My tank LEAKED!

MrSquid

MrSquid

New member
Laying in bed tonight and heard a loud POP. Walked out and found the tank dark and heard water dripping. For those who haven't experienced that, it's NOT a pleasant thing!

Turns out the front bottom seal let loose. Once the tank was emptied I can press on the glass and see it flex away from the bottom frame. :( Lost about 5g through into the basement (Siropa - VERY glad it's not in the living room and over the theater!).

Drained it pretty fast between filling the Brute and starting up an old Python I had. Put the fish and most of the rock into a Brute with a heater and a few pumps. Got all the corals into the now PACKED 29g QT. Any rock that didn't fit in the Brute is in a few aerated 5g buckets. I don't have anything to help save my substrate. I'll have to scoop that tomorrow and just let it dry in the garage.

I don't even want to think to how many corals I'll lose due to battling and a difference of water parameters.

Anyone know how All Glass's warranty works? Tank's 8mos old.

Have any of you seen a 125g with overflows locally?

I can't even tell you how badly this sucks. Two hours later, it's time to go to bed and try to sleep.
 
no!!!!!!!! not now when your tank was looking so good. i worryed about something like that for the first 6 months after i drilled my tank, but you left your stock. i have heard of worse so i dont think you will loose much.

what do you have every thing in now?
 
Fish and most rock are in a brute. Corals are in the QT. Rest of rock is in 5g buckets.

Gonna head into work tomorrow for at least a little while since I won't be able to get in touch with any stores @ 6am anyways. Will snag another brute (to make it easier to deal with the rock in the 5g buckets).

I know my sand bed is gonna be shot because I can't get it out tonight - nothing left to put it in. :(

My big concern is with the corals beating each other up in the frag tank. I never got around to making shelves to keep it organized, so it's not going to be too civilized in there - I'll try to make some shelves tomorrow, but I don't know if it'll be in time to make them keep to themselves.
 
Boy, that sucks!!!! What's up with AGA lately?

If you need any help or an extra tank (29g and a 5g some pumps, prism HOB skimmer) or buckets, etc.. LMK.
 
man that sucks. I've got an extra 40 breeder laying around if you want to borrow it. needs a little scrubbing, but would be usable.

Strange that it took this long to happen. I would have thought you would have been out of the woods for this kind of issue.
 
I got a 65g if you want it to put your stuff in. And if you need any help, let me know.

gl with AGA.
 
Bill - I'll take you up on the 40 breeder. Shoot me a PM and let me know if you'll be around tonight. That'd probably give me the biggest overall spread for them. Right now I've got the real meanies (orange crush acan and hydno's) separated from the general population. I'm just REALLY glad I had that tank loaded with cheato and at least SOME live rock.

Yaitsisme - I'll take you up on the HOB skimmer. Are you local? I'll shoot you a PM. With luck I won't need it for more than a few days.

Just got home with more Brutes. One to consolidate all the 5g buckets of rock and 2 others to start up some fresh salt.

Now that I've got some 5g buckets free I'm gonna start pulling the substrate out. Oh - and plus I should probably hit the phones and see if I can find a tank. ;) My retired father-in-law is on standby with his pickup truck - something tells me we'll be heading to Milwaukee or DFS...

My big concern long-term is going to be whether or not I'll need to rip open a finished wall in the basement to see if I've got any wet insultation back there. :( Gonna try to find a moisture meter first to see if I'll have to do any demo work.

Things I've learned so far...
- You can NEVER have enough Brutes or too many 5g buckets (or towels!)

- Put a water alarm by your tank! I never thought of doing it before today. I just bought 2. ;)
 
Mike, how much water had escaped before you got to the tank? Also, did it run outside the stand or inside it?

I know you bought the stand, but I have seen where people have either epoxied the inside using kilz or used pond liner to catch any water that happens to leak inside a stand. A little extra precaution never hurts right?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12990688#post12990688 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MSU Fan
Mike, how much water had escaped before you got to the tank? Also, did it run outside the stand or inside it?

I know you bought the stand, but I have seen where people have either epoxied the inside using kilz or used pond liner to catch any water that happens to leak inside a stand. A little extra precaution never hurts right?
Click to expand...

Boy, you'd hope that you didn't need to build a stand anticipating a leak. The tank seals shouldn't be the weak link in a system. Maybe a little class action suit against AGA, or whatever they're called this week, will wake-up their quality (or lack there of) people.
 
They must have really gone into the tank recently with all the leaking/blown threads i've seen. I've had probably 50 AGA tanks over the years and have never had one fail because of the build quality. But the most recent one i've bought is at least 7 years old.

Squid, at least it wasn't over your theater. guess that fear was somewhat justified.
 
Agreed, Scott. However, with plumbing, I always anticipate a leak. Especially with the potential for splashing and what not in a sump in a stand.
 
