EMERGENCY/HELP?!?! Tank leaking

[JeremyAN7]

But i cant seem to find where?!?! At first i thought i thought my auto-makeup which has in the past not turned off when "full" due to bad float switch was causing the 5 gallon makeup to all dump into the tank..
now it seems that is NOT it..
Also i have turned off the skimmer (remora pro HOT) and emperor (HOT) because they both have the "potential" to leak. but it still seems to be leaking.. it's a drip rate.. floor is wet.. water level goes down. At this point I don't know if it will go down and KEEP going down, or if it's a TOP of the tank kind of leak (checkin now by letting it go for a while..).

IDEAS? detectives? help!?

tank stats:
7 year old oceanic 72 gallon bow.

 

[cilyjr]

tank drilled? check bulkheads. if not and there is no crack then the seams?

 

[APISTOBORELLI]

I'd guess a seam, maybe under the trim.

 

[maurod]

As you were told, check the bulkheads, the sump seams and bulkheads and the tank's seams. Best of luck, how big is the tank, I have some spares I'd toss at you if you like.
M.

 

[paulthomas]

I'd run a paper towel along every surface/seam in hopes of finding where the water is coming from. Good luck.

 

[JeremyAN7]

ok. let me be more specific. I don't have a sump, and the tank is not drilled..
so working theories are:
a seem in the actual tank...
venturi effect near the very top where glue has come apart that holds the plastic trim to the top of the tank (this has happened when it's very high, but it seems to bee leaking to much lower levels
or. one of the hang on back things is leaking. i have turn off both hang on back things to see if the leaking stops..
then If it has... i will restart one of them at a time...

 

[Miller]

If you can't find the leak quickly I'd start looking for a temp tank to move everything into.

Sounds like the prefect excuse to get a new tank and go ReefReady!

 

[JeremyAN7]

well, i donno. it's a hard call.... upgrade? downsize? repair in place? i have a S#$% load of huge showpiece corals that could not go in a small tank...

 

[tigerslacrosse4]

i agree with miller and hope for the best.

 

[tigerslacrosse4]

sounds like your stuck between a rock and a hard place i guess you got a couple options like you said maby you can find a tank of the same size somewhere maby the junkyard and your going to have to do it in a hurry i guess we dont understand the stress but it seems like your freeking out by your posts i think the best thing that you could do at this point is stay cool calm and collected and improvise... pull some McGiver outa that bag o' tricks!!!

 

[Greg Hiller]

Sometimes the tank can be repaired in place. I've heard that a form of silicone cement called Dow 795 silicone will cure underwater and can be used to plug a leaking tank. This comes from some folks know what they are doing, though I've never tried it myself. You apparently need to clean all the surfaces carefully of algae and any biofilms, but this could be done in the the tank with just a scrubbing pad. Of course you need to figure out exactly where the leak is. Also, if this is a structural problem (meaning the whole seam is going to fail) then you might be out of luck. You might need additional frame bracing in that case.

 

[fanaglethebagle]

well, i donno. it's a hard call.... upgrade? downsize? repair in place? i have a S#$% load of huge showpiece corals that could not go in a small tank...

Don't you wish you still had that huge tank from the auction?

I personally would upgrade, get something fancy for that great basement. Good luck with whichever decision you make.

 

[JeremyAN7]

update: after unplugging both the emperor 400 and the remora pro for 2 hours... there appeared to be no further leak. I have no plugged the remora back in to see if I can isolate one or the other....
if it's the emperor, i really don't need it. i can chuck it out... i only use it to move water and run carbon occasionally...

 

[paulthomas]

That's good news.

 

[JeremyAN7]

Emperor 400 at fault

It would appear that the emperor was leaking... I was a bit over tired yesterday with my manic panic.

 

[susyq458]

Great news!