JETBLAST
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi everyone! Brand new to the forum.
So last Monday night I had the dreaded leak. You know, the one that gets your heart racing before you even turn on the light? The leak that you hear, feel, and smell? Yeah, that one!
Last summer I moved from a condo to a house and as part of the move wanted to replace the 33 gallon fresh water with a 75. Expenses got in the way and my aging 33 remained.
Monday night I went down into the basement and heard the power head making a funny noise. It felt humid and the carpet was squishy. Not good since it hadn't rained. Cue the expletives! Turned on the basement lights and saw about four inches of water left in the tank. Thing practically drained out.
First rule is don't panic! Unplugged power head, filter, heater and grabbed two buckets - one for fish and the other for plants.
I was lucky in the sense that I had an empty 20 gallon tank on the tube stand underneath the 33 and it caught a lot of the water. I drained the remaining contents of the 33 gallon and pressed the 20 gallon into service. All the fish survived!
The low pile carpeting was soaked over a wide area. If this happens to you, get over to Home Depot or one of the grocery stores and rent a carpet steam cleaner immediately. Those machines have great suction and they will pick up a lot of water! Much more effective than a shop vac.
After sucking up as much water as possible, pull the carpet back. Remove and discard the under pad. Get the fans going and get it drying quickly. this will reduce the chance of mold or mildew forming.
Once the carpet dried I sprayed it and the concrete floor with Concrobium - a mold remediation and prevention product. Great product.
After replacing the under pad I rented the carpet cleaner again and cleaned the carpet. No smell, no stains, and you'd never know what happened a few days earlier.
Here's what I learned from this disaster
1. Don't keep a tank too long. The 33 gallon I had was almost 25 years old. I should have replaced or resealed it long ago.
2. Quick response is key. Getting the carpet dry as soon as possible made a huge difference.
3. Get a flood detector. These are devices that emit a siren after coming in contact with water. Battery operated, I got two from Amazon for about $10. I now have two of them under/near the aquarium stand. It won't prevent a leak but will tell you as soon as one starts. Don't know why I didn't think of this before.
4. Have a crash kit ready (towels, buckets, holding tank and a plan!) Write it down and post it near your tank. It is easier to read instructions in a crisis rather than remember them.
Hopefully, this will help someone else. This was my second leak (I had a 65 gallon lose about an inch once) but this was by far the worst and most traumatic.
-JETBLAST-
So last Monday night I had the dreaded leak. You know, the one that gets your heart racing before you even turn on the light? The leak that you hear, feel, and smell? Yeah, that one!
Last summer I moved from a condo to a house and as part of the move wanted to replace the 33 gallon fresh water with a 75. Expenses got in the way and my aging 33 remained.
Monday night I went down into the basement and heard the power head making a funny noise. It felt humid and the carpet was squishy. Not good since it hadn't rained. Cue the expletives! Turned on the basement lights and saw about four inches of water left in the tank. Thing practically drained out.
First rule is don't panic! Unplugged power head, filter, heater and grabbed two buckets - one for fish and the other for plants.
I was lucky in the sense that I had an empty 20 gallon tank on the tube stand underneath the 33 and it caught a lot of the water. I drained the remaining contents of the 33 gallon and pressed the 20 gallon into service. All the fish survived!
The low pile carpeting was soaked over a wide area. If this happens to you, get over to Home Depot or one of the grocery stores and rent a carpet steam cleaner immediately. Those machines have great suction and they will pick up a lot of water! Much more effective than a shop vac.
After sucking up as much water as possible, pull the carpet back. Remove and discard the under pad. Get the fans going and get it drying quickly. this will reduce the chance of mold or mildew forming.
Once the carpet dried I sprayed it and the concrete floor with Concrobium - a mold remediation and prevention product. Great product.
After replacing the under pad I rented the carpet cleaner again and cleaned the carpet. No smell, no stains, and you'd never know what happened a few days earlier.
Here's what I learned from this disaster
1. Don't keep a tank too long. The 33 gallon I had was almost 25 years old. I should have replaced or resealed it long ago.
2. Quick response is key. Getting the carpet dry as soon as possible made a huge difference.
3. Get a flood detector. These are devices that emit a siren after coming in contact with water. Battery operated, I got two from Amazon for about $10. I now have two of them under/near the aquarium stand. It won't prevent a leak but will tell you as soon as one starts. Don't know why I didn't think of this before.
4. Have a crash kit ready (towels, buckets, holding tank and a plan!) Write it down and post it near your tank. It is easier to read instructions in a crisis rather than remember them.
Hopefully, this will help someone else. This was my second leak (I had a 65 gallon lose about an inch once) but this was by far the worst and most traumatic.
-JETBLAST-
