Tank Crack

[bishop]

Well folks, it hasn't been a very good day. This is an update from the "smoke" post I wrote earlier. I discovered after doin' a little more serching that, I have a crack in the tank. The crack is on the bottom of the tank, pressed up against the stand. Now the question is, whats the best thing to do? All I have in the tank is 90# LR, 2.5 CC SB, and 150 gal of salt water. Maybe there is some 'magical' solution out there that would allow me to fix the tank without draining it but, I'm not very optimistic. I have arrangments made to get a holding tank for my water and rock so I can drain the tank. Then I can re-epoxy the inside. If anyone has any suggestion, ideas, or comments on the best way to do this, I'd be greatful for all. Also, what type of time frame is ok for not having any type of circulation going in the tank. I notice that the leak isn't as bad without all the pumps going so, I shut them all down.
Thanks everyone,
Justin

[Doug1]

Hmmmmm where is the crack at?I would drain the whole thing, clean it and silicone a bigger glass patch on both sides

[bishop]

Well, today I transfered the water, LR, and CC into a holding tank. I cleaned the tank and plan on sealing it up tomorrow. I could never really pin-point an exact leak but, it has to be coming from somewhere.
After the tank has a chance to dry and is ready for water, would you suggest I replace the water and start fresh or, use the water I took out of the tank???

[Alice]

If you've kept the water in containers with a PH keeping it circulating, then by all means, I'd use some. The corals are in that water in their containers, correct? Not as many problems matching up pH, Alk, etc. You never have enough to refill the tank completely (it's kind of like digging a hole...where does that dirt go???? ) so you'll be adding some new anyway.

I'd give the tank at least a 24 hour test, with it full of FW and running some hard current in it to see if it holds up. Good luck!

~Alice

[bishop]

Why me?!?!?! Today I finished my project of trying to get my tank back into working order. The past few days I've place about 4 coats of silicon into the corners and around the edges of the inside of me tank, hoping that this would stop the water. I got stand level again, place sand bed back in, landscaped with the LR, and then filled with water. About 130 gallons into filling the tank I notice that the stand was becoming saturated in the same spot where my crack was.....AAARRRRRHHHGGGGGGGG....... What in the world did I do wrong????? The Salt-Water Gods have not been in my corner lately. Hopefully with some prayer, the crack will just go away.......I'll keep you all posted as to the final outcome, maybe I just got the stand wet while I was filling (tank half full rather then half empty,,,,,anyways never hurts to have wishful thinking...)

[Alice]

Bummer! Did you test it first before refilling it? Here's hoping that it was a "spill" and not a leak!

[tdwyatt]

Justin,

Make sure that the stand is perfectly level before you refill the tank. Use a carpenters level and run it along all sides, corner to corner, and front to back. Make sure that you can't put a feeler gauge under the carpenters level while checking for level and flatness. Then put a piece of blue or green paper (construction paper is best for this), place the empty aquarium on top of it, and fill the tank without any salt or sand or anything else except tap water (use the hose from outside if needed) and any other equipment that you will need to test your plumbing. Without substrate in the tank, the leaks will show as dark spots on the paper, which you should be able to see through the bottom without any sand. While it is full of water, run your plumbing for 24 hours and test it for leaks, make sure your sump has enough capacity to handle power outages, etc. By doing the test this way, you will be able to pinpoint the leak, and test your stand as well. After emptying and repairing the leak, I would suggest putting 1 cm Styrofoam sheet insulation under the tank before filling it with water again, and I would again test the tank without any substrate in it once it is in it's final location prior to adding any salt, sand or live rock. After successfully testing the tank in place with all the plumbing running for at least 24 hours, then I would drain the tank, fill it with RO/DI water, and make your salt solution in the aquarium. Use the plumbing/circulation system to mix it, titrate to your final salinity, then test the system for another 24 hours with the SEAWATER. After another successful 24 hours, then add the sand and lr (remember to remove some of the seawater to account for the displacement by the added solid objects/sand). If you measure the total volume of your system prior to adding any LR, etc., then remove the excess with a measuring device (i.e. gallon pitcher, etc.) then you will be able to calculate your actual volume of the system less volume of the solids. Good luck, I hope the crack is reparable (Doug has it on the head with the 2 panes on each side, another method is to place a new pane in the bottom on top of the old one and silicon in place.)

[ 05-30-2001: Message edited by: tdwyatt ]

[bishop]

tdwyatt, thanks for the advice. I've been keeping a close eye on the stand now and it doesn't seem to be getting any wetter. I went ahead and put one of my pumps in the water to cirrculate and crossed my fingers. All is good so far. The true test is if it can make it through the night. If it doesn't, I've got a lot of work a head of me, made easier with your advice. Thanks

[bishop]

The tank made it through the night without any kind of water leakage. Boy what a big relief. Now I'm gonna hold my breath one day at a time. Thanks for all the support, suggestions, and help!!! Now it's just a waiting game. Some day, I too may get to put need things into my tank of water....*G*

[FishDaddy]

Hey Justin,
I'm glad the tank is holding; sure hope it works out well.
Dick