Cichlid Tank Possibnly Sprung A Leak?!?!?!?!

[electric yellow]

Hello Everyone!

Its been a while since ive come in here. I need some advice..

I think my cichlid tank has sprung a leak underneath!!! I cant see any visible signs of it leaking from the sides though. The wood on the bottom of the tank is very swollen where it sits on the floor and the carpet around it is wet. The water level seems to of dropped a bit to. We cleaned out the filter the other day and it is possible the carpet is wet from that but the wood is so swollen and the carpet is quite wet underneath.

How can i tell if its leaking or not? Is there a way to tell? Ive drawn on the tank in whiteboard marker and i was going to leave it overnight to see if the water level drops or not but i think we are going to have to empty it out and move it to check the wood damage underneath and to dry out the carpet. ive checked all the seals on the filter and they seem ok. The pipes dont appear to be leaking either.

What worries me is that we just hit winter here and fired up the heater and it is in direct line of the gas heater. So im wondering if the heater has heated the glass up and then its cooled down and cracked somewhere? Or its dried out the silicon or something. Is that possible? If its leaking it would be pissing out water wouldnt it? I cant see any visible signs of water leaking on the bottom when i look at the cupboard it is sitting on. Apart from the wet carpet and swollen wood there is no other indications..

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

How can i tell if its leaking or not? Is there a way to tell? Ive drawn on the tank in whiteboard marker and i was going to leave it overnight to see if the water level drops or not

That is what I'd do.

 

[sted]

ya thats deffo would be my first step

 

[Shelby]

If you have an external filter that hangs on the back of your tank make sure it is not sitting crooked and leaking out the filter. Been there done that!

 

[roadmaster]

If these are large cichlids,could they be responsible for sloshing water from the tank? Once had a very large Oscar that took delight in displacing half gallon or more when the mood stuck him/her.
I too have seen HOB filters inexplicably spring leaks and water then ran down the back of the glass and ultimately out on to the floor.
Would double check all seals on canister filters if you have not already.
Hope the tank itself isn't leaking

 

[electric yellow]

If you have an external filter that hangs on the back of your tank make sure it is not sitting crooked and leaking out the filter. Been there done that!

Thats interesting because i think it is that. The filter has been leaking out water today from around the lid and its never done that before. I thought maybe it had to much water in it so i took some out but its still doing it. What did you do to fix it? The carpet it saturated. The wood is so damaged and swollen i dont trust it to hold up the tank anymore. We are going to have to get a new cabinet specially built for the tank as its a 3ft bow front one.

We have dragged the 4FT tank in and im going to change tanks over tmw. I just dont want to put them through a mini cycle. I can use the mature filter media and change the water straight over but im worried the tank will cycle with them in it.

If these are large cichlids,could they be responsible for sloshing water from the tank? Once had a very large Oscar that took delight in displacing half gallon or more when the mood stuck him/her.
I too have seen HOB filters inexplicably spring leaks and water then ran down the back of the glass and ultimately out on to the floor.
Would double check all seals on canister filters if you have not already.
Hope the tank itself isn't leaking

The tank is quite deep so they dont splash much lol. Im about 60% sure it is the filter leaking but i wont be sure the tanks not leaking untill i fully dismantle it from the cabinet The filter is only 2years old so it shouldnt have any seal issues unless my fiance' did something to it when he cleaned it out the other day.

 

[Shelby]

make sure your media is not floating up. That will cause a filter to overflow. Also, if it is crooked stick a clothes pin between the filter and the glass that tends to straighten it up so it is not sitting in there cockeyed.

 

[electric yellow]

Hmm ok, im nto sure how to stop the filter media FROM floating up...

 

[Shelby]

Hmm ok, im nto sure how to stop the filter media FROM floating up...

If you're media is floating up try to add more to tighten it up in the slot. Or squish it down and put a rock on top of it.

 

[electric yellow]

Hmm ok, im nto sure how to stop the filter media FROM floating up...

If you're media is floating up try to add more to tighten it up in the slot. Or squish it down and put a rock on top of it.

I can probably put a layer of sponge on it to keep it down. Im not sure rocks would fit in an external canister...

Its still leaking so i will try to weight it down tmw.

 

[electric yellow]

I added more media to weight the current media down but its still leaking

Im fresh out of ideas. Its slowly dripping from the couplink that lets water out of the filter and its still leaking from where the lid sits on the canister.

 

[Shelby]

make sure the filter is sitting up straight. Sometimes the glass or rim of the tank is not as wide as the gap in the filter and the water will make it go cockeyed. Prop it up with a clothes pin if it is crooked. Otherwise try to adjust your water flow if you can. I use aquaclear 200 filters in a 29G tank and that is what I have to do. Also, make sure your filter isn't full of gunk so it flows well. If water can't flow through the media it will go up over the top. Just lightly squeeze the filter media in tank water when you do a water change.

 

[saltwaterfanatic]

use some vaseline on the seals of your canister filter

 

[electric yellow]

use some vaseline on the seals of your canister filter

What will vaseline do?

 

[electric yellow]

make sure the filter is sitting up straight. Sometimes the glass or rim of the tank is not as wide as the gap in the filter and the water will make it go cockeyed. Prop it up with a clothes pin if it is crooked. Otherwise try to adjust your water flow if you can. I use aquaclear 200 filters in a 29G tank and that is what I have to do. Also, make sure your filter isn't full of gunk so it flows well. If water can't flow through the media it will go up over the top. Just lightly squeeze the filter media in tank water when you do a water change.

Its weird, it shouldnt be leaking at all. We are using an Aquaone CF500 external canister. It lets you turn the water flow up and down so i might try that. The pipes look pretty yuck inside but there doesnt appear to be any blockage which is the frustrating thing.