Not "if" But When? Tank Leak

[jmaldo]

Tuesday - Sometime between 2am and 7am.The dreaded "Tank Leak" struck. Woke up a few hours earlier than normal. Instead of tossing and turning decided to get up. Going through the routine, I suddenly noticed/heard a waterfall sound, similar to an HOB output if the water level got a bit low. Strange since I no longer use them. Went to the Living room, stepped on to the carpet it was wet. Oh, know! Yep, my 55 gallon Discus tank was leaking.
It appears to have lost about 50% of the water. Scramble time, what to do, where do I start? Decided firstly to remove the fish to a 5 gal pail, then start pumping out the water all the while working on the soaked carpet. Where to put the Discus. I have 4 other tanks going but, all occupied. Decided to put them in the 45 gal container I age water in. Whew! By the time I was done it appears approx. 30 gals leaked out. Now the task of cleanup. Towels, Towels and more Towels. Shop vac, fans, still carpet very wet. To be continued...

 

[Ohio Mark]

Oh no!!!!! Hm.... There is no option for "I feel your pain" on the ratings bar. "Like" seems somehow not fitting -- but I like it that you caught it in time!

 

[jennalynnj]

Oh no! I have no tips for your poor fishies but I had a leaky roof this winter so I know the pain of wet carpet! You may have already thought of this but, after removing as much as I could I sprayed with vinegar and then covered it with a ton of baking soda to absorb whatever moisture was left, as well as deal with any smell, just don't blow the fans on it while the soda is on it lol. It seemed to help it dry out faster.

 

[jmaldo]

Oh no!!!!! Hm.... There is no option for "I feel your pain" on the ratings bar. "Like" seems somehow not fitting -- but I like it that you caught it in time!

Exactly, Oh No!
It appears at the rate it was leaking had I remained in bed as normal for a few more hours the water would have completely drained out and the "Discus" would have been lost. The leak was on the bottom end seam.

 

[Jimothy K]

Do you have a five gallon bucket on hand? if so put them in that. or a big plastic bin from walmart, that might be more comfortable for them. I feel your pain, I had a ten gallon leak in my bedroom earlier this year, except I didn't notice it for about a week. (The tank had no fish so I paid it no attention)

 

[jmaldo]

Continued...
After 5-6 hours of towels and shop vac, fans decided to lift end of carpeting and direct fan underneath. Moved the canister and sponge filters to the container along with the plants. No choice but off to the job. Back home after 9 hours, carpet still very wet. What to do, started cutting and remove carpet. By this time it's 3 am. Back up at 8am, more carpet cutting. Oh, by the way the "Discus are doing "Ok" in the 45g water aging container, I am sure somewhat stressed but swimming and eating. Only lost a couple of Amano shrimp.
Now what to do -
No time to re-seal the 55g, decided I needed another tank
thought about upgrading to the 125g I planned on, but not prepared. Turns out "Pet Supplies Plus" is having $1 per sale, well 50% off larger tanks. Purchased another 55 gallon for $61 out the door. Leak testing right now.

 

[Jimothy K]

best of luck...

 

[jmaldo]

Ok, now that I have the "New" tank, it got me thinking "How to prevent this from happening again?" Is it even possible?

Doing some research on "Water Leak detectors". I found quite a few options from the basic (similar to a smoke alarm) to Top of the line with an app for your phone.







Also, thought of some sort of spill container.


Thought I might spray paint it black and have it as the bottom platform and put the stand on it.

Hey. "Veteran" keepers. What do you use or suggest?

 

[Viriam Karo]

Ok, now that I have the "New" tank, it got me thinking "How to prevent this from happening again?" Is it even possible?

Doing some research on "Water Leak detectors". I found quite a few options from the basic (similar to a smoke alarm) to Top of the line with an app for your phone.







Also, thought of some sort of spill container.


Thought I might spray paint it black and have it as the bottom platform and put the stand on it.

Hey. "Veteran" keepers. What do you use or suggest?

