OMG what do I do?

J

JagerBlunt

In Memoriam
So I finally just got got my tank up and running, cycled, and got 4 fish in the tank when I noticed a very very small leak in the bottom left corner so small that the only way I noticed it was the salt creep in the corner but barely any water.... what do I do? how am I gonna keep my fish alive and stress free my one goby is so scared after acclimation he never comes out and when he does come out he shoots right back in to a cave when I walk by so he went through enough stress. I do have a 10 gallon tank lying around but no way to filter it... I'm just so upset with this whole situation... I thought I was save a good deal of cash buying a used tank, but it just cost me such a headache..... never buying a used tank again, he guaranteed it didn't leak..... WHAT SHOULD I DO??????
 
Are you sure it is even a leak?

Water spilled down the sides builds up in the frame, and the salt creep happens. Any moisture may be from the salt pulling water from the air....
 
its glass, and i'm pretty sure its a leak cause it has a hood on it and I wiped down the outside the last time I had my hands in it after aquascaping my rocks like 2 weeks ago, the only thing I could think of was when I dumped the 10gallon into it after acclimation, I mean I'll wipe it down and check it again later
 
Might be water collection from when you cleaned it. It has happen to me also I thought its a leak but its just water collected in between the frame and the glass.

How big of a tank is this?
 
if the leak is being covered up by the plastic trim then the only thing to do is empty the tank and re-seal that area probably... and give it 24 hours to cure... maybe a little longer..
 
What a pain in the ***! I guess I have to make a trip to home depot and get 2 55 gallon trash bins at $60 a pop and drain it into that so I don't have to recycle my tank? So what just put a power head in the trash bin with my live rock and fish?
 
If the tank is leaking it is coming through the structural seal between the panes of glass. While resealing the inside may prevent a leak temporarily I wouldn't trust it long term. The next failure could be more catastrophic and 90 gallons will do a lot of damage. The more proper way to reseal it would be to at least remove the leaking pane completely and really the whole tank should be dismantled. I would get a new tank if at all possible.

If you decide to reseal the tank the cure time for silicone is longer than 24 hours and the stuff at home depot is not a structural silicone and should not be used as such. Momentive RTV 103 & 108 are the preferred choices. GE also sells SCS1200 which is suitable as well.

The livestock will be fine in Brute cans, or other suitable containers, as long as you control the temp, supply flow, include some of your rock, and provide some light for any photosynthetic life.
 
Here are two pics off each of my tanks, with the salt creep I have always had after water changes where I spilled water down the glass. Does it look like either of these? If so, there is a very good chance it is the same thing....before you run out and spend money. I would clean it up and see if it reappears a couple times :)




 
I thought I had the same problem then I found a leaky return fitting on the top rim of the tank. It dripped water down the back glass and filled the frame with water and of course left salt behind as it evaporated. Before you go through the trouble of dismantleing the tank, make sure its not something else leaking.
 
Not a leak IMO. Clean thoroughly with clean water, dry with fan or blow dryer and observe over next few hours.
 
I've seen a couple leaks and I'm not sure that's a leak. Seems too small. A leak will continue and make a bigger and bigger mess.

I'd not touch it for a few days and see if it gets bigger. If your salt-creep stays the same and doesn't get bigger or wet, then it's likely not a leak.

HOWEVER, as stated before a leak can turn catastrophic very quickly and 90+ gallons is a lot of water when you pour it on the floor. Kind of shocking how much the water spreads out actually when it's on the floor.

I had a couple big spills when building my tank, thankfully it's in the garage. My wet-dry vac got a lot of action the last year or so.

If you have the money, I'd just get a new tank and sleep soundly at night. The thought of that going on downstairs would just ruin my night until it was fixed.
 
Well considering I haven't done my first water change yet I don't think its from that I have no air lines going in to the tank, it MIGHT have been from when I did my aquascaping, but since I wiped the whole tank clean afterwards I doubt it... I'll let it sit for the next few days without touching it besides feeding and topping off via the sump and see what happens.... Worst case, my LFS is having a sale on deep blue reef ready tanks the whole month of July, A 90g rr is going for $269 that wholesale price + $1 I'll go pick one ASAP if it is leaking... xfer all my stuff to the new tank reseal the old one and sell it on Craigslist.. AFTER checking for new leaks, I'm not a dick... Just don't want my livestock sitting in Rubbermaid containers in the middle of my bedroom.. I would have no problem keeping this tank if it didn't leak after resealing IF I had something to do with my livestock while resealing...
 
Last edited:
I had this happen to my tank after 5 years. I always had salt-creep in the right front corner (when facing). Then one day water just started dripping there - enough to make a small puddle on the carpet.

I didn't have time to think - grabbed some towels and plopped them on the floor. Grabbed my two 32 gallon trash cans (used when I moved the tank) and started siphoning water out. Placed the rocks in the garbage cans with a couple powerheads to keep water flowing, captured the fish (2 clowns and blue tang), crabs, shrimp and put them in a 5 gallon bucket with an airstone. Luckily I had no corals at the time. Left the snails with the rock. Sand went with the fish.

It took about a week to clean and seal the tank, then I put it all back together. Guess what... (learn from my mistake here) the leak came back a week after reassembly - I never really tested it to make sure it was gone. Everything went back to trash cans and buckets. I purchased a new tank and put Humpty Dumpty back together again - and sold the leaky tank on Craigslist for $100.

This was all 5 years ago. More recently I decided to move the tank to another room - this was a quick empty and rebuild in a single night (and threw in a water change to boot). No casualties in any of the drains, or when I moved the tank (water and all) from one house to another.

It's doable!
 
jeffltodd said:
I had this happen to my tank after 5 years. I always had salt-creep in the right front corner (when facing). Then one day water just started dripping there - enough to make a small puddle on the carpet.

I didn't have time to think - grabbed some towels and plopped them on the floor. Grabbed my two 32 gallon trash cans (used when I moved the tank) and started siphoning water out. Placed the rocks in the garbage cans with a couple powerheads to keep water flowing, captured the fish (2 clowns and blue tang), crabs, shrimp and put them in a 5 gallon bucket with an airstone. Luckily I had no corals at the time. Left the snails with the rock. Sand went with the fish.

It took about a week to clean and seal the tank, then I put it all back together. Guess what... (learn from my mistake here) the leak came back a week after reassembly - I never really tested it to make sure it was gone. Everything went back to trash cans and buckets. I purchased a new tank and put Humpty Dumpty back together again - and sold the leaky tank on Craigslist for $100.

This was all 5 years ago. More recently I decided to move the tank to another room - this was a quick empty and rebuild in a single night (and threw in a water change to boot). No casualties in any of the drains, or when I moved the tank (water and all) from one house to another.

It's doable!
Click to expand...

I know it's doable, but what a pain in the *** this is gonna be... I was so pleased to get it up and running, and now I have to take it all back down... There isn't much room in my bedroom to begin with, I had to sacrifice a decent amount of space just to have this tank in my room, and I'm on the first floor of my condo which is a 2nd floor unit (main door) which is up a spiral stair case.. yeah its cool having a spiral staircase down to my bedroom but that also means I need to go up a spiral staircase to get to the living room, kitchen, bathroom, ect.... I do have an exit from my bedroom to the hallway on the first floor, but I don't think the other condo owners would like me having a few trash bins in the hallway with extension cords all over the place PLUS the hallway isn't air conditioned, and I don't have chiller
 
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