Leaking Tank Stories

[ILikeFish]

I am fairly new to the hobby and have not experienced any major leaks yet. I purchased my tank used and is quite old. I has a couple small chips in the glass in one of the corners. Can this be repaired? Is this a potential problem? Will I come home to a flood! :tub::irked:

After reading more and more threads I am becoming more concerned about this possibility and its ramifications. My sympathy's go to all you that have had this happen. Please share from your experience so the rest of us can be better prepared.

1. Where was the leak?
2. Could it have been foreseen / what to look for?
3. What was the severity (couple of gallon --- give up hobby)?
4. Any legal or financial consequences beyond the loss of equipment and stock?

 

[Pedro Nuno Ferreira]

Hi ILikeFish ;-)
It's been 21 years now that I keep marine systems and 32 since I started with my first tank. I've only had two minor leak episodes, one with a freshwater tank caused by having placed a bucket filled with new water on top of one of the corners while the water was being siphoned from it into the tank, which caused a slight dislodgement of the silicone joints and some water leaked (one or two gallons). The situation stopped as soon as I removed the bucket from the corner top and the joints regained their original position. The other leak was caused by over skimming in a nano tank that I once had. The external skimmer started to produce foam like crazy several hours after I fed some red plankton and since I was not home at the time...it drained one quarter of the tank water out to the floor...:irked: and caused me to loose a Caulastrea sp. coral that remained several hours exposed to the air as if it was low tide exposure:irked:.

Searching the forum I found these reports of such unfortunate incidents. There's possibly more, but these were the ones I could find.
Help My Tank Is Leaking (

1 2)
Help! Leaking return pipe
Tank Leaking Forces Sale (

1 2)
Emergency Breakdown, all live stock needs to go

now this one here Emergency Measures to use NOW (

1 2 3 ... Last Page) is also important as frequently tank leaks cause failures, and it it good to know wath to do also to face this possible consequence.

I am fairly new to the hobby and have not experienced any major leaks yet. I purchased my tank used and is quite old. I has a couple small chips in the glass in one of the corners. Can this be repaired? Is this a potential problem? Will I come home to a flood! :tub::irked:

Prior giving you any advice, which could be inaccurate due to lack of data, could you please put some photographs of the areas you judge potentially critical so that we may evaluate and answer accordingly? Also one other very important aspect to consider, especially when dealing with an old tank, is the condition of the silicone joints, or existing joints, as these degrade over the years and have to be checked for safety, especially when the tank was left empty of water for a long period of time. Usually a water tightness test is carried before anything else, and this done by progressively and slowly filling up the tank with fresh water until full and leave it like that several days, after which and if no problems are detected, the water is drained, the tank cleaned, and set ready for service.

Looking forward to read form you with more details, photographic ones if possible, so that we may better help you.

Cheers
Pedro Nuno ;-)

 

[georgelc86]

My worst experience in regards to the destruction of a tank was about the age of 8 and I had a 10 gallon tank. Not knowing the principle of thermal dynamics at the time I would empty the tank and spray the inside of the tank with hot water. Well immediately after the hot water on the glass I rinsed with cold water and poof no more tank. That sucked.

 

[fernandokng]

Murphy's Law - If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.

And then some said that Murphy was an optimist.

Leak proof seals will leak.

Of course they are always risks, but try to minimize it.

Don't take the chance. You'll be spending more $ repairing if something goes wrong.

 

[ming]

A tank is one of the cheapest equipment you will buy in a reef tank unless you're getting it custom built. Why risk having to take it down when you have 20x (my case was more like 100x) more spending on everything else? You will have to take EVERYTHING apart if your tank fails.

 

[pecan2phat]

I've always wondered how tanks fail.

Is it because the stand was incorrect (rim support or full bottom support) or not level?

Using a razor blade scraper for coralline too close to the the silicone joints?

Tanks underbuilt with no center supports for bowing?

Just age?

Etc.?

I still have a tank from 1987 that was built by World Class Aquarium on Flatbush Ave that has taken a beating and 3 moves without a problem.

 

[ILikeFish]

Any other stories?

 

[skimacka]

I brought home a brand new nano tank and upon filling it with water it had a severe leak in the seam. Good thing it was just a test fill with no livestock in it.

 

[dacaptain78]

I had an old used 125 gallon tank split a seam on me. The top bracing was in pretty bad shape when I got it. At the time I had no idea that the bracing was a major part of the structural integrity of the tank. I thought it was more cosmetic than functional. That was one of the most catastophic assumptions I have made in recent memory.

Luckily I was in the basement (where my tank is set up) when the seam split. I just heard a loud pop, turned my head and saw water pouring out of my tank. It was surreal. I was also lucky that 5-6 inches of silicone held, so my fish were able to remain submerged. I was able to catch a good amount of the water in my SW mixing cans, and random buckets.

All my fish lived, albeit in crowded temporary housing until my new tank arrived. Lesson Learned: Research all of your equipment as intensely as you research your livestock.

Motrher nature then flooded my entire basement about two years later, but that is a story for another thread.

 

[duke62]

never had a fish tank break apart and have a flood .i did though forget to turn off my ro/di 100gpd overnight and into the next afternoon.my wife came screaming up the stairs"james your f@%$ing water is all over the floor" i run downstairs to notice my carpet is soaked to the point where when i stepped on the rug the water covered the top of my foot.now i installed a topoff.

 

[ILikeFish]

Did renters insurance cover any of the damage?

 

[Awibrandy]

I had a 1 year old 55 gallon fw tank empty on to my dining room floor down into my basement over night. The tank had been purchased new the prior year, the manufacturer was Odell. Never bought another Odell. I have a 55 g aga (that I took down last year) running for some 16 years with no problems and I bought it used.
All my other floods have been stupid ones - skimmer overflows, didn't make sure ATO tubing was in the sump, hose came off of a return pump, power failure and sump was not big enough, and finally plumbing failure...
And of course the RO/DI accidentssssssssss until I installed a float valve.
Never had problems while being a renter, but we've own for the past 24yrs. so only had tanks in rentals for a short 10 or so years and the largest was a 55 with no incidents other then the usual water spills during water change.
As to insurance coverage; You have to read your policy for an answer to that one.