has my tank got a leak?

[julia1984]

hi i brought a second hand tank a few weeks ago. we filled it up before we got the heater and it was fine, a few days later we added the heater and it was still fine. 2 weeks later we added a filter and the fish, ever since there haas been water collecting at the back of the tank on the outside around the base. i have checked the wires and there not wet. we havew a back ground on the outside, this gets water between the glass and back ground. do i have a leak or is it condensation and what can i do about it?

 

[tjm80]

Unless your water is ice cold and your house is pretty warm, it won't be condensation.

What type of filter do you have? It could be leaking for a number of reasons, I would test that first, if it's not leaking then I would return the fish, or find other suitable temporary housing for them and empty your tank, take it outside and fill it up with water and watch it. If it is leaking go get some DAP household silicone. It says aquarium safe on the packaging and has a picture of a fish in the bottom left hand corner.DAP Products - Silicone Sealants - DAP® Household/Aquarium Adhesive Sealant

You can purchase this at HD or Lowes for a few bucks. Let it sit for 24 hours then fill it back up outside to make sure, so you don't have to tear down your tank again.

 

[julia1984]

it was fine for a few weeks an the water level has not gone down since filling it over a week ago. the filter we have is a superfish aqua flow filter upto 50l

 

[tjm80]

Surely your water level has gone down some due to evaporation at least. It could also be that some of your fish are splashing some water out maybe? I would wipe all the water up and lay down some paper towels or something then. If it goes several hours dry then all of a sudden a few drops of water appear then I doubt it's a leak. Do you have a hood or canopy?