Emergency: Leaking 300g FOWLR tank

[Lion-o]

Hey all,

Luckily I'm home and caught this somewhat early on. Just noticed a decent amount of water on my floor and traced it back to a corner of the tank where it is slowly pooling up from below. It seems likely that there is a small fracture on the bottom/inside/corner of the tank - I can't actually see what is going on just where the water is coming out of.

Anyway, I am not equipped to handle this (i do not have a large enough tank to evac the livestock). I am posting to ask if anyone can speak to a similar emergency and if you can recommend a company to help.

thanks in advance!
danny

 

[Lion-o]

The location of the leak has been identified. The water is coming out a little quicker now, and i found it about halfway up the tank in the corner. It is hard to see because of the focus, but circled here.

 

[griss]

If you have a livestock supply store, I would go there and get a 300 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank to temporarily house your livestock until you can get the tank repaired/replaced. I’m not local so that’s the best advice I can suggest.

 

[kharmaguru]

The location of the leak has been identified. The water is coming out a little quicker now, and i found it about halfway up the tank in the corner. It is hard to see because of the focus, but circled here.
View attachment 32389517View attachment 32389518

If it's a focused leak, maybe squeeze a huge glob of super glue gel on the spot inside the tank to hopefully stop it or slow things down to buy time. Gorilla super glue gel from the hardware store is totally safe - I use it for frags all the time.

 

[Lion-o]

If you have a livestock supply store, I would go there and get a 300 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank to temporarily house your livestock until you can get the tank repaired/replaced. I’m not local so that’s the best advice I can suggest.

thanks for the tip

 

[Lion-o]

If it's a focused leak, maybe squeeze a huge glob of super glue gel on the spot inside the tank to hopefully stop it or slow things down to buy time. Gorilla super glue gel from the hardware store is totally safe - I use it for frags all the time.

This i actually just did. My anxiety is running and I'm kind of all over the place, but I put some "reef glue" on the outside and inside in that spot, and it seems to be holding for now. I don't see any wet coming out.

 

[kharmaguru]

This i actually just did. My anxiety is running and I'm kind of all over the place, but I put some "reef glue" on the outside and inside in that spot, and it seems to be holding for now. I don't see any wet coming out.

How does the seam look from the other angle? Does it look like the pressure is pushing it apart? Not trying to induce further anxiety but if it's looking dodgy you'd want to remove some water from the tank to reduce the outward force. Of course you'd need alternate filtration such as canister filters since the sump would be offline. I'm just spitballing here...

 

[Lion-o]

How does the seam look from the other angle? Does it look like the pressure is pushing it apart? Not trying to induce further anxiety but if it's looking dodgy you'd want to remove some water from the tank to reduce the outward force. Of course you'd need alternate filtration such as canister filters since the sump would be offline. I'm just spitballing here...

I wish I could take pictures for you that looked like anything. But I do not see any visible damage, just all the globby glue that I put in there, lol. Even prior to gluing, I could not see any visible issue, just the slight drip stream of water that was coming out from that spot.

 

[Lion-o]

BTW - I am not the anxious type but I literally will have nightmares about this happening (is that all of us?), and it's finally for real...

 

[kharmaguru]

BTW - I am not the anxious type but I literally will have nightmares about this happening (is that all of us?), and it's finally for real...

300 gallons is no joke when it goes 'spoosh!'.

 

[Lion-o]

Yes, well.. let's hope it does not get to that point.

I am exploring all options at this point, but it seems like I'm being forced down the path of start over with a new tank. And if that is going to take several months... then I'm not sure what I will be able to do with my fish. I love my babies but I don't think keeping them on the floor in a rubbermaid for 8 months is really a great option for them or me.

 

[Reefing102]

Hopefully a local reefer can chime in here. You could also check with local Facebook groups if you’re on Facebook.

I’m not familiar with any stores in AZ but I’d imagine there’s got to be one or two that may be able to hold the fish or assist you. Also, I’ve found some great deals on tanks on FB marketplace. You may find a temporary spare on there for significantly less than retail.

 

[griss]

I love my babies but I don't think keeping them on the floor in a rubbermaid for 8 months is really a great option for them or me.

When we move to our current house, I tore down my 200 gallon reef and put everything into a 300 gallon stock tank while I waited for my new tank to be built. It was a long time ago, but I think it was about a year I kept everything in the stock tank.

 

[griss]

@Lion-o How are things going? If you’re just topping off to keep water level, please make sure to keep an eye on your salinity levels.

 

[Lion-o]

As of right now, the Reef Super Glue is holding, no water has been leaking from the same spot. I'm not trying to get my hopes up, but hopefully this does last ..