Leaking Aquarium

[MargaretC]

I purchased a 29 gallon biocube last January. In probably late June, it started leaking just a bit when I changed the water, but it stopped after an hour or so, and I assume it was a slight imbalance. It got worse, and I finally used silicone to seal it, which has caused a bunch more problems. I noticed tonight that not only is there a pinhole leak in the back seam, but that the plywood stand that I purchased with the aquarium is wet at the top--not quite saturated, but it is malformed on one side.

I immediately ordered a replacement biocube (different brand) from Amazon, and it's scheduled to arrive by the 16th (with a new stand). The question is what I should do in the interim. I only have two fish int he aquarium (a red spot blenny and a pajama fish) and two corals, but have a bunch of macroalgae and snails and hermit crabs. Should I hope it holds up for 7 days or should I try to put the live creatures in a bucket with a filter and a heater and turn off the aquarium? I know that no one can answer fully without seeing the stand (happy to send pictures) but afraid of coming home to a living room full of water and dead creatures and also afraid of killing everything by trying to get it to live in a bucket for a week. Does anyone have any experience with water leaking on a biocube stand? Or any idea of how resilient plywood is? (That's what it apepars to be made of).


Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks much,

Margaret

 

[FlyPenFly]

Definitely a bucket or a large Brute container.

 

[jtbgonesailing]

Invest in a Brute from big box store and transfer everything... Good luck...

 

[ca1ore]

As long as it really is plywood, as opposed to chip board or MDF, the stand should hold up. Plywood is pretty resilient to water and will almost certainly last until you replacement comes. The thing I Would worry about is if the stand deforms/bulges to the point where the tank is out of level or is twisting as that could cause catastrophic failure of the tank.

 

[rocsec1]

Something different for sure. You dont want all of that water on your floor if the worse happens.

 

[Tom39]

Have you thought about checking CL for a cheap aquarium? I just picked up a 20gal for $10. IMHO it is always a good idea to have a spare tank lying around for situations such as this. You may also want to post your location and someone on the site may be willing to lend you one until your new one arrives.

Hope it helps,
Tom G