I have 2 back to back 4 foot, 40 gallon tanks jutting out into the fishroom as a room divider. They're old tanks, and when one began to leak into the cement floor of this garage, I emptied and resealed it. MIssion accomplished, and the seal is good. But due to poorly thought out tank placement, the area of the leak had been hard to pin down.
Fast forward a few weeks and a new puddle appeared. I kept a close eye on water levels, and saw no loss in the repaired tank. But the tank behind it was losing water. Both of these tanks were bought around the same time, in a sale of tanks by a long forgotten manufacturer. Both may be 20 years old. So conceivably, the leaks were connected to degraded silicone. But it seemed a weird coincidence. Usually leaks are from wicking. Water rises up a plant or something similar and drips out. I used my phone to look into the dark area to trace the water, but saw nothing. I was losing at most a couple of litres a week, but from acorns grow great oaks. I put a bucket to work and figured I'd have to reseal as soon as I had time. The tank has a really good undergravel, which I hated to tear down, but it also has a large sponge filter that could compensate. It's lightly stocked.
Leaks from aquarium joints aren't that common. The other day, I got serious and moved things inside the tank. I knew there was no spray from the sponge filter getting out and running down. I couldn't find the exit point of the water, even by lying on my back and checking the seams of the bottom glass. But as I moved the sponge, I felt a texture on the airline. I couldn't see in there well, but a lightbulb in my head went off. I cut the airline, removed a length of it and replaced it with a new piece.
Leak solved. The scale on the airline was carrying water up over the rim, and it wasn't dripping down the glass, but off the hanging line, slowly, where I couldn't see it. Before you give up on a tank, check every surface going in or out. Then check again. Most leaks are from filters, but this airline twist was a new one to me. I've had leaks caused by java moss, dirty filters, emergent plants, madly bubbling filters, and other weird phenomena. Very few leaks have ever been the tank, and the cost of fixing this one was about 30 cents worth of new airline.
Fast forward a few weeks and a new puddle appeared. I kept a close eye on water levels, and saw no loss in the repaired tank. But the tank behind it was losing water. Both of these tanks were bought around the same time, in a sale of tanks by a long forgotten manufacturer. Both may be 20 years old. So conceivably, the leaks were connected to degraded silicone. But it seemed a weird coincidence. Usually leaks are from wicking. Water rises up a plant or something similar and drips out. I used my phone to look into the dark area to trace the water, but saw nothing. I was losing at most a couple of litres a week, but from acorns grow great oaks. I put a bucket to work and figured I'd have to reseal as soon as I had time. The tank has a really good undergravel, which I hated to tear down, but it also has a large sponge filter that could compensate. It's lightly stocked.
Leaks from aquarium joints aren't that common. The other day, I got serious and moved things inside the tank. I knew there was no spray from the sponge filter getting out and running down. I couldn't find the exit point of the water, even by lying on my back and checking the seams of the bottom glass. But as I moved the sponge, I felt a texture on the airline. I couldn't see in there well, but a lightbulb in my head went off. I cut the airline, removed a length of it and replaced it with a new piece.
Leak solved. The scale on the airline was carrying water up over the rim, and it wasn't dripping down the glass, but off the hanging line, slowly, where I couldn't see it. Before you give up on a tank, check every surface going in or out. Then check again. Most leaks are from filters, but this airline twist was a new one to me. I've had leaks caused by java moss, dirty filters, emergent plants, madly bubbling filters, and other weird phenomena. Very few leaks have ever been the tank, and the cost of fixing this one was about 30 cents worth of new airline.
