Curtswearing
Mantisfreak
That stinks Nikki. 
I hope the leak is easy to find once the sump is removed.
I hope the leak is easy to find once the sump is removed.
Disaster...Again
- Thread starter NaH2O
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NaH2O
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Thanks, Curt. I'm still not 100% sure it was the sump (sump was relatively new...4-6months old, I'd have to check to be sure). I haven't been able to see any clouding or crazing in what I could see, but I'll know when I do the leak test. I don't think it was the skimmer, but who knows - again its just guessing. Things were pretty crazy this morning trying to get stuff shut off, and determining if the water was coming from the main tank. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. I'll keep you all updated.
So far the main tank is running smoothly. The fish were a little freaked at first by the new objects in the tank (heater and monitors), but all is well again.
So far the main tank is running smoothly. The fish were a little freaked at first by the new objects in the tank (heater and monitors), but all is well again.
jlehigh
Hermit D Crab
Gosh you just keep getting hit...
You know I had something something similar happen and what I found out was my auto-top off outlet wasnt in the sump so my top off went onto the floor. The only reason I bring it up is because a 1pt drop in salinity is next to nothing... maybe that fresh water didnt ever find its way into the sump..
If it makes you feel better you arent alone in accidents.. I returned from a 3 day business trip last week to NJ only to find the circuit with half the tanks components had tripped off and most of the heaters with it. My tank was SIXTY EIGHT degrees!! I consider myself lucky, as I didnt lose anything. Interestingly enough the only change was in my purple digitata which seemed to lose allot of its Zoax algae turning it a lighter shade of purple...
You know I had something something similar happen and what I found out was my auto-top off outlet wasnt in the sump so my top off went onto the floor. The only reason I bring it up is because a 1pt drop in salinity is next to nothing... maybe that fresh water didnt ever find its way into the sump..
If it makes you feel better you arent alone in accidents.. I returned from a 3 day business trip last week to NJ only to find the circuit with half the tanks components had tripped off and most of the heaters with it. My tank was SIXTY EIGHT degrees!! I consider myself lucky, as I didnt lose anything. Interestingly enough the only change was in my purple digitata which seemed to lose allot of its Zoax algae turning it a lighter shade of purple...
NaH2O
Well-known member
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Elmo - I think you're right...that darn anemone .
Jlehigh - Reed mentioned that earlier, but my top off line is secured into the sump, so the water didn't run out...I checked. Again, it was only 8 gallons or less into roughly 170 gallons, so I don't think it would have dropped the salinity too much. Also, the top-off tank is in the side cabinet, where no water was found. Only the stand was holding water.
I was out most of the afternoon, so now that I'm home I will get back to work on the tank. I am going to run through everything. I know it wasn't the main tank...the water level has been the same all day in the display, and it wasn't the bulkheads in the overflows...the boxes have maintained the same levels. The fuge in the side cabinet is the level it should be when I turn the power to it off, and again...no water in the side cabinet. All plumbing is in place there. The sump will get a leak test, as will the return plumbing (the return pump is an internal pump (mag). Looking over the return is to double check that the water didn't come from there....even though I felt all the PVC and it was dry.
Need to call Scooby Doo and the gang, see if they can get the Mystery Machine here for some detective work.
Update to follow....
.Jlehigh - Reed mentioned that earlier, but my top off line is secured into the sump, so the water didn't run out...I checked. Again, it was only 8 gallons or less into roughly 170 gallons, so I don't think it would have dropped the salinity too much. Also, the top-off tank is in the side cabinet, where no water was found. Only the stand was holding water.
I was out most of the afternoon, so now that I'm home I will get back to work on the tank. I am going to run through everything. I know it wasn't the main tank...the water level has been the same all day in the display, and it wasn't the bulkheads in the overflows...the boxes have maintained the same levels. The fuge in the side cabinet is the level it should be when I turn the power to it off, and again...no water in the side cabinet. All plumbing is in place there. The sump will get a leak test, as will the return plumbing (the return pump is an internal pump (mag). Looking over the return is to double check that the water didn't come from there....even though I felt all the PVC and it was dry.
Need to call Scooby Doo and the gang, see if they can get the Mystery Machine here for some detective work.
Update to follow....
Krish
RF STAFF
Sorry you haven't had any luck yet Nikki. I was hoping that when I read this this evening you would have been all sorted out. I've had a few floods lately and 75% of them were cause by my skimmer. The thing goes crazy sometimes and just pumps out water which made me have to open up the gate valve a little more to prevent it. So many little things it could be, so I'd make sure to check for the least obvious thing...You'll be surprised at what can cause a problem. I wish you a speedy fix Nikki
Hey Nikki,
Don't you have an Aqua UV sterilizer? How is it plumbed? Could a leak make it to the floor? The reason I ask is mine leaked when I set it up. Didn't have the seals tight and a slow leak dumped about 6 gal of water under my stand. Check your seals for leaking.
Sorry for the flood.
Scott
Don't you have an Aqua UV sterilizer? How is it plumbed? Could a leak make it to the floor? The reason I ask is mine leaked when I set it up. Didn't have the seals tight and a slow leak dumped about 6 gal of water under my stand. Check your seals for leaking.
Sorry for the flood.
Scott
DonW
R.I.P.
szidls said:
I think she plumbed that herself, only the stuff Mojo did leaked
My bet is on the skimmer air line plugged with salt creep.
Don
tava716
tava716
Sorry to hear about this mistery Nikki.
Glad all your livestock is fine.
