightly uneven and as a result, one of your seals is leaking. A couple of picture of the inside of your stand would be worth a thousand words.

This is the best I could get

And I meant this when I say double support

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[CrayolaViolence]

You most likely have a seal that has slightly separated from the bottom edge. It leaks when there is enough water in the tank to push against the glass thus opening up the bad seam.

There is no realistic way to fix this (that I know of) without completely disassembling the tank and redoing the seams with adhesive then sealant.

 

[Fish finder]

Is your bottom glass multiple pieces?

 

[colesjensen]

Is your bottom glass multiple pieces?

It's only one


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[colesjensen]

It's leaking from these

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[Brunzy]

If your glass is one piece it isn't leaking from the supports. That is unless your glass is cracked.

 

[Brunzy]

Your glass is leaking from a seam somewhere. I hope you can understand this.


An example your window in your house had water in the middle of it. It's a solid Payne of glass. Logic tells us that the glass isn't sealed correctly around the outside and the water is traveling to the easiest place to go to.


If I was a betting man, I would say your plywood and Styrofoam created a peak like area, which pushes up on your tank.

This is creating a high point thus the water is rinning to it.

Your stand isn't level or something is messing up big time.

 

[Stolireef]

Your glass is leaking from a seam somewhere. I hope you can understand this.


An example your window in your house had water in the middle of it. It's a solid Payne of glass. Logic tells us that the glass isn't sealed correctly around the outside and the water is traveling to the easiest place to go to.


If I was a betting man, I would say your plywood and Styrofoam created a peak like area, which pushes up on your tank.

This is creating a high point thus the water is rinning to it.

Your stand isn't level or something is messing up big time.

+1. It looks like the top of the stand is not a solid surface but rather uses a couple of heavy slats. With a tank of that size (or pretty much any size, you really want a complete very level solid surface. So, here what happened (I'd bet).

You put foam board over the slats and set the tank in place. The foam at the slats compressed leaving the rest of the tank unsupported. This caused pressure on other seals in the tank and you got a leak. Basically, the foam may be your culprit. That said, once it leaks, you must get the tank rebuilt and sealed.

 

[billdogg]

As mentioned above - if the bottom is one solid piece of glass, then the plastic "supports" on the bottom are there not to support the tank, but rather to keep the plastic trim from pulling apart. If it didn't leak before, then I'm thinking that it is the foam you have underneath and/or the stand being uneven that has caused a pressure point. Now that the seams are no longer complete, the only options you have are to completely disassemble the tank, clean EVERY bit of old silicone from the glass and rebuild it (a VERY difficult job btw, and one with no guarantee of fixing the problem) or replacing the tank. I would replace the tank.

When you put the resealed, or preferably new tank on the stand, the stand itself MUST be level and planar. Plastic trimmed tanks are designed to be supported around the edges only. Anything pushing up can compromise the integrity of the seals.

 

[Stolireef]

Oh, and please accept my condolences. This is a major pain in the tushy. Leaks suck no matter how they happen. Good luck.

On the bright side, you leaked fresh water. Way easier to clean up than salt water.

 

[heathlindner25]

+1. It looks like the top of the stand is not a solid surface but rather uses a couple of heavy slats. With a tank of that size (or pretty much any size, you really want a complete very level solid surface. So, here what happened (I'd bet).

You put foam board over the slats and set the tank in place. The foam at the slats compressed leaving the rest of the tank unsupported. This caused pressure on other seals in the tank and you got a leak. Basically, the foam may be your culprit. That said, once it leaks, you must get the tank rebuilt and sealed.

This

 

[colesjensen]

The tanks got a warranty so I'll see what I can do. But thanks to all of you for your responses!


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