rscott76
Member
as you go through this, keep in mind that i was fortunate enough to catch this before leaving for a trip tomorrow.
Ive had this new-to-me tank setup running for about 2 weeks now and all was good until around midnight tonight. i was about to do my midnight data logging and noticed the bottom of my stand was covered in water.
first thought: (censored)
second thought: must be the plumbing leaking. found a little salt at the drain bulkhead, but no moisture at all.
Second thought: water spray - definitely not. At this point, i came to the conclusion that it was definitely NOT the main tank - thank goodness
Third thought: Must be the sump.
and that was it. this second hand sump i had was leaking somewhere. it was just a matter of finding where.
- Bulkheads: no leaks.
- Skimmer: no way - it shouldnt have even gotten consideration
- at this point i remembered that the previous owner of the sump (modded uniquarium) had drilled the bottom. drained what i could with my util pump, pulled all the rubble out of the rear chamber and checked the sealed hole: OF COURSE IT WAS DRY UNDERNEATH
- at a loss for words i sat on the floor and stared at the sump wondering what it was. i decided to clean up the water a little when i found it. the joint between the wall and the bottom of the tank had somehow failed in the return section and had a pinhole leak going. This is after several days of leak-testing the tank. and visually inspecting the joints. i wiped off the water on the outside of the joint, waited a second and sure enough, there was another bead of water soon after. (insert profanity here)
at that point i decided i had to get that sump out of the stand so that i could avoid stand damage and inspect the WHOLE sump for leaks or to decide its junk. of course, the rear brace was in the way and the display was still full. so i undid the brackets i had installed and wiggled it until it was just barely out of the way while still holding the tank up. So on the way out the stand knocked the center brace out and the rest of the stand started creaking. i pulled the sump out as fast as possible and proceeded to get the center brace back in place. with the weight of the 100 gal tank, ~150lbs rock and the water to fill the tank on my back. i lifted it enough to slide the brace back into place.
from there i dried off what i could in the stand, threw my fans in there to help with the drying and sat down to figure out what i could do for the week i would be gone. i ended up throwing together a rubbermaidmicrobubblefactoryfuge. plumbed it, filled it and now im here.
at this point...im just glad it happened tonight before leaving for a week. pics will follow tomorrow.
Long day.
Ive had this new-to-me tank setup running for about 2 weeks now and all was good until around midnight tonight. i was about to do my midnight data logging and noticed the bottom of my stand was covered in water.
first thought: (censored)
second thought: must be the plumbing leaking. found a little salt at the drain bulkhead, but no moisture at all.
Second thought: water spray - definitely not. At this point, i came to the conclusion that it was definitely NOT the main tank - thank goodness
Third thought: Must be the sump.
and that was it. this second hand sump i had was leaking somewhere. it was just a matter of finding where.
- Bulkheads: no leaks.
- Skimmer: no way - it shouldnt have even gotten consideration
- at this point i remembered that the previous owner of the sump (modded uniquarium) had drilled the bottom. drained what i could with my util pump, pulled all the rubble out of the rear chamber and checked the sealed hole: OF COURSE IT WAS DRY UNDERNEATH
- at a loss for words i sat on the floor and stared at the sump wondering what it was. i decided to clean up the water a little when i found it. the joint between the wall and the bottom of the tank had somehow failed in the return section and had a pinhole leak going. This is after several days of leak-testing the tank. and visually inspecting the joints. i wiped off the water on the outside of the joint, waited a second and sure enough, there was another bead of water soon after. (insert profanity here)
at that point i decided i had to get that sump out of the stand so that i could avoid stand damage and inspect the WHOLE sump for leaks or to decide its junk. of course, the rear brace was in the way and the display was still full. so i undid the brackets i had installed and wiggled it until it was just barely out of the way while still holding the tank up. So on the way out the stand knocked the center brace out and the rest of the stand started creaking. i pulled the sump out as fast as possible and proceeded to get the center brace back in place. with the weight of the 100 gal tank, ~150lbs rock and the water to fill the tank on my back. i lifted it enough to slide the brace back into place.
from there i dried off what i could in the stand, threw my fans in there to help with the drying and sat down to figure out what i could do for the week i would be gone. i ended up throwing together a rubbermaidmicrobubblefactoryfuge. plumbed it, filled it and now im here.
at this point...im just glad it happened tonight before leaving for a week. pics will follow tomorrow.
Long day.