I know with my skimmer, it the air intake gets clogged, the water level in the skimmer shoots up and overflows the collecion cup, and then overflows into my sump and a little outside the sump.
Glad all your livestock is fine.
I know with my skimmer, it the air intake gets clogged, the water level in the skimmer shoots up and overflows the collecion cup, and then overflows into my sump and a little outside the sump.
Krish
RF STAFF
Just curious if that is common with all skimmers? Is the air intake the same as the air injector? If so, I close my air injector on my AquaC EV-120 all the time to clean it out, and when I close it the water level in the skimmer drops low...I mean low enough to where I can clean the whole neck. Is this what you guys are talking about or am I wrong page
DonW
R.I.P.
krish75 said:Just curious if that is common with all skimmers? Is the air intake the same as the air injector? If so, I close my air injector on my AquaC EV-120 all the time to clean it out, and when I close it the water level in the skimmer drops low...I mean low enough to where I can clean the whole neck. Is this what you guys are talking about or am I wrong page
Needle wheel skimmer do that. Nikki has a euro reef.
Don
Krish
RF STAFF
K...Thanks Don.
Sorry for straying a bit off topic here Nikki...
tava716
tava716
Yes. and I have an ASM, which is similar to the Euro Reef.
Aquatic Guru
Well-known member
That's a nightmare to me if there was ever a flood in my house. Sorry to hear what your going through. I'm sure you find out what's going on. Take it easy.
Go Colts!
Go Colts!
Detri
Well-known member
Sorry to hear that Nikki . I hope you figure it out with no real trouble.
. I hope you figure it out with no real trouble.
NaH2O
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2004
- Messages
- 8,568
OK - here's the scoop. The sump is fine.....after doing a low water test in each compartment, nothing leaked out. The sump will get filled up tonight for an official full water test, but I'm fairly confident it isn't the sump anymore.
It wasn't the UV because that is located behind the side cabinet, and there wasn't any water there. Plumbing all looked fine....good glue was used for the rest of the plumbing .
Next is the skimmer.....I'm pretty sure this was the problem. After the sump was completely cleaned out, and skimmer removed, we could give the sump a good look over. Along the back edge of the sump (where the output is directed) you could see a small area where there wasn't any dust. I couldn't see this before. You see the dust along the back edge of the sump, then it stops right in the area where the skimmer output was located, then the dust starts up again a little further down the edge. I think you all were right about the skimmer. The output water must have just spilled over enough that it ran down the outside of the sump. I'm going to give it a good cleaning today. Since it is an air intake issue, is there something I need to look for or do special when I clean this part out? Also....can I put some type of U tube or T on the output of the skimmer to direct the water a little bit, in the event this happens again?
Here is a shot of where the skimmer is. The output is not as close to the sump side, as appears in the image. It is pretty centered in that compartment, however, if it went nuts and shot water out, then I could see it running down the outside of the sump.
My collection cup was not full (someone asked about that?). Krish - no problem taking it off topic. I'm very equipmentally challenged, so I don't know why these things happen. I'm trying to learn, though. I just don't want to learn bad stuff through my own experience ROFL.
The fun stuff begins tonight.....we have to empty the tank and move it to replace the carpet pad. I'm a freak about molds (especially since the little one has asthma), so we are going to pull the tank out, and replace the padding underneath. Nick was kind enough to offer to help, so I thank him in advance for that. I'm also going to scrub my rock while this is all going on. The tank will be down overnight, and fans put on the subfloor, if it is still wet. Fortunately for me, I'm storing my brother's 120 gallon tank, so I at least have a tank the same size as mine to put everything in.
AquaGuru - Go Colts and Go Bears! (I'm a Chicago area transplant)
It wasn't the UV because that is located behind the side cabinet, and there wasn't any water there. Plumbing all looked fine....good glue was used for the rest of the plumbing
. Next is the skimmer.....I'm pretty sure this was the problem. After the sump was completely cleaned out, and skimmer removed, we could give the sump a good look over. Along the back edge of the sump (where the output is directed) you could see a small area where there wasn't any dust. I couldn't see this before. You see the dust along the back edge of the sump, then it stops right in the area where the skimmer output was located, then the dust starts up again a little further down the edge. I think you all were right about the skimmer. The output water must have just spilled over enough that it ran down the outside of the sump. I'm going to give it a good cleaning today. Since it is an air intake issue, is there something I need to look for or do special when I clean this part out? Also....can I put some type of U tube or T on the output of the skimmer to direct the water a little bit, in the event this happens again?
Here is a shot of where the skimmer is. The output is not as close to the sump side, as appears in the image. It is pretty centered in that compartment, however, if it went nuts and shot water out, then I could see it running down the outside of the sump.
My collection cup was not full (someone asked about that?). Krish - no problem taking it off topic. I'm very equipmentally challenged, so I don't know why these things happen. I'm trying to learn, though
. I just don't want to learn bad stuff through my own experience ROFL. The fun stuff begins tonight.....we have to empty the tank and move it to replace the carpet pad. I'm a freak about molds (especially since the little one has asthma), so we are going to pull the tank out, and replace the padding underneath. Nick was kind enough to offer to help, so I thank him in advance for that. I'm also going to scrub my rock while this is all going on. The tank will be down overnight, and fans put on the subfloor, if it is still wet. Fortunately for me, I'm storing my brother's 120 gallon tank, so I at least have a tank the same size as mine to put everything in.
AquaGuru - Go Colts and Go Bears! (I'm a Chicago area transplant)