Wow, 5000 pounds capacity... that's pretty great. They should just make stands that have that as the top platform! Then it would catch the water immediately instead of it possibly streaming down, say, a wood or particle board stand (causing warping). And like you said, it's a when, not an if. I would totally buy a stand like this.

I'm so paranoid about tank leaks; I had one at the beginning of this year right after I moved and DAYS AFTER I introduced a bunch of new fish and plantscaped the tank up. Had to catch a bunch of shrimp and nanofish... thankfully I did not have carpet, and it was during the day, and it was only 10 gallons. Hope your discus are doing all right.

 

[jmaldo]

Viriam Karo
I have basically decided on getting it, $100 shipped to my door. At least it would catch 30 gals and with the alarm I choose to install it should not need to. Just waiting for any "Veterans" to chime in with other/better alternatives.

Learning all the Time.

Ok, still undecided on the type of alarm. Anybody?

 

[Arrielle]

Tuesday - Sometime between 2am and 7am.The dreaded "Tank Leak" struck. Woke up a few hours earlier than normal. Instead of tossing and turning decided to get up. Going through the routine, I suddenly noticed/heard a waterfall sound, similar to an HOB output if the water level got a bit low. Strange since I no longer use them. Went to the Living room, stepped on to the carpet it was wet. Oh, know! Yep, my 55 gallon Discus tank was leaking.
It appears to have lost about 50% of the water. Scramble time, what to do, where do I start? Decided firstly to remove the fish to a 5 gal pail, then start pumping out the water all the while working on the soaked carpet. Where to put the Discus. I have 4 other tanks going but, all occupied. Decided to put them in the 45 gal container I age water in. Whew! By the time I was done it appears approx. 30 gals leaked out. Now the task of cleanup. Towels, Towels and more Towels. Shop vac, fans, still carpet very wet. To be continued...

I hope your carpet will get back to as-normal-as-possible soon. You scared me big time. I'll move the tank up where we still do not have new floor. Mine is only 8 gal but it's enough to ruin your floor

 

[Fanatic]

Oh my, hope things get sorted for you!

I have gotten out of some tough situations with floors and water, which involved buckets being tipped onto the carpet floors, or a pitcher of water being dropped multiple times, but no tanks physically leaking. I do remember the one time I was siphoning out some water of my tank directly onto the floor as if I was delirious, what was I even thinking?

 

[david1978]

I ended up using our bath tub for my Oscar.

 

[coralbandit]

No alarms and no tanks out of basement which does have carpet and has gotten soaked ..
IMO the alarms for filling and water change errors .
Planning on and predicting a tanks leak is like getting fish to put in freezer to me and a strong argument for new [not used ]tanks ?

 

[86 ssinit]

Leaks happen. Had a 200 crack and break and drain in less than 10 seconds. I stood there in shock as my wife and kids grabbed my fish and threw them into a 20 gal qt tank. Had to redo the basement. Amazing I had 14 large discus in a 20 gal for about a week. With other fish and most lived threw it. I didn’t have big tanks for almost 20yrs. Tiled the basement and now buy acrylic tanks. But even doing that you can’t win. Had a sun sun canister leak after a power outage last year. Put about 20 gal on the floor. But no terrible damage.
Even with those alarms what do you do if your at work and over an hour away. I like that base but 30gal just isn’t going to cut it. Need to add a float pump that will drain to a sink or drain. Me I just keep my fingers crossed.

 

[jmaldo]

Thanks for the replies everyone.
Update.
It a been a tough few days. The "Discus" are "OK", still swimming and eating, even come to the top of the container when they see me, begging for food of course. Also, had a water change. The "New" 55 has been leak tested and running, actually it is the aging container now. Thinking about the Acrylic tank when I upgrade. All the carpeting removed and the hardwood floor cleaned (Luckily, no damage). Will forgo installing a new carpet for now. Plan is either tonight or tomorrow do another water change and put the tank back in its spot. Company picnic today and of course "Guess" who is in charge of the setup. It will be fun. Will be ordering the base at least it will catch/hold 30 gals vs the floor and the alarm is just precauionary. Of course still no "Guarantee".
To be continued...

