Hose busted - WATER LEAK!

[ctmedman]

I came back from work today to find a pool of water next to my tank. AHHH!!! One of the hoses leaked in the back and consequently got the area around the tank soaked. I changed the hose after a bit of work which now leaves me this problem.

How do I get the water that has seaped underneath the tank? I have pergot wood flooring which is pretty much a laminate. Somehow the water went from the back to the front by going underneath. I'm worried about the floor rotting.

In the meantime, I'm going to just try and draw out as much as water with paper towels. Any advice would be appreciated.

TIA

[2revup]

you have 2 options
leave it and see what happens... i dont think you or I like this idea.
secnod is to drain as much water as you can, take out lots of LR and put it in a bucket with your water and a PH and then move the tank i know this is a pain buts relly the only way unless you can ket like skate boards or something like that then once half empty you pick it up and put it on wheels. but either way it means taking water and rock out to lightn the load.

sorry to hear.

[Feron]

Sounds like the tank prob is taken care of..
paper towels, hair dryer, fan...
Anything to push air over & around the tank (fan preferably).

I have pergot in my kitchen where one tank resides... pergot can take a good bit of water on it & drying, the problem more comes in when it seeps around to the un-butted portions ( i.e. drywall areas) usually it locks in fairly tight and creates a seal in the traffic areas.

That said, get as much up via paper towels, use a fan to maximize air flow and hope..

(I've spilt gallons and gallons of water on the finish part of traffic areas, mopping it up with a swipe or two casually in frustration, and then just had to swifter/wipe the floors due to residue later...if it's on the finish part, you are ok unless you leave large amouts of standing water)

Edit - Forgot to mention, the particle board nature of the pergot will sort of resist rotting if the water isn't a huge amount.. I assume you tank is 4' or less, asuming a standard size of sorts..
The standing water of that amount wouldn't cause dry rot (prolly only just crack the finish at worst).
For reference, I went on vacation and had the dishwasher hose burst and leak about 40sqft of water on to my pergot while I was gone (the basement was a nice waterfall).
End of the whole ordeal only the area directly around the dishwasher even cracked, no real structural damage, mold etc to either the pergot or the subfloor. (prolly a ft diameter from the appliance).

Oh, and it's fairly easy to spot replace pergot, I'd be happy to PM you how if it comes to that.

[ctmedman]

2REVUP: In light of what Feron said do you still think it a bad idea to leave it? I was just wondering if you've had personal experenience with a similar situation. Thanks

Feron: Thanks so much for the post. I was getting anxious about doing the whole tank move (given all the corals and such). You said exactly what I wanted to hear. I had heard pergot was supposed to take this kind of stuff okay but I wasn't sure. There are a couple things I'm still concerned about. 1) I don't think my pergot is the highest quality. Some of the seams are peaked, i.e, a little raised. The previous owner did the installation so I don't know what was chosen. 2) I'm almost sure the water dripped in the back of the tank and then went underneath the board to the front.

Do you still think that just sopping it will be okay? Sorry for the questions. This thing is such a bummer and I'm just trying to figure out what's best.

Thanks,
Ct

[Feron]

how much volume of water are we talking about anyhow?
Something one would normally grab a roll or two of paper towels, or something someone would go and buy a shopvac for?

I think if it's enough to be contained by the paper towels water wise, that putting a fan going in the area after you clean up the water is about the best/only thing you can do at this point.

[ctmedman]

It was probably less than one gallon.

[Feron]

ahh.. In that case I'd say you are fine just sliding some paper towels in there and get what you can get...

The fan won't hurt tho