HELP! Sump sprang a leak last night....

[jrgilles]

Hey guys, woke up to some water on the floor. It appears that there is a slow leak coming from the front left bottom corner of my sump.

It appears to be draining water at about a pint per minute. Appears it started maybe an hour before I work up.

Is there any easy way to fix this without completely rebuilding the sump? The sump tank is not easy to get out. I'd probably have to drain a bunch of water from the DT to get it removed.

Any info on how to fix this leak would be awesome.... sigh

 

[WA coral]

is it acrylic or glass first off?? no matter which it is first drain it and get it all dry first both repairs need to be completely dry acrylic especially. glass can be resiliconed in place easily.acrylic is a little more difficult you will need some supplies like weldon 40 is best and if it is a cornor I would ge some 1/2 x 1/2 acrylic sticks and weldon them in place around the leak on the inside of the sump this can also be done in place both fixes pretty easy and can be done in place.

 

[krisfal]

Hey guys, woke up to some water on the floor. It appears that there is a slow leak coming from the front left bottom corner of my sump.

It appears to be draining water at about a pint per minute. Appears it started maybe an hour before I work up.

Is there any easy way to fix this without completely rebuilding the sump? The sump tank is not easy to get out. I'd probably have to drain a bunch of water from the DT to get it removed.

Any info on how to fix this leak would be awesome.... sigh

Acrylic or glass? And do you have a valve between the sump and DT?

 

[jrgilles]

OK, sorry for the lack of into. It is a glass 50 breeder tank.

I've now removed the LR and it is mostly drained, draining the last (fill) chamber now, which is where the leak appears to be. I'm hoping I can get this out of the front of my stand, but I'm not sure.

Its a slow leak, so I'm not exactly sure how to find it once I get the tank out.

 

[jrgilles]

there are valves between the sump and DT. A valve on each of the 2 drains, a valve on the return going to the tank, then a drain valve and a 'return to sump' valve.

None of the plumbing felt wet. When I dried the sump though, it was quickly building up water again in the bottom front left corner above the black plastic part that surrounds the bottom of the tank. The glass above that didn't appear wet.

 

[krisfal]

there are valves between the sump and DT. A valve on each of the 2 drains, a valve on the return going to the tank, then a drain valve and a 'return to sump' valve.

None of the plumbing felt wet. When I dried the sump though, it was quickly building up water again in the bottom front left corner above the black plastic part that surrounds the bottom of the tank. The glass above that didn't appear wet.

I asked about the valve to see if you had a way to isolate the sump from the tank (you mentioned having to drain part of the DT, so I was confused).

Since it is a glass tank you are going to need some silicone and time for it to cure. If you can get the sump out I would recommend removing all silicone and resealing the entire thing, then you do not have to worry about finding the leak. In my experience silicone does not stick well to older silicone, so it is best to just remove and replace. If you cannot get it out I would remove what old silicone you can from the suspected area and then reapply heavily (since it is a sump you do not have to worry about how it looks) overlap onto the old silicone and extend the bead wider than the old silicone onto clean glass).

Be sure to get silicone without any mildew resistors, like GE Silicone I or something from the pet store for aquariums (I always use the GE silicone I, it is cheaper, home depot carries it, but you have to look hard, most of the stock is Silicone II). The Silicone I will state it is not for use on aquariums, but I have used it multiple times, and have read of others using it with no problems (I think they state that as a CYA)

 

[eww]

So sorry to here this Rob. Lowes carries the GE Silicone I. I'm pretty sure you have one close by, I have a couple of tubes. If I were closer you could have them. Heck if didn't have a family BBQ in a few hours I would be on the way to help you fix it. Silicone will not stick to dry silicone at all. You will have to remove all of it and have a clean dry surface for new silicone to adhere to. There is also a product called Water Weld by JB Weld that cures in 60 minutes and does so totally underwater if you need it to. It could act as a permanent or temporary fix if you need it. Home Depot carries is for about $4.00 or $5.00 a tube. I talked with the manufacturer and they said it is totally aquarium safe.

Just some suggestions if they help remains to be seen.

Eric

 

[jrgilles]

The sump slides into the stand from the back, thats why I was thinking I might have to remove water from the DT to get the stand out. I think I can put a couple small cuts into the front corners of the stand and get the sump to slide out the front though.

