Possibly paranoid

[Joe0813]

Question for everyone. Do all of you think about tank leaks. I could be paranoid but who knows. My 75 leaked when I was in my parents basement. Now my girlfriend and I just bought our first house and my 180 is being moved in on the first floor after we reinforce the floor. But part of me is nervous it's going to leak like my old tank and ruin our floor. Paranoid?

[ajoe]

Joe, ..understandable concern based on your experience. Not paranoid. Unfortunately there are NO guarantees in life but a gamble we all must take if we want to be in this hobby. My tank is 25 years old and running strong with the original seals but believe me the thought crosses my mind as well. I have my tank on the basement level on a carpeted floor with a concrete laid foundation but that doesn't necessarily relieve my concern. Still disheartening should a leak occur. Think of it this way. Dishwasher, ice maker, or clothes washer could and do blow their gaskets all the time and the flood is upon you. Just think of it as an appliance and hope it stays the course. What else is there to do really.

[2smokes]

Why not make an aquarium from bullet proof glass with stainless steel frame then? :)Is possible and isnt that expensive as you may think.You need to layer one sheet of glass ,one sheet of polycarbonate then one sheet of glass again,then one of polycarbonate.

[ca1ore]

Well, tanks do sometimes leak. Whether you worry about it or not, will not appreciably affect whether it leaks, so my advice is to install it as stably as you can and then not worry unless you see pools of water. Then feel free to panic. I will tell you that on a properly built stand and a solid floor I've not had a tank leak since 1988. So, I don't worry about it.

[HidingReefer]

I am not worried about it, however I'm still having trying to convince my dad to let me get a 6 foot tank into the living room (my 90g is currently in the garage). My Dad is paranoid about leaks, it'll take a while before I convince him.

[Ron Reefman]

I just had my 180g tank spring a leak at the base of the back glass right in the middle of the tank, 3' in from either end, up close to the wall so I couldn't get to it. It leaked 30 gallon an hour for 5+ hours before it stopped. It damaged the drywall badly behind the tank, and it run under the wall into the bathroom where the 25 year old particleboard cabinets soaked it up like a sponge... totally destroyed. Lucky for me, here in Florida we have no basement, concrete slabs for floors and mine are covered in tile.

So I tore out the 180g tank, the 75g tank next to it and the 180g sump in the stand. Now I have a new 125g tank with a new 40g sump and a 50g refugium. You can see details and pics in my build thread. There are also some ideas for reducing the damage from leaks and spills, like a catch tray and a drain line that runs out of the house!

[chrisfont23]

Question for everyone. Do all of you think about tank leaks. I could be paranoid but who knows. My 75 leaked when I was in my parents basement. Now my girlfriend and I just bought our first house and my 180 is being moved in on the first floor after we reinforce the floor. But part of me is nervous it's going to leak like my old tank and ruin our floor. Paranoid?

Yes. I have a 90g on the top floor of a High Ranch and that's a concern as well as sump overflow. Nothing I can do about a tank leak - if it is going to happen it well. I test the sump monthly though to avoid overflow. Other items of self-paranoia:

- tank crashing through the floor
- heaters going wonky and frying everything
- large Predator-like critter growing in the rocks
- return pipe gives way and creates mini-Old Faithful in my living room
- my boys have a nerf gun battle gone horribly wrong (lots of scenarios here)
- wife accidentally cracks tank swiffering
- wife accidentally kills tank Fabreezing
- wife accidentally drops penny made before 1958 in the tank

[Joe0813]

I might put one of those mats under there like mentioned above

[neiltus]

Maybe I am lucky, or just think backwards.

Most of the house has concrete floors, except for where the tank is, and that is wood.

The wood floor is probably less coin than the money I have in the tank.

[Joe0813]

I definitely have more money in the tank then i would replacing a floor... but IF the tank did leak it's unneeded money spent repairing a floor, fixing dry wall and repainting the wall.

[Ron Reefman]

My leak took out some drywall and the cabinets under the counter in the bathroom behind the wall. Drywall repair is easy, new bathroom cabinets (and therefore countertop) has been a bit costly and time consuming. But then they were 27 years old!

