Spikes Tank

[corw314]

Well....came home to a tank with 1/4 less water.....Sprang a leak and watered my bed.....Guess I'm sleeping on the floor tonight. At least it was semi contained and didn't run through the wood floor....very old tank and I'm not surprised, just glad there was no octopus in residence cept some local pipe fish.....And I have no more excuses for not cleaning my room!!!! Massive clean out pending!!!

Ok....update.....I found once I lowered the water level the tank stopped streaming water and now is a sparotic drip. My level is more than 1/2 way down. This tank has to be about 20 years old as I inherited it from my brother, who used it as a reptile tank a long time ago. I've been pretty lucky. Anyway, I'm not sure what my next action is. Both mattress and boxstring were totally drenched and getting them outside with about 15 gallons of water in them was very challenging. Does anyone know if once this dries if I can reuse them or are they done?

As far as the tank, I'm thinking all seams need to be redone. At one point I checked into a new tank, about a year ago, so I plan on pricing that out today.

 

[mosthated]

SAVE IT!

I dont know what size the tank is, but if it is rather large it might be worth saving! Just take a razor blade and strip the old silcone off and clean the glass real good, and re-silicone it. Building a tank isnt that hard esp. if you already have the glass cut with finished edges! silicone is cheap!

 

[sorseress]

The chances that you can get the mattress and box springs to dry thoroughly are remote. You're probably going to end up with mold growing deep inside, and you definitely do not want to be inhaling mold spores while you sleep. It's possible that you could salvage the box spring by opening/ stripping off the fabric covering and treating the interior with bleach, but I doubt that it would be worth it. Box springs aren't the expensive part of the equation anyway. Mold is one of the biggest causes of asthma, and it wouldn't be just you at risk for that, it would be Jess also. I say toss immediately.

 

[corw314]

Ok...Looks like the bed is a goner. I have an air mattress for now. Don't feel like putting out 500 for a new set right now. And the plan for the tank is I'm going to buy a new garbage can, transfer all the rock, serpent star and garfish into it to run with the large Eheim for a few days. My nephew is coming over on Saturday and going to help me reseal the whole tank, which is a 47 gallon pentagon. He just resealed a 55 gal I gave him and the LFS gave him a massive tube of silicone used for custom tanks. I want to switch out the bottem. I have had crushed coral for years and years and I think that keeps my nitrate level higher than it should be. I hear oyster shell is better. Any ideas? When I'm done....I'm going to have to look around for a second octopus.....or relocate Biddle and get a smaller one for the livingroom..

 

[Nancy]

Sorry about your tank disaster, Carol!

We've been recommending aragonite sand for octo tanks. You might try that when you set the tank up again.

Nancy

 

[DWhatley]

Carol,
I have slowly been switching my substrate to sand by either removing it or covering it (except the two seahorse tanks). I think the sand is easier to maintain but I have not had it in place yet for more than 6 months. However, from what I suck out of the larger substrate, and what appears to be a reduction in my green algae in the sanded tanks, I think I am going to like it better.

 

[Animal Mother]

Been there, done that. Sucks. Sorry to hear about it.

 

[sorseress]

Carol, I got a queen sized airbed, one of the ones that is regular bed height and has a non-plasticky top so it isn't hot or sticky. We use it if we have more than 2 house guests at a time. Erich and Rebecca have it at their apt now since they don't have a guest bed. Apparently it's pretty comfortable. I got it from overstock. com for $99. You might look into getting one of those. When you finally get around to getting another mattress and box springs it can be deflated (quickly) and saved for guests.

 

[DWhatley]

Carol,
If you are going with Sorseress' idea, I can vouch for the AERO bed brand (I suspect that is what she has too because of price and place of purchase). I have two of the materess height (not bed height and less expensive) as guest beds and they are used a lot both here and by my oldest son (he even remembers to bring it back!). Besides the quality of the plastic, the pump is built in and it inflates in a short time with the push of a button. The deflation is even shorter since the exhaust valve is over 2 inches in diameter.

 

[joefish84]

hey it could have been worse

i woke up one night to the sound of what i thought was the dog peeing on the floor but to my dismay it was my 75 gallon reef draining out the bottom corner... seems to have blown a seal and in less than 15 minutes the entire tank was emptied and outside my house. luckly i managed to only end up with about 5 gallons on the floor and the rest in towels and buckets and coolers. (tip... always keep several buckets stacked near a tank in case of emergency... i learned the hard way).

 

[sorseress]

Carol, I think Dee is right. I think mine is an Aero brand...can't check because it's at Erich's.

 

[DWhatley]

Warning, the moon may be aligned strangely. I found my cuttle tank 2 gallons short this evening. Most confusing at first and I wondered if I did something really forgetful and not notice that I did not fill the water change back up last week. But the carpet is wet (but not the table or floor around the tank) and I think the air hose in the filter acted as a water channel and backed up water followed the air line. At least I think that is what happened, still looking for an alternate.

 

[corw314]

As I look across the room at my 1/3 filled tank, I feel your pain!!! Sunday, the reseal begins....I went out and bought a new plastic garbage can today and misc. storage units for all the "stuff" I can't fit under my bed any more and tomorrow, I will begin the emptying into the can, set up the Eheim on it and throw out the years old crushed coral bedding. Ya know I think Biddle may possibly be a vulgaris. He's growing very large and this tank leak may be good timing as I know Spikes' tank needed a total overhaul, plus I have an awesome new protein skimmer that needs to be installed so Biddle may be quite lucky very soon in his new surroundings although I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to get him out yet, my thought was letting him get used to a smaller critter pen so I could just lift him out to a larger bucket to drip in once the new tank is ready.....Anyway, I hope it's only an airline errorr, Dee!!!!

 

[DWhatley]

Carol,
You are definitely in more pain (especially if you are sleeping on the floor) by far. We built this house so you can count on it not having wall-to-wall carpet, only rugs over tile and this particular rug is acrylic (won't give up dog hair but dries quickly) and has been wet many times with one accident or another and 4 primary and various occassional tanks in the room. We only have the work room under the room so there are no ceilings below to worry about either (unlike the tanks in the living and dining rooms). I still don't find any leaks and I repositioned the air line to sit above the filter hoping to not provide a channel for the water.

Any luck drying even the box springs or have you given up hope?

 

[corw314]

This is what is now residing in Spikes 1/2 filled tank. Bed update - WE had torrential rains during the week so last weekend I stepped out to check the bed and it was bone dry. I sprayed it down with lysol and am happy to say not a smell, and no dampness whatsoever. We shall see....And the plan was to seal Spikes tank but a few people that have tanks are hesitant as to all the angles in a 47 pentagon. Anyway, the new temporary inhabitant was brought to me at 11Pm last night, caught in a fishing trip, known as an oystercracker. Jess said yuck...Note the arm sticking out from underneath him. The serpent star has been missing since Spike passed away. I know there was another conversation about if an octopus and a serpent star form a "friendship". Obviously these serpents know other animals are food souces for leftovers. Another question that has come up is the difference between using a wet/dry filter system and a canister. Now my tanks have always been run with Eheims, bigger specs than needed. I have a large bubble filter run with an air pump filled with charcoal and a protein skimmer. Probably a little behind the times, but I have had great success other than dealing with a clogged filter here and there. I'm curious as to others thoughts on this. Also my tanks are very seasoned. Spikes tank has to be over 10 years old as saltwater.