My tank = Evil.

[Stephany]

After all the patience people have taken on here with me to help me get my skimmer working (Big Thank you to Gary!! ) I finally got it working about 3 days ago. For those of you that don't remember it's the famed $20 hang on the back amiracle skimmer that I repaired.
The bubble trap isn't a tight fit on the back of the tank, and it will wiggle back and forth. The other morning I got up, and it looks like that the bubble trap slipped back, and had an incline backwards... as in, out of the tank. I lost ~8 gallons or so on the carpet. Fortunately, our building maintenance has not called us... My parents have a steam cleaner I can borrow, but I have no idea what to do about the area that was wet between the tank and the wall. It's only like, 4" back there, very hard to get to. It's still damp today.
In my frustration, I wanted to eliminate my tank leaking ever again. I ordered an in-sump skimmer.
I got a Pacific Coast RPS-1000, it will be here next week.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=749634&perpage=&pagenumber=1

So last night, I was looking under my stand... (because I don't do these sort of things before-hand... yep. I was frustrated.)
The skimmer is like, 23.4" tall, and it looks like I've got a .5" clearance. While I'm under there, I see some salt creep on the bottom of my tank, all in one spot against the back frame of the tank. It's also within a few inches from where my return pvc is, so I don't know if it came from that.
Soooo... at least it's Sunny Outside.

 

[dalbrecht]

The salt creep could have been caused by the faulty skimmer cup. It probably wicked between the tank and stand when it spilled.

 

[puter]

Re: My tank = Evil.

...I have no idea what to do about the area that was wet between the tank and the wall. It's only like, 4" back there, very hard to get to. It's still damp today.

Reach back there with some paper towels and soak up what you can. After that, just set up a fan and let it blow back there for awhile. Eight gallons is nothing... let me tell you about the time my 55gal tank sprung a leak at the bottom corner... where's Jimmer when you need him?

- Mark

 

[Stephany]

It's kind of hard to describe, and I did take pictures, but I didn't upload them yet. -They're at home still.
But, my hob skimmer is hanging off the back of my 15 gallon sump. The salt creep is visible inside my stand, when I look up at the bottom of my 30 gallon display. Hmm...

 

[weaver5]

reach behind the tank best you can with a shop vac and put a fan on it the most important thing is to get it dry and fast as possible.Scott

 

[scaz]

lol, I went to work one day and my 55 gallon sprong a leak while I was away, and my fiancé woke up to the smell of eletricity on fire. the water leaked onto my power strip. my roomates wheren't happy.

 

[moriartiholmes]

Wow, itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s still wet? That's bad, if the floors underneath are wood it can cause some serious warping. I'd get to work with the shop vac as soon as possible, then once the carpet is dried add a bunch of weights to try to prevent warping. Make sure the carpet is completely dry though, before adding the weights if you go this route. It may feel dry but still be wet underneath. You may have to add more water in small increments to get all of the salt out too. Air fresheners may be needed as well; at least you can open the windows right now.
Is that PVC still attached only by Teflon tape? That could be the problem. It might be best to get a Rubbermaid bin or two, empty out the tank, clean the floor, fix the sand bed issues, get the new skimmer in there etc. and then put the tank back up.

 

[moriartiholmes]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7082912#post7082912 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scaz
lol, I went to work one day and my 55 gallon sprong a leak while I was away, and my fiancé woke up to the smell of eletricity on fire. the water leaked onto my power strip. my roomates wheren't happy.

That's why GFCI's are a good thing to have You can get GFCI power strips and circuit breakers now if you already have your tank set up. One thing to think about with them is that you have to have the space to press the button if the outlet is tripped. So right behind the tank is not a good idea.
I asked a friend who's an electrician about setting them up on another outlet in the circuit before the tank outlet(s) and he said that would work too. As long as the tank is set up as a "load" on the GFCI circuit itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s protected. Hope this makes sense (it keeps you from being electrocuted by your tank)!

 

[eclectikitty]

We'll be getting renter's insurance before the 75gal is up. Put the fan on. Thanks.

 

[Jamie2337]

What a bummer. I agree with what moriartiholmes said. When you get your skimmer, break it all down and re-do it. Make sure you have everything just they way you want it. Need help?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Dry it out and press onward, Steph.
We've all had misshaps at one point or another.

 

[bosborn1]

Thats the truth. When I moved my tank the pipe fitting of the overflow wasn't tight enough...I didn't discover that until it put about 30 gallons of saltwater on to the floor.

Good Luck
Scott

 

[eclectikitty]

You don't wanna know how many times we've flooded the bathroom filling containers with RO/DI water.....Gotta hook those float valves up. And then the first time I did a water change on my 55gal using the python.... hooked up to the bathroom sink....Didn't consider that the sink wouldn't be able to handle the amount of water draining into it....And the cats had an indoor pool.....Good Times......

 

[SuzLucky]

Did you hear about when I lost all 125 gal. last summer? What a mess. I sympathize with you.

 

[Guy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7084184#post7084184 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gary Majchrzak
We've all had misshaps at one point or another.

I beg to differ!

Oh, unless you count the 400 gallons of saltwater that overflowed from my tank last month.

 

[chrisguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7085082#post7085082 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Guy
I beg to differ!

Oh, unless you count the 400 gallons of saltwater that overflowed from my tank last month.

Is this a case of "he who has the biggest tank (aka water volume), cleans the biggest spills" ??

 

[gary greguire]

what skimmer are you getting & from where.

I may be interested in the old one let me know if you want to trade for something.

Gary

 

[podeater]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7085082#post7085082 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Guy
I beg to differ!

Oh, unless you count the 400 gallons of saltwater that overflowed from my tank last month.

:eek2:

 

[nwrogers]

It happens. I lost 10 gallons of water once and was electrocuted about 3 times before I was able to pull the power strip out of the wall and stop the sump from flooding. Those were the old days. I have put things into place to stop that from happening again. The worst part about it was the water seeped through the floor and ruined my moms newly sheetrocked ceiling on the first floor and soaked her new ceiling fan. I guess the good news for you is the new Pacific Coast RPS-1000. Those look nice! Let us know how it works for you once you get it hooked up.

 

[Stephany]

yeah suzlucky. That was horrible to hear about at the first frag meet I went to.

I, that is ...wow. What happened Guy?? Did you post about it? Maybe I missed it.

I went to customaquatic.com and ordered the RPS-1000. Should be arriving mid-next week. Azra actually went to reeftanksupply (I think?) and ordered the RPS-2000. I'm going to have to wait until it arrives to take measurements and do the gate valve thing. They are in metric.

In light of all the mess that's been happening... and my worries about the tank being re-sealed before I got it, .... and being that I only have about a <6" clearance inside my stand for the skimmer...

I don't know. Hypothetically this skimmer *could* handle more than a 30 gallon tank volume...