[A sea K]

Not so much now but I sure did when my 210 was set-up. I have wooden floors and needed to add support to carry the weight, had regular nightmares with that one but sleep pretty good now.

[Joe0813]

I want to get a apex with the water sensors... Just can't swing the price yet with the new house

[Buzz1329]

I just had my 180g tank spring a leak at the base of the back glass right in the middle of the tank, 3' in from either end, up close to the wall so I couldn't get to it. It leaked 30 gallon an hour for 5+ hours before it stopped. It damaged the drywall badly behind the tank, and it run under the wall into the bathroom where the 25 year old particleboard cabinets soaked it up like a sponge... totally destroyed. Lucky for me, here in Florida we have no basement, concrete slabs for floors and mine are covered in tile.

So I tore out the 180g tank, the 75g tank next to it and the 180g sump in the stand. Now I have a new 125g tank with a new 40g sump and a 50g refugium. You can see details and pics in my build thread. There are also some ideas for reducing the damage from leaks and spills, like a catch tray and a drain line that runs out of the house!

Wow! I'm so sorry, Ron.

That really sucks. And scares the hell out of me!

How old was tank and what brand was it? Marineland/AGA?

Don't think there's anything you can do to minimize damage if tank does leak.

Did your home insurance cover any of damage?

Best of luck,

Mike

[Ron Reefman]

Wow! I'm so sorry, Ron.

That really sucks. And scares the hell out of me!

How old was tank and what brand was it? Marineland/AGA?

Don't think there's anything you can do to minimize damage if tank does leak.

Did your home insurance cover any of damage?

Best of luck,

Mike

Thanks Mike.

I bought the tank used and it was already quite old when I bought it and I had it for 6 years. It was an Oceanic and had quite thick glass bottom, but a small section of silicone 'blew out' and that was that, a 30gph leak. Due to it not being a catastrophic blow up like a broken panel, I was able to reduce some of the damage. Only about 30 to 50 gallons of water made it to the floor. I set a piece of thin acrylic up against the wall where the water was running down and the bottom of it in the stand which was lined with a shower pan liner, so it directed a LOT of water into the stand and out of the house through a drain I had installed out through a side wall. I've done something very similar with my new build and you can see picks in the build thread (link in my sig).

Our floors are tile on a concrete slab (Florida- no basement) and I was able to mop up with big beach towels and a shop vac. However, I didn't realize until later that water was going under the wall into the bathroom behind the wall. The bathroom cabinet is set on the slab and the tile and mortar around the cabinet created kind of a 5/8" deep 'well' for the water to collect in which I couldn't see (under the floor of the cabinet). The cabinet sucked up a lot of water due to being old, cheap, particleboard. So that and some drywall was the extent of the damage. BTW, the new cabinets are real wood and sit up several inches off the floor on big plastic adjustable legs, very cool.

I wasn't going to push the insurance company for a small repair (under $1000 in materials). We have enough issues keeping homeowners insurance for big issues like hurricanes, floods due to hurricanes and even tornados! We've had 3 very small tornados within a mile of my house in the last 10 years, the last one, 6 months ago, did $6000 in damage. The insurance adjuster was there in 2 days and paid us for everything but a few downed trees and then cancelled our policy!

So 3 months after the blown out tank I'm a paint job away from having the bathroom rebuilt (I did more than just basic repairs) and a new set of tanks that are a bit smaller (215g total with the new system vs 430g in the old system). Huh, I just now realized it's exactly half of the old system! But the new setup is MUCH better looking!

[slief]

I don't really worry about leaks. I have leak detectors placed strategically around my system to notify me. They are under my main display in multiple locations. I have them in the closet next to the display where some of my plumbing is routed. In the shed outside where my calcium reactor and mixing tanks are located. Under my display refugium, under my frag tank and under another tank in my house. Each sensor is named so that if I get a text notification, I know exactly which sensor was triggered so I know where to look. I also use a pond liner under my main display to contain any leaks as that is where my pumps, sumps, media reactors and other items of maintenance which happens to be a place where some spillage is common.

