we have drip

thanks for all of the offers of understanding and help.

Of course, the "upgrade" (or quit) question always crops up in these situations.
I'm satisfied with the size of my present 225 gallon aquarium (72"L x 24"W x 30"H) although I had originally wanted a wider (36") footprint. We'll see.

I just wish this aquarium hadn't started leaking. My wife can't understand why I'm in a miserable mood today.
 
If you need another hand I am willing help or to borrow a few totes or buckets. After just having my tank crap out I would hate to see anything happen to anyone elses. Let me know Im only 40 minutes away.

aaron
 
Gary...

have you checked all your bulkhead fittings "twice"..i had a similar issue and thought it was the seam as well, found out it was bulkhead in the back, and water seeped all the way to th front to appear as a seam leak...just thought I would throw that out there.

Geo
 
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thanks for all of the offers of understanding and help.

Of course, the "upgrade" (or quit) question always crops up in these situations.
I'm satisfied with the size of my present 225 gallon aquarium (72"L x 24"W x 30"H) although I had originally wanted a wider (36") footprint. We'll see.

I just wish this aquarium hadn't started leaking. My wife can't understand why I'm in a miserable mood today.


I'd say err on the side of upgrading! The problem becomes the extras associated with it. You'll need a new stand at the very least. I'm staying tuned in Gary. Not sure what help I can lend you outside of moral support.:spin3:
 
I just wish this aquarium hadn't started leaking. My wife can't understand why I'm in a miserable mood today.

Miserable mood? I'm always in a good mood when I find out that I'm getting a new tank ;)

I shouldn't kid. The situation is just awful. I looked into solutions when my 75 developed a leak and the advice that I found was that going over the seals could be a temporary fix, but that draining, cleaning off all of the silicone and reseating the panes was the only way to ensure that ht leak would be corrected.

I'm not sure if that's entirely true, but reading that and never being able to figure out where the leak was actually coming from prompted me to consider getting out and my wife to ask "are there bigger tanks that would fit on our stand?"

The water from my leak collected along the bottom, making me think that I had a leak on the bottom seam. When I drained it 20% to take out my old overflow the leak completely stopped. Which made me think that the leak was really somewhere along the upper seam. But I never noticed water dripping from the seams... puzzling.

At least in my case the system was so new that I wasn't risking mature corals by moving over. And I had room for an upgrade (which made me at least feel better about spending more money). Best of luck. I'll be interested to follow along and see how you eventually solve it.
 
That's awful Gary. Let me add both my moral and actual support, if you need it and there's anything I can do!!
 
Another helping hand offer is probably not needed, but I want to add my concern for your predicament. I hope you'll give us frequent updates...all your friends at URS are worried.
 
Gary...

have you checked all your bulkhead fittings "twice"..i had a similar issue and thought it was the seam as well, found out it was bulkhead in the back, and water seeped all the way to th front to appear as a seam leak...just thought I would throw that out there.

Geo
thanks for the suggestion, George, but (most unfortunately) the leak is somewhere along the bottom seam.
 
I would err on the side of upgrading. Mechanical failures don't fix themselves and bandaids seem risky. I bet it you got another similar sized tank with all of the support on here you could get eveything moved in a couple of hours. I would be more than happy to help.

Ben
 
game plan formulated

game plan formulated

(obviously subject to change!)

keep aquarium running while researching options. Looks like the present rate of water loss is around 2 gallons every 24 hours. Replace lost saltwater with new saltwater. Pray drip rate doesn't increase.

just in case something suddenly goes south....
I don't have enough capacity to hold everything in this aquarium elsewhere.
If anybody has clean empty totes available to borrow I'd probably take you up on the offer :)
 
Sorry to hear of the problem. I realized you responded to George's comment about a possible bulkhead leak. I would first make absolutely sure you know where the leak is, double check, triple check. Water has an uncanny way of looking like it is coming from one place when it is really coming from somewhere else. I once had water filling in the space between the glass and the plastic frame and was convinced it was a small leak. After checking many different ways I traced it to water condensing inside the canapy and dripping off the canopy right into the space at the bottom. It took some time to find it becasue it wasn't running down the glass just dripping into the seam. Not that I doubt your diagnosis, just suggesting you use a couple of different methods of checking before you take any really drastic measures.

Best of luck whatever happens.
Dave
 
Another thought, though most likely impractable. The rate at which the water will leak is proportional to the pressure which is in turn proportional to the depth. Therefore lowering the water level will reduce the pressure and may slow the leak. It is probably not easy to lower the water level however.

Dave
 
Home depot has a very liberal return policy. For one tank switch I bought a couple of the brute cans, then hosed them out and returned them for a full refund a few days later when I was done with them.
 
I realized you responded to George's comment about a possible bulkhead leak. I would first make absolutely sure you know where the leak is, double check, triple check. Water has an uncanny way of looking like it is coming from one place when it is really coming from somewhere else.
I know what you mean, Dave. FWIW it's impossible to determine exactly where along the bottom seam the aquarium is leaking.
In fact, even if entirely drained it might not be possible to determine where the leak is.
 
poopy deal,outta town till the pm. i'm a big fan of the kiddie pool . lots of room to spead things out,and cheap. i'm only couple miles away if needed. i know of a 225 starfire that's for sale in roc. good luck
 
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