Possible wet area in front of tank?

[mcmahon13]

With no visible leaks in tank, no water stains or dampness on the oak stand, basically no signs of any water leaving the tank (other than evap)... Is it possible evaporation from tank is condensing and forming a wet spot on the carpet in front of the tank?

I do lose about a gallon every 2 days due to evaporation, and I just noticed this wet spot about 4 days ago... coinciding with the change in the weather to very cold in Chicago. I am just wondering if the increased evaporation could be the culprit... (or more likely a spill of Diet Coke by a 7 year old who denies it).

 

[reefdiver]

I wouldnt think its a leak. Now what you can do is put a heater and dry it up then retest......

 

[mfdrookie516]

I would think you could tell pretty easily if it was diet coke... a paper towel should pull up some moisture and if its coke, well, it'll be brownish. I wouldn't think condensation would build up in one area like that, at least not in the floor in front of the tank. I would give it a few more days and see if that may be the issue. If it was something spilled, the carpet should be dry within a few hours.

 

[BigJim]

Is there something cold to cause the vapor to condense? If not, I'd blame a spill or a splash.

 

[happygirl65]

Is your house on a cement pad...or on a raised foundation with a crawl space?

When mine was on a pad...and it got VERY cold, it would sometimes cause condensation and make part of the carpet slightly damp...something to consider. I thought it was a tank leak at first too until we moved all the furniture and realized it was way beyond that.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

If it's a large tank with an open top (no lids) then 2g/day could be possible, but seems unlikely. That's a lot of evap.

If it was a leak, that's pretty significant and you should be able to pinpoint it. Should be dripping a couple times a second. That would be enough to drain 2g/day.

What kind of filter do you run?

 

[BigJim]

It's possible to lose that much water without a leak. When I was cycling my 40B without a lid, I was losing about an inch of water every day. Granted the heater was cranked into the eighties, but it was in the basement with my other tanks where the relative humidity is higher than the rest of the house.

 

[KevinES]

Just thought I would mention to take a look at your filters. I'm sure you would notice if you checked for leaks but a few months back I noticed water on the carpet infront of my 5 gallon and it seemed to be losing water real fast...Well the problem was that I had a bio wheel on the tank that wasn't made for it and it was tilted back a little. When it's getting time to change the filter the slight tilt was enough to cause water to run out. It went right down the wall leaving the stand the tank was on totally dry but it left a nice wet floor...

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Just thought I would mention to take a look at your filters. I'm sure you would notice if you checked for leaks but a few months back I noticed water on the carpet infront of my 5 gallon and it seemed to be losing water real fast...Well the problem was that I had a bio wheel on the tank that wasn't made for it and it was tilted back a little. When it's getting time to change the filter the slight tilt was enough to cause water to run out. It went right down the wall leaving the stand the tank was on totally dry but it left a nice wet floor...

I'm seconding this idea. My tank in the kitchen has a bio-wheel filter. It's right next to the coffee pot and I would slip every morning going to get coffee. I finally figured it was the filter making that wet spot every morning.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Do you have any covers on your tank? Half a gallon a day to evaporate seems like a lot!

 

[uscamaro]

Do you have any covers on your tank? Half a gallon a day to evaporate seems like a lot!

He has a point. Also, if you don't have a cover (or keep it closed), it could be your fish splashing. Mine did it when I had my FW tank and I thought they were on crack.