That said, in the last 15 years, I've only had 2 leaks. One which was the result of an ozone reactor leaking and the other was a cracked gate valve 1 days after I installed it to feed a frag tank. In both cases, my controller advised me of the leak via text and email. The ozone reactor leak occurred while I was in Europe and I was able to have my wife pinpoint the source and close the valve to the reactor. The valve leak happened while I was at the office just about a month ago and I ran home in a hurry. I found the and replaced the valve. Fortunately it was a very minor leak and a quick fix.

One thing I will say is that when I bought this home in 1997, I already had this tank and planned it well. I bought my home new and tiled the entire downstairs with exception of one room that is far away from the main display. I chose tile because I didn't want to deal with ruined carpets or hardwood.

[Joe0813]

The fun part should be moving this tank and not having corals die

[Buzz1329]

Thanks Mike.

I bought the tank used and it was already quite old when I bought it and I had it for 6 years. It was an Oceanic and had quite thick glass bottom, but a small section of silicone 'blew out' and that was that, a 30gph leak. Due to it not being a catastrophic blow up like a broken panel, I was able to reduce some of the damage. Only about 30 to 50 gallons of water made it to the floor. I set a piece of thin acrylic up against the wall where the water was running down and the bottom of it in the stand which was lined with a shower pan liner, so it directed a LOT of water into the stand and out of the house through a drain I had installed out through a side wall. I've done something very similar with my new build and you can see picks in the build thread (link in my sig).

Our floors are tile on a concrete slab (Florida- no basement) and I was able to mop up with big beach towels and a shop vac. However, I didn't realize until later that water was going under the wall into the bathroom behind the wall. The bathroom cabinet is set on the slab and the tile and mortar around the cabinet created kind of a 5/8" deep 'well' for the water to collect in which I couldn't see (under the floor of the cabinet). The cabinet sucked up a lot of water due to being old, cheap, particleboard. So that and some drywall was the extent of the damage. BTW, the new cabinets are real wood and sit up several inches off the floor on big plastic adjustable legs, very cool.

I wasn't going to push the insurance company for a small repair (under $1000 in materials). We have enough issues keeping homeowners insurance for big issues like hurricanes, floods due to hurricanes and even tornados! We've had 3 very small tornados within a mile of my house in the last 10 years, the last one, 6 months ago, did $6000 in damage. The insurance adjuster was there in 2 days and paid us for everything but a few downed trees and then cancelled our policy!

So 3 months after the blown out tank I'm a paint job away from having the bathroom rebuilt (I did more than just basic repairs) and a new set of tanks that are a bit smaller (215g total with the new system vs 430g in the old system). Huh, I just now realized it's exactly half of the old system! But the new setup is MUCH better looking!

Good that you were able to reduce damage through acrylic panel and drain. Definitely will check out your link.

Tile on concrete floor with no lower floor sounds like you were anticipating flood. My 180 (basement) tank sits on carpet above concrete wall but no floor drains. Going to investigate replacing carpet with tiles and installing floor drain behind tank.

I've had a few overflows when preparing water for water changes and filling top off tank, and the carpet still has not recovered.

I hear you about insurance. Five years ago, we had a $5,000 issue with burst water pipes. Our adjuster told us that we should wait another 10 years before submitting another claim. LOL

But can't imagine what you had to do to save fish and coral when you discovered the leak. Yikes!

Glad to hear that you are back up and running. If as I'm sure you did took advantage of the calamity to build a better system, it may be for the best. (Easy for me to say.)

Good luck,

Mike

[ThRoewer]

I'm substantially more worried about the next big (and statistically overdue) earthquake, given the fact that we sit smack on the southern end of the Hayward fault...

Leaks I can deal with...

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[Jeff4777]

Yeah I worry about the tank giving way.. Usually when my kids are by it. I know everything should be okay though. Long power outages and natural disasters scare me more.

[Joe0813]

I dont really have power outages here. I got lucky on that