Leak in the tank. Oh no.

[wk1428]

So I have had this 115 tank running for 3 months and I dont know how I didnt notice this but I have a small leak. Last few days I have been trying to find any other reason for the water but it seems like I have to accept the truth. There is a small leak...on the bottom of the aquarium.

So now I have a dilemma.
1. I empty the tank and seal it. And hope for the best. I dont have a large amount of livestock but I do have some.

2. I get a new tank. I found a cheap 150 on the internet that i can pick up.

3. I accept the leak. I have more water than usual everyday. The leak is small enough that the salinity doesnt change that much week to week but I feel like the leak could be growing albeit very slowly.

If either 1 or 2 i wouldnt even know how to start.

My livestock is a pistol shrimp, diamondback goby, emerald crabs, snails and hermits, cleaner shrimp, and a few spa that were gifted to me last week. I havent glued them to rock yet.

 

[billdogg]

What you need to do is determine just where the leak is coming from. Often is ends up being from a bulkhead or other plumbing connection. Those are easy to fix. If it is the tank, it will need to be fixed or replaced. It WILL NOT get better, and almost certainly will get catastrophically worse. That can happen now, next week, next month. When it does fail the rest of the way you will lose all the water, all your livestock, and will end up with thousands of dollars in damages to your house that will not be covered by insurance.

If you decide to replace the tank, great, but you cannot sell it for anything other than scrap without full disclosure to any potential buyer.

jm.02

 

[speedo2wet]

What you need to do is determine just where the leak is coming from. Often is ends up being from a bulkhead or other plumbing connection. Those are easy to fix. If it is the tank, it will need to be fixed or replaced. It WILL NOT get better, and almost certainly will get catastrophically worse. That can happen now, next week, next month. When it does fail the rest of the way you will lose all the water, all your livestock, and will end up with thousands of dollars in damages to your house that will not be covered by insurance.

If you decide to replace the tank, great, but you cannot sell it for anything other than scrap without full disclosure to any potential buyer.

jm.02

Billdog said it best, you have to remember the amount of pressure that's being applied and if the leak is felt on the outside then you know both of the seams have failed. It is possible if done correctly to clean and reseal the inside of the tank, leaving the in between seam still broken but will hold for some time. That is if you trust your work. Just remember new silicone does not stick to old silicone. Never.


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[mmmbacon]

If you found a decent 150 maybe turn this into a positive and upgrade . But I would only do so if you can set it up quickly and more importantly make it into a better tank than u have now . I wouldn't rush to be unhappy but more water is more stable


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[wk1428]

So I got the tank. You guys are on the right track. The leak shouldnt blow up soon so I'll use a week to set up my plumbing and move everything. I have a few questions though.


My rock formations are all glued together what would be the best way to remove without breaking them. My diamond goby lives in the tunnels my pistol shrimp built. How do I remove these two safely? How long until the aquarium cycles? I am moving everything from point a to b within 4 hours (or however quickly I can do it) everything has to settle of course but how long should expect everything to be hanging out for before I can move them?

 

[PCguy21]

Billdog said it best, you have to remember the amount of pressure that's being applied and if the leak is felt on the outside then you know both of the seams have failed. It is possible if done correctly to clean and reseal the inside of the tank, leaving the in between seam still broken but will hold for some time. That is if you trust your work. Just remember new silicone does not stick to old silicone. Never.


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Actually it does stick... always... the never rule is a old wives tale from decades ago... modern silicone does stick to silicons...

Try it out for yourself if you dont believe me

 

[speedo2wet]

By all means if you want to put your faith in that then go ahead. Unless your using a polymer bonding agent along with heat your believing that it creates an impenetrable seal is not 100%. It's not an old wives tail when it's true.


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[dkeller_nc]

So I got the tank. You guys are on the right track. The leak shouldnt blow up soon so I'll use a week to set up my plumbing and move everything. I have a few questions though.


My rock formations are all glued together what would be the best way to remove without breaking them. My diamond goby lives in the tunnels my pistol shrimp built. How do I remove these two safely? How long until the aquarium cycles? I am moving everything from point a to b within 4 hours (or however quickly I can do it) everything has to settle of course but how long should expect everything to be hanging out for before I can move them?

Purchase a few larger rubbermaid containers. Set one of these up with a heater and an airstone or other water movement device, fill it with water and wait a few hours until you dial in the water temperature. Remove an already-cycled rock from your tank - whatever will comfortably fit in the container. Add the fish and inverts from your existing tank to the rubbermaid container.

This will take the pressure off of the move - the fish and inverts will be fine in the rubbermaid for a couple of days (just make sure that you add top off water if you're in a dry climate or the move stretches to more than a couple of days).

Remove all of the rock to another rubbermaid container with tank water and another airstone/powerhead. You won't need to heat this container if your room temperature is reasonable.

Then, remove all sand from the old tank into a bucket or two and rinse the snot out of it with tap water until all detritus and fine material is removed. Don't worry about any bacteria in the sand - you will have preserved all of the the bacteria you need on your rock, and the risk to your inhabitants from a sandbed that isn't rinsed and produces hydrogen sulfide is a lot higher than the risk to them from rinsing the sand and killing some of the bacteria that's accumulated.

Then set your new tank up at your leisure.

 

[reefling]

Get a Rubbermaid horse trough from a feed store, like tractor supply. Put all your livestock in there. That leak will get worse. Just make sure it is not a loose bulkhead.


If you reseal, take out all previous silicon and clean with the finest steel wool. Follow that up with acetone. Afterwards, mask the edges with masking tape where the silicone beads will end. It is easy to reseal the tank. It's just a lot of cleaning and prep work. Use momentive rtv silicon, number 103 or 105 I think are the main ones. Black and clear.


New tank would be faster. For a reef, I would do a 125, better than a 150.

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