Sprung a leak!!

[Holy handgrenade]

Well one of the worst scenarios for a reefer happen to me this morning. I was waking up for work at 4:30 this morning to find my tank half empty!!!!!! PANIC!!!!!! I was barely awake and scrambling to bring my corals and fish to safety. Thank God i had some nsw to move some of my livestock. Good thing i had to wake up for work, otherwise i wouldnt have caught it in time.
I was able to save every living thing for the most part so its not a complete loss, just frustrating. 10 gallons (thankfully i only have a 20 gallon tank) of water on the floor and carpet all cleaned up.
Well i didnt call out of work and i need to start now.
Need suggestions of what actions i should take when i get home. I checked petco and they have sales on 20 and 29 gallon tanks so maybe i will pick one up after work
I wish everyone a good day and no leaks!!

 

[Subsea]

Bad dream wake-up. Have a good “rest of the day”.

 

[JZ199]

Glad you caught it before it was a total loss! Now would be the perfect time to go bigger if you're looking to upgrade size at all lol

 

[Timfish]

That sucks! Save and use as much as possible setting it back up. Expect to have algae issues the next couple months and I would be proactive with water changes.

 

[Fish Styx]

So sorry, dude. This is my worst nightmare. Glad you caught it in time. As far as a suggestion, perhaps make lemons out of lemonade and go bigger with the replacement?

 

[WestMI-Reefer]

Did one of the silicone seals fail? Sorry to hear about the leak, but glad you were able to save the inhabitants.

 

[mfinn]

Time to upgrade tank size.

 

[MERKEY]

So sorry this happened but definitely glad you caught it and saved what you could.

I agree with @mfinn time for an upgrade. Even if it is only to the 29g (go bigger if your bank allows), this is an opportunity not to be missed

 

[I never finish anythi]

Well one of the worst scenarios for a reefer happen to me this morning. I was waking up for work at 4:30 this morning to find my tank half empty!!!!!! PANIC!!!!!! I was barely awake and scrambling to bring my corals and fish to safety. Thank God i had some nsw to move some of my livestock. Good thing i had to wake up for work, otherwise i wouldnt have caught it in time.
I was able to save every living thing for the most part so its not a complete loss, just frustrating. 10 gallons (thankfully i only have a 20 gallon tank) of water on the floor and carpet all cleaned up.
Well i didnt call out of work and i need to start now.
Need suggestions of what actions i should take when i get home. I checked petco and they have sales on 20 and 29 gallon tanks so maybe i will pick one up after work
I wish everyone a good day and no leaks!!

How did it leak ??? We all want to know . . .

 

[EricR]

Bummer,,, sorry man
...and you went to work anyway?
Wow, that's dedication!

As you noticed, at least PetCo sale on Aqueon glass tanks is going on right now:
40 gallon breeder for $59
60 gallon breeder for $99
...just sayin'

 

[homer1475]

I'm assuming you broke a seal? That sucks for sure, and most certainly a reefers worst nightmare! Imagine if it was a bigger tank!

Get everything into tubs, with heat, and water movement(even a bubble wand is better then nothing), then go to petco and grab a new tank.

 

[Holy handgrenade]

Thank you guys for your kind words and suggestions! That makes me feel better not gonna lie. So im not able to upgrade to anything bigger then a 29 due to financial and leasing agreement. Would be nice to get that dream 200 gallon... if only.
I didnt get to have a good look at what happened but im almost certain it was the bottom seal in the back of a tank. None of the electrical outlets or power stripped got water on them so thats good

 

[John Bolden]

Well in the worst possible situation the best outcome happend. Now you can upgrade!

 

[Holy handgrenade]

Yeah i always try to look on the bright side of things. I guess i can change my rock work a little better and finally wash my sand free from silt, have more room for corals and add another fish!

 

[brandon429]

that sand rinse is very important, very. you could skip it and 95% likely be ok but it's not better for your tank at all. taking this time to rap rinse it for a few hours in a bucket until total perfection clear, last rinse in saltwater to evacuate the tap then back into the new tank with your current rocks will de-age your reef, stop those new uglies phase from the transfer and you won't need to buy any bottle bac: it's a skip cycle technique. that rinse is the fountain of youth for reef tanks.

don't add back any old sand / all rinsed 100% perfection is the right way. re ramp up your lights over a few days, dont instantly begin with the same light power you were just using

 

[John Bolden]

Yeah i always try to look on the bright side of things. I guess i can change my rock work a little better and finally wash my sand free from silt, have more room for corals and add another fish!

That's one thing i regret with my tank I rushed the rock and I don't like how it looks. In my next tank I'm going to have tons of shapes.

 

[Holy handgrenade]

that sand rinse is very important, very. you could skip it and 95% likely be ok but it's not better for your tank at all. taking this time to rap rinse it for a few hours in a bucket until total perfection clear, last rinse in saltwater to evacuate the tap then back into the new tank with your current rocks will de-age your reef, stop those new uglies phase from the transfer and you won't need to buy any bottle bac: it's a skip cycle technique. that rinse is the fountain of youth for reef tanks.

don't add back any old sand / all rinsed 100% perfection is the right way. re ramp up your lights over a few days, dont instantly begin with the same light power you were just using

Thank you! I remember reading this a little after setting up my tank and thought, gosh darn, that makes better sense! This is/was my first saltwater tank so i know for a fact that i need to make improvements like this

That's one thing i regret with my tank I rushed the rock and I don't like how it looks. In my next tank I'm going to have tons of shapes.

The thing with me is i set my tank up with the intention for it to be a fowlr and maybe adding a few coral down the road. I think its safe to say i got bit by the reef bug and just kept buying coral . Will be nice to rework now

 

[ReeferMadnessTX]

Well one of the worst scenarios for a reefer happen to me this morning. I was waking up for work at 4:30 this morning to find my tank half empty!!!!!! PANIC!!!!!! I was barely awake and scrambling to bring my corals and fish to safety. Thank God i had some nsw to move some of my livestock. Good thing i had to wake up for work, otherwise i wouldnt have caught it in time.
I was able to save every living thing for the most part so its not a complete loss, just frustrating. 10 gallons (thankfully i only have a 20 gallon tank) of water on the floor and carpet all cleaned up.
Well i didnt call out of work and i need to start now.
Need suggestions of what actions i should take when i get home. I checked petco and they have sales on 20 and 29 gallon tanks so maybe i will pick one up after work
I wish everyone a good day and no leaks!!

I just had my 55 gallon aqueon leak about 40 gallons in my living room. 20 from the sump and about 20 from the main tank once that ran dry. Absolute nightmare. I've only been in this a out 8 months now and was tempted to throw in the towel and quit but my wife wasn't ready. We ended up getting a 69 gallon shallow custom tank from our LFS and I woke up every hour last night to go out and look for leaks. Hopefully the ptsd wears off but I just see the disaster potential when I look at it right now. I won't go back to a cheap tank manufacturer. Invest up front on the important things and upgrade the small ones later if needed. The tank leaked from a seam at the bottom inside the framing which flooded the living room and through a wall under my daughters rooms carpet. Old tank and new tank video from the first morning. Will raise water level later.