Unidentified Leak?

[ShaunW]

I need advice and some level heads.

I woke up today with about 1 gallon of water removed from my sump that had gone on the floor before the tank. There are no obvious problems, i.e. pump pointed in the wrong direction, etc. There is no water at the main tank level it all seems to be sump level. My sump is a 30 gallon AGA.

I am thinking of replacing the sump, is my logic so off, since I think the 30 gallon is leaking slowly. It has been making some wierd noises lately, :scratch: .
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[ellebelle]

How high is the water level in your sump? Did you check all of the silicone seams for damp spots?

 

[prattreef]

Do you still have that huge derasa in the sump? If so, I've ssen them squirt a gallon on the floor.

 

[ShaunW]

How high is the water level in your sump? Did you check all of the silicone seams for damp spots?

Water level is high. A block would have caused the main tank to overflow since the pump would be still working. There is no water at main tank height that I can tell.

 

[ShaunW]

Do you still have that huge derasa in the sump? If so, I've ssen them squirt a gallon on the floor.

No its no longer there.

 

[prattreef]

Hmm??? A gallon doesn't sound like such a slow leak wouldn't you have noticed the wet spot long before this? Strange.

 

[jackson6745]

Short loss of power could have caused the sump to overflow???

 

[inline6]

Any really bad salt creep on your electrical lines etc heater....?

How old is the sump?

 

[ShaunW]

Short loss of power could have caused the sump to overflow???

I have battery backups on the main ehiem I use. It was a total of 4 hours from when I went to bed till I noticed the problem. I think the batteries can last that long, but your right a power outage would have created the leak. But my aquamedic is still working, if the power went out it would have been sent to program mode.

It is very frustrating, I'm about to take my tank down and redo it, since I can't afford another leak (my neighbor is pissed about the water).

 

[ShaunW]

Hmm??? A gallon doesn't sound like such a slow leak wouldn't you have noticed the wet spot long before this? Strange.

Your right. I've been watching it for the last 3 hours and I can't see any more water coming out.

 

[ShaunW]

Any really bad salt creep on your electrical lines etc heater....?

How old is the sump?

Not that I can tell on the electric.

Sump is two years old.

 

[ShaunW]

Short loss of power could have caused the sump to overflow???

I think you might be right. First I notice water above the 30 gallon tank on the glass, like the water level made it up there. If the Eheim pump failed and then started up again such a problem could have occurred.

 

[prattreef]

This sounds like the most logical conclusion. Can you pull the plug and try to replicate?

 

[ShaunW]

This sounds like the most logical conclusion. Can you pull the plug and try to replicate?

I am going to try now. I am also going to lower my sump water level.

 

[prattreef]

Good idea. If you think your pump is balky, I have a genX you can borrow or Jim left a Mag 5 here after the swap that I'm sure you could use.

 

[prattreef]

I'm in a meeting until 2:00 Let me know if you need anything. RD

 

[jhale]

what kind of strange noises?

this is one of the most frustrating problems good luck in solving it quickly.

 

[ming]

Your right. I've been watching it for the last 3 hours and I can see and more water coming out.

you see more water coming out, but you can't identify where its coming from?

 

[ShaunW]

Sorry my type error.

I meant to say:
Your right. I've been watching it for the last 3 hours and I can't see any more water coming out.

 

[fritz]

Get some newspaper and put it down. You'll see where the water is coming from in no time. Then place additional newspaper as necessary until you find the exact spot.