 

[angelfishguppie]

Thanks for the replies everyone.
Update.
It a been a tough few days. The "Discus" are "OK", still swimming and eating, even come to the top of the container when they see me, begging for food of course. Also, had a water change. The "New" 55 has been leak tested and running, actually it is the aging container now. Thinking about the Acrylic tank when I upgrade. All the carpeting removed and the hardwood floor cleaned (Luckily, no damage). Will forgo installing a new carpet for now. Plan is either tonight or tomorrow do another water change and put the tank back in its spot. Company picnic today and of course "Guess" who is in charge of the setup. It will be fun. Will be ordering the base at least it will catch/hold 30 gals vs the floor and the alarm is just precauionary. Of course still no "Guarantee".
To be continued...

Thanks for the update and prompting the thought process.

I'm glad I never had a tank leak. I've had some misadventures but no carpet to deal with ever! The hardwood floors drain to the crawlspace with out permanent damage.

I hadn't thought about it when I bought it but my 20 gal trash can on wheels I bought last winter would be my emergency stock tank.

Good luck with your new build and home repairs!

 

[86 ssinit]

Just something to think about. How is your stand going to fit over that base. And 26” is a long way off the wall. With 18” of space behind it. Even if you center it you’ll have an extra 9” in front and behind. Plus the tank will also be 6” higher.
Being you got a new tank I think you won’t need it. Tank should be solid for at least 5years. Just things to think about before you commit.

 

[sixtyfour]

That is rough:-( I've never thought about using spill pads like that. pretty cool idea. Post some pics when you get it up. I use these leak detectors.



Real simple, but they work great. I've got them all over the place: tanks, sump pump, behind toilet, etc.

I have considered getting one of the fancier detectors that hits my phone. There is usually somebody at the house, but a high tech leak detector would be cool.

 

[jmaldo]

Just something to think about. How is your stand going to fit over that base. And 26” is a long way off the wall. With 18” of space behind it. Even if you center it you’ll have an extra 9” in front and behind. Plus the tank will also be 6” higher.
Being you got a new tank I think you won’t need it. Tank should be solid for at least 5years. Just things to think about before you commit.

Thanks!
Agree, since this new 55 gallon is an emergency purchase and I plan on upgrading to a 90 or 125 in about 6 months and more than likely purchase another stand or fabricate one like you did. I am going to re-think the idea of the leak capture base for now.. But still purchase the alarms.

Update...
As mentioned decided to get a New 55 gallon for now. After removing the carpet and clean-up. Here it is the "Discus" new 55g. They are still in the water aging container, doing fine.
Will be moving them on Tuesday.

New 55g

 

[jmaldo]

Update!
I moved the Blue Diamonds into their "New" home on 6/13 after 8 days in the aging container. They are doing fine, but still after a week they are a little skittish, I guess it is to be expected. With all the moving. Anyway what a couple of weeks. Whew! Thanks to everyone for their replies. What a learning experience! The trials and tribulations of keeping "Wet Pets"
Here are a few pics.

 

[86 ssinit]

They look great!!!

 

[coralbandit]

They do look great especially after all that .
Well done master keeper !

 

[Minxxy]

Ok, now that I have the "New" tank, it got me thinking "How to prevent this from happening again?" Is it even possible?

Doing some research on "Water Leak detectors". I found quite a few options from the basic (similar to a smoke alarm) to Top of the line with an app for your phone.







Also, thought of some sort of spill container.


Thought I might spray paint it black and have it as the bottom platform and put the stand on it.

Hey. "Veteran" keepers. What do you use or suggest?

Now I'm thinking of getting that spill catch for under my tanks

 

[Islandvic]

jmaldo , if you don't mind me asking, what brand of 55 gallon did you have that leaked?

Unless I missed it and you already stated it, did you find where the leak was? Bad seal, a crack ?

I ask because tomorrow I'm filling up my new 55 gallon !

 

[jmaldo]

Islandvic
It was an Aqueon, The tank was at least 3 years in use. (2 by me). The leak was coming from the side bottom framing. Still not sure how/why. I have not investigated any further. But eventually will.

Good Luck!