I'm guessing ~10g leaked out. I collected about 4 or 5g that leaked through the hole for a can light in the basement. Plus we sopped up a bunch off the floor with towels. I was able to get it drained pretty darned fast.

The water went to a HVAC return duct next to the tank and then seeped into the joist space next to it. If 4 or 5g came out the joist space with the hole for the light, I'm assuming the same amount went into the opposite joist space but didn't have anywhere to go - except for down the wall - which is why I'm thinking I may have to do some demo to dry it out. grrr.....

The water leaked under the glass and then over the trim. It pretty much dripped around the full stand, but was heaviest at the right front corner. Having some sort of liner wouldn't have done anything for me because of where and how it leaked.

I'm just glad we were home and that all the lights were off (don't know if the transformers got wet)

I'm about to head to Pet World on 27th in Milwaukee. They accidentally got in the exact tank I need - $335. Hoffers was $550 and they're the only other place I found that even HAD one. So that works out well for me!

I went into work for a couple of hours this morning - someone asked "don't they make some sort of pan liner for under the tank in case it leaks?" I said yes - it's a 200g tank to hold your 125. :D
 
Oh no!!!!

If you're concerned about the moisture in the walls, call Service Master. We deal with the Oshkosh branch quite often and they are fantastic to work with. They are all independently owned so each branch is run differently.

They have moisture sensors and will probably be able to tell you quickly what the best plan of attack is. They have some probes that they can stick in the wall and spray a chemical that will kill the mold. Mold starts in 48-72 hours, so get on it ASAP.

Also, there should be coverage for the water damage to the home. No coverage for the tank and critters, but the resulting water damage to your home is covered by most Homeowner's policies.

If I can help, let me know!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12990794#post12990794 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MSU Fan
Agreed, Scott. However, with plumbing, I always anticipate a leak. Especially with the potential for splashing and what not in a sump in a stand.
Click to expand...

Exactly, the plumbing, pumps, beater sump tank, and such should be your weak links. Shouldn't need to purchase a 200 gallon tank as a safety liner for your 125. :mad:

Must have a horse shoe up your you know what to be home, hear the tank let loose, only loose 10 gallons of water and have a direct replacement tank a couple hours away. To loose the full tank of water, in this hot weather, while not home... ouch, time to get to know (and probably hate) your home owners insurance provider.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12990830#post12990830 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrSquid
I'm guessing ~10g leaked out. I collected about 4 or 5g that leaked through the hole for a can light in the basement. Plus we sopped up a bunch off the floor with towels. I was able to get it drained pretty darned fast.

The water went to a HVAC return duct next to the tank and then seeped into the joist space next to it. If 4 or 5g came out the joist space with the hole for the light, I'm assuming the same amount went into the opposite joist space but didn't have anywhere to go - except for down the wall - which is why I'm thinking I may have to do some demo to dry it out. grrr.....

The water leaked under the glass and then over the trim. It pretty much dripped around the full stand, but was heaviest at the right front corner. Having some sort of liner wouldn't have done anything for me because of where and how it leaked.

I'm just glad we were home and that all the lights were off (don't know if the transformers got wet)

I'm about to head to Pet World on 27th in Milwaukee. They accidentally got in the exact tank I need - $335. Hoffers was $550 and they're the only other place I found that even HAD one. So that works out well for me!

I went into work for a couple of hours this morning - someone asked "don't they make some sort of pan liner for under the tank in case it leaks?" I said yes - it's a 200g tank to hold your 125. :D
Click to expand...

You may be able to just cut out a chunk of drywall behind the base trim to check the wall cavity. If you have fiberglass insulation it would hold some water, if it's polystyrene it will not hold water. Either way the water will work it's way down to the base and you should be able to see it if there is water in the wall. If it's in the drywall, it'll soften and bubble if it soaks all the way through. Run a fan into the hole and dry everything out ASAP and you may be able to save it. My brother got water in his basement a couple weeks ago and his drywall lived though it.
 
Im so glad you were home when this happened, it could have been a total loss of livestock, and you would be spending all that money fixing the house!

I hope the damage is minor, Good luck!

If it makes you feel any better, I came home from LaCrosse one time, and before I opened my apt door (same apt the meeting was at) I could smell rotten fish and I said to Shannon "somebodys apt STINKS" then i open my door to a dry 38g parrot fish tank and the smell was MY apt, not a drop of water to be found, just a damp section of carpet, and 38g MIA, downstairs neighbor or landlord never said anything, so im not sure where the water went, but I got lucky, it could have caused $ in damages, and that was before we got renters insurance. I lost my 4yr old parrot fish :( (FW)
 
Wow, 38 missing gallons of water? That is weird! I wonder if it made it's way into a duct and flowed into the furnace or onto the floor and found a drain...

Things like that make me wonder...
 
Hmmm... scary!! How far back does it seem that AGA been having problems? My newest is just over a year old now... It may be something to look into a suit. Esp. if there are that many people having troubles with them.....
 
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