225 gallon tank failure... and pics..

[khaosinc]

So I came home yesterday, checked on the tank, smooched the girlfriend and sat down to relax.. then discovered I really needed to return a movie.. so off we went.

Came home a 1/2 hour later to an expanding puddle underneath my tank. Bottom seal had split for no appearent reason.

2 days ago this was my tank..

well... after several hours... this is what remains.. I *think* everything has survived so far. Tonight as soon as a sit down for a bit I'm going to set up a couple more tanks and try and spread out the corals some. most the fish are in the sump, a few are unaccounted for, but I assume they are in one of the tanks holding rock and corals. I guess I'm lucky I'm a pack rat and keep 1/2 a dozen empty tanks around. I'm REALLY lucky this didn't happen 3 days from now when I am on my way to CA and unreachable for 5 days.

 

[khaosinc]

the puddle... don't ask me why I stopped to take pictures... I don't know.

even got my girlfriend to help out... usually she avoids my tanks.

a whole lot of PO'ed corals, shrimp and starfish..

rocks (and snails and hermits, and I suspect a couple fish..)

fish in the sump... empty tank..

somehow I feel I have come full circle.. (when the tank first was set up)

 

[khaosinc]

now I need to clean the living room and re-arrange things... theres still 1/2" of standing water on my floor...

 

[heyfredyourhat]

How long has it been setup?

 

[robot2222]

what a drag........... hope you bounce back best of luck..........

 

[Eel-byte]

Sorry to hear that man. That's my biggest fear is coming home to an empty tank with its inhabitants on the floor.

 

[khaosinc]

The tank had only been up since October, but I did buy it used. now that its out and the bottom plastic is off I suspect it had been resealed once before near the left side overflow. I should have looked at it better when I bought it.

Right now, I'm just trying to get everything set up so it can live with stuff I have around the house. I think I'm going to try and rehome 300 gallons worth of African cichlids (the tank to the right of the dead tank) and turn that in to my reef tank as soon as get back.

 

[fufu]

What brand is the tank? I also have a 200+ gallon, making me nervous.

 

[hawkfishman]

acrylic rules!!!

 

[khaosinc]

well details can wait till its here (5 weeks out) but lets just say that there is a huge upgrade in my near future.... with any luck, everything will survive my trip and I will get them in the 300 when I get back... then let a big build thread begin... Lets just say the 300 will be my sump tank....

and yes, against my better judgement I am going acrylic this time.

 

[Jova]

Hate to hear about your situation man... I had a 55 fail on me once, and I know how much of a hassle that was, and I can't even start to think about how much of a pain in the *** having a tank the size of yours do the same thing. I'm done with used tanks myself, had too many problems with them. Best of luck with the upgrade, although I've never been a fan of acrylic myself... too easy to scratch, and I've always had a hard time with glass tanks scratching, I think that I'd lose my mind with an acrylic tank... But nonetheless, good luck!

 

[xpirtdesign]

thats my worst fear...sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night just to check on my tank..

 

[James983]

The same thing happened to me 2 weeks ago. My 150 split at the bottom seam. The leak was so bad I was forced to drain the tank in the middle of the night. I saved the livestock and over 50 corals. All were sold or given away. I currently have no tank.

I also bought my tank used and am afraid to make the same mistake just to save a few bucks, because in the long run I lost big bucks and corals that I cared for for more than 3 years. I "had" many high end corals and now have squat. So that $200 tank was no bargain.

I too am contemplating acrylic for my next tank.