FishProfiles.com Message Forums

A week ago adam came home, took one look at the lounge room tank and said what my brain had been too slow to realize.
25 gallons of water don't just evaporate overnight.

Somehow our 55ish gallon tank had sprung a leak, and drained down the back of the tank and run into the wall so we never noticed.


So.

Any tips on how to find where the seal is cracked?

^_^

Take half-inch strips of paper towel and tape them 1 inch apart going up the two back corners. Find the highest one that is wet. Your leak will be somewhere between that one and the dry one above it.

Alternatively, you could just let the tank drain and see where the water level stops. Of course, if it is near the bottom, that's not a great idea.

Draining it very slowly or fill it up and watch what happens.
Depending on how old the tank is will also depend on if resealing will work over the long term.
If it leaked in one spot you can be sure another one will start somewhere else sooner or later. That would be a lot of water to clean up let alone the cost to repair any water damage.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Hi,
Sorry to hear about the tank! Bummer!

Joe's hint with the paper towel is great - if - the leak
is in one of the vertical seams. However, if it is along
the bottom joints then the plastic trim will give you a
false indication of where the leak actually is.

Decide if it is a vertical seam, or the bottom. Either
way I expect that you will have to completely empty it
dry it out over several days, and then repair it.
I'd be moving the critters and getting rid of the water.
Then take the tank out to the work shop, level it on something
that can take the weight, and fill it back up.

I don't think you want to have that water leak occurring
any longer. It can ruin the finish on the floors, or the
pad and carpet, or the plaster board walls. Drain it and
move it!

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Oh, forgot to mention that it was drained and fish moved to the larger tank (that's been standing empty for over a year, luckily no leaks !).
All the fish seem to be fine, we were able to save most of the water and so didn't have too great of chemistry fluctuations.


Thanks for the tips all, we'll see how it goes


^_^