A couple of questions on siliconing this back up, as I've never done it before.

First, there are tons of baffles, so its going to be pretty hard to get under them. The leak appears to be in the first small chamber, can I just cut it away from the first baffle towards where it is leaking, and redo that part, putting a ton of silicone at the junction to the baffle to seal it up?

Also, I'm guessing I don't take the black plastic rims off this? Just scrape and clean what is on the inside, then reapply?

In the fill chamber that appears to be leaking, there is also a bubble tower, etc. sounds like I'm going to have to remove this.

Is there a trick to finding out exactly where the leak is and maybe just patching that? Food coloring or something?

What a pain in the butt >.<

Gotta run to lowes to get a pipe wrench. Can't get the unions on my plumbing apart to free the sump from the system. brb

 

[jrgilles]

What do you guys think of this water weld? I'd have to locate the leak first though....

I have the tank drained now, but will have to see if I can get it out of the stand, etc. Anyways, yea eww, I live about a half mile from lowes, so I'm on my way there now

 

[eww]

Water Weld replaced Aquamend. They say its completely safe but Lowes doesn't carry it. Damn I have all the tools too. I really need to move north one of these days.

 

[jrgilles]

have you done these rpairs before eww? Wonder if I should put the tank in my car and go to puyallup.

Just picked up some silicone I and acetone from lowes, no jbweld though.

With all the stuff in the sump, it seems like it would be best to just resilicone the leaking chamber of the sump, going from be baffle back to the corner, also seems like that could lead to more leaking though. Would be a huge pain in the ass to take out all the baffles, etc. that I've put in with weldon and silicone.... sigh

 

[eww]

No I have not had to make any repair like this... yet! I know it will come some day though. I just know about the fact that silicone won't stick to itself. You are welcome to bring it down if you want and we can both tackle it . I just have to leave for the BBQ at about 2:45. I will PM you my number if you want to call me.

Eric

 

[DBM Reef]

this might be a stupid question/statement as im sure you already know this but ill throw it out there anyways did you make sure it was 100 percent silicone and not the stuff that might have the chemicals in it to kill mold?


Just making sure

Good luck and sorry to hear this happend to ya

 

[jrgilles]

yea, I bought 100% silicone. No mold/mildew killer. GE Silicone I from lowes.

I have the sump out now and its on my dining room table. Just gotta somehow figure out where its leaking and see if I can patch it without taking all the baffles out.

If anyone near seattle is bored and has some experience with this, I'll feed you lunch

 

[eww]

Damn, I really wish I could be there. I wanna help out and pay back just a small portion of help/advise I have gotten from people here, including you Rob.

 

[jrgilles]

Looks like my last post didn't take for some reason. If it pops up, here is a duplicate...

I have the sump out and hosed it down. I filled the fill chamber (left-most chamber) and didn't see much leaking. I then picked up the right side of the tank, and water started coming out of both of the corners of the side piece of glass on the left most chamber. It appears that the entire side of the tank might have become dislodged, leaking in several places.

I'm guessing I now need to take the trim off, remove the piece of glass, and put it back in?

Anyone have experience in this or is there a place I can take it to? If someone has done this kind of repair before, I'd happily pay to get some help getting this guy sealed back up. Seems to be a more serious problem than just a hole in the silicone sealant....

rob

 

[eww]

That's a tough one on a Sunday. Most glass shops would be able to help but I don't know of any open on Sunday's. I have a 29 or a 65 gal tank you can borrow for a temporary sump if you need it while you get this fixed. There's no baffles or anything but it would work in a pinch for a few days if it takes that long.

 

[jrgilles]

I'd think the tank is ok for a bit without a sump? If a glass shop could fix this, that would be awesome. I'd happily pay them to make this guy sealed again.

Any recommendations for where to take it?

 

[jrgilles]

Hmm, maybe I could put a rubbermaid container under my tank with LR in it to keep things going. I'd think the tank would be ok for a few days without a sump, but the refugium is now sitting stagnant, so would be good to get flow going through there again....

wonder if any glass shops are open on a sun. Maybe I'll call around

 

[eww]

I work for Goldfinch Brothers and I know our shop could fix it but it's all the way up in Everett.