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View Full Version : Mystery leak - need help



sevlar
04-11-2008, 08:50 AM
Ok so my girlfriend's 24g aquapod had a puddle of water under the tank on Sunday night and seemed to be leaking from underneath, though we couldn't tell where. So I totally emptied it into a tub, cleaned it out, and looked for a bad seam or crack. Nothing. So I filled it with an inch of water and waited a day. Not a drip. So I filled it all the way up with fresh water and waited another day. No leaks at all, not even moisture under the tank. So last night I filled it with saltwater and put everything back in. No leaks when I went to bed, but then this morning, just like Sunday, there was a puddle of water underneath that was slowly dripping out. ***? The only thing different from the test fill with freshwater was that I had the pump and heater in there, and the rocks and stuff, but I don't see how that would matter. There isn't any sign that water could have overflowed down the side and pooled underneath, which is what I thought after not seeing a leak the first time. What can I do? Can someone repair it if we don't even know where it's leaking? I'll call Current USA later and see what they say, but any help from you guys would be great.
Thanks.

sevlar
04-11-2008, 09:53 AM
anyone?

odyssey07
04-11-2008, 02:37 PM
Have you tried lowering the water level (let's say by 1") to see if that helped?

sevlar's girl
04-11-2008, 02:43 PM
i'll try that and see if it helps. any other ideas???

sevlar's girl
04-11-2008, 02:53 PM
lowered the water level...still leaking...HELP!!!

acbaldwin
04-11-2008, 03:12 PM
Just try looking really, really close at the seams for a pinhole leak. Good luck. :)

coral diver
04-11-2008, 05:36 PM
WIPE DRY the whole out side then put paper towel along the seams and wait when you see moisture on the paper it will give you an idea where the leak is

sevlar's girl
04-11-2008, 05:44 PM
we're trying something similar right now. the problem is, the leak seems to be coming from underneath the tank, not the outer seams, so by the time I see water it has pooled and puddled along the entire bottom of the tank...:mad:

sandiegan
04-11-2008, 05:49 PM
Dry it all off and only fill it up a little bit. Tilt the tank on one side and see if it leaks from that bottom seam. Repeat 3x for the other sides.

BigAir
04-11-2008, 06:38 PM
Take into consideration the weight of the sand and rocks. Most likely placed in or very close to the middle... Thus pulling the edges mid-span to bow downwards and leak thru the seal. Could also be a corner if there is a slight twist in the top of the stand combined w/ the rock and sand weight.

sevlar
04-11-2008, 07:19 PM
Sandiegan, thanks, that's what we'll do tomorrow once we drain it again.
Bigair, good point, that's the only logical explanation I can think of. We did put a layer of foam board under the tank to try to even out the pressure. Probably a hairline leak along a seam.

SuperDragon
04-11-2008, 08:05 PM
leaks suck, I hope things turn out for the better.

sevlar's girl
04-11-2008, 08:10 PM
the leak does seem to be coming from a corner...now that you mention it, it makes sense that the weight of the rocks would be pulling at the seams, especially the corners. good ideas... we'll be working at it tomorrow...

sevlar
04-15-2008, 08:58 AM
Thanks for the advice guys, we are now up and running and so far no leaks. I ended up slathering the whole inside bottom seam with silicone since we couldn't tell where it was coming from. Fingers crossed.

victortrav
04-15-2008, 09:23 AM
if you have a leak and cant find it, the sillycone is a temp fix. get a new tank.