75gal DIY Disaster

[TDubb4Twenty]

Greeting my people's...

So I have to install "euro-braces" or "kick plates" to my DIY 75gal(36x22x22). Now my question is the crush coral substrate. No I haven't googled what to do as far as what to do so it'll still be useable after I install the bracing. Do I have to keep it wet? In the am I'm gonna remove some of the substrate put ina bucket, move the remaining substrate to middle of tank...install bracing...let seal...water test...pray lol...and if work, return substrate add water and my babies back to tank...is that cool or do I need to keep substrate in water, conditioned and all that?

 

[JuiceKong]

I don't think I completely understand the situation. Is the substrate from another tank and already seeded with BB? Are you using crushed coral as the substrate because you want to raise the hardness of your water?

 

[TDubb4Twenty]

My apologies...it the substrate from the tank...the tank sprung a serious leak, so it's drained and ready to be repaired, I'm just wondering is there really anyway to salvage the substrate.

 

[JuiceKong]

Thanks for clarifying. I don't see why you couldn't continue using that substrate. As long as it has not dried out, then the BB will still be alive. Do you still have all the filter media sitting in tank water?

 

[TDubb4Twenty]

Not in the tank, manage to syphon some the tank water in a bucket, got the media in there.
So if the substrate gets dry, it's not reusable?, that what your saying?

 

[JuiceKong]

The substrate is reusable no matter the condition, the only thing is, substrate holds a lot of beneficial bacteria in it, so if it dried out then the bacteria will have died. That is good that the filter media was placed in tank water, there will be a lot of beneficial bacteria there. Get everything back in place and the tank running, when you add the fish, watch the water parameters as the BB will need to grow back. Where are the fish now? Is it possible they are in a situation where they can be gradually moved back to the tank?

 

[PeterFishKeepin]

i would be careful when reusing it, if the tank glass cracked or shattered in anyway, I would sort through each piece and wash in tank water to make sure yo don't have sharp glass pieces in the tank. If it was only a leak and no glass is broken then you should be fine I think

 

[TDubb4Twenty]

i would be careful when reusing it, if the tank glass cracked or shattered in anyway, I would sort through each piece and wash in tank water to make sure yo don't have sharp glass pieces in the tank. If it was only a leak and no glass is broken then you should be fine I think

Preciate the heads up, but it was about 15% of the seal between bottom and back the gave. No cracks or broken glass

The substrate is reusable no matter the condition, the only thing is, substrate holds a lot of beneficial bacteria in it, so if it dried out then the bacteria will have died. That is good that the filter media was placed in tank water, there will be a lot of beneficial bacteria there. Get everything back in place and the tank running, when you add the fish, watch the water parameters as the BB will need to grow back. Where are the fish now? Is it possible they are in a situation where they can be gradually moved back to the tank?

Preciate the info. And yes, transferred them to bucket while I ran to Walmart and grabbed a tote I been meaning to get. Filtration system is currently back running with them in the tote

The substrate is reusable no matter the condition, the only thing is, substrate holds a lot of beneficial bacteria in it, so if it dried out then the bacteria will have died. That is good that the filter media was placed in tank water, there will be a lot of beneficial bacteria there. Get everything back in place and the tank running, when you add the fish, watch the water parameters as the BB will need to grow back. Where are the fish now? Is it possible they are in a situation where they can be gradually moved back to the tank?I

Ok so I scooped out all substrate put in bucket and poured tank water I syphoned out the tank during the disaster on top of substrate to keep wet while I repair. That'll keep the BB at least "good" for like 3 days right?

 

[JuiceKong]

Yes it should be fine. Good luck!

 

[TDubb4Twenty]

Preciate the luck and knowledge my dude, so far so erything good. My boys chilling in the tote being abnormally patient...substrate chilling in bucket of aquarium water...tank in process of being cleaned and repaired.

 

[SparkyJones]

you can always reuse the crushed coral until the pH on the tank drops, then it's likely been depleted and needs to be replaced (6 months to a year or so). even if it dries out it can be used, the bacteria will be dead, but it can be recolonized. usually a pH drop will indicate the crushed coral has lost it's buffering capability.

if you want to keep it wet for the bacteria, just make sure you use dechlorinated water and it should be fine, and don't let the water go stagnant and totally funky either.

 

[TDubb4Twenty]

Preciate that, I syphoned 2 buckets of aqaurium water out during the disaster. The substrate chilling in a bucket of that.

 

[TDubb4Twenty]

She's been repaired, resealed and now has euro bracing on bottom. Passed her water test, my ,water kids will be happy as a "fish in water" when I get off and get them back home....for now

 

[TDubb4Twenty]

So last week my DYI 75 gal failed. The seal failed(8inches along the back) and forced me to drastic measures. Now tank has been resealed and eruo braced(for extra comfort), now time to see if the fail could've been avoided. Now during the original water test of said 75gal, the water inside the tank froze. Could that freezing had contributed or been cause of said 8in seal fail?...

 

[Rye3434]

I think freezing definitely could have contributed as it would expand and stress the seals

 

[MrMuggles]

The freezing was most definitely the sole cause. Even with euro bracing it probably would have failed, ice expands massively during freezing

 

[SparkyJones]

If temperatures change from above to below freezing on the silcone, the silicone will expand and compress which can cause the seal to crack, break, or crease, ultimately reducing the effectiveness of the seal.

silicone could be used down to -20F but it will take longer to cure and become thicker to apply, but yeah once it's in place, it should not have gotten frozen, when it thaws it will do funky things and weaken the seal.

I wouldn't necessarily blame it all on it, but it certainly would be a contributing factor to the seal failing, if it was frozen and thawed, you'd really need to reseal the whole tank or risk a different seal failing when the water goes back in, all of the silicone will have been stressed and weakened.

 

[TDubb4Twenty]

Preciate that feed back my people's. Lesson learned...