So, it's ironic. I just had taken photos of my recently completed prop tank setup to share with my friends here at Talkingreef. It's really wonderful. Well, it WAS wonderful. Two 29 gallon tanks, one for soft corals / lps corals (lower light), one for sps corals (higher light) and a large 55 gallon
sump/refugium.
The only thing that was not finished was the addition of a calcium reactor, and a phosban reactor - just trying to get my finances together, couldn’t quite afford it yet. Otherwise, this bad beeeyach was up and running, corals were happy and growing, and everything was perfect!
Like I said... I just took photos. I was JUST getting ready to post them here and show off all my hard work. Then about 2 weeks ago I walk downstairs to find at least 25 gallons of water on the floor, and my new prized
sump leaking like a sieve from the
skimmer compartment.
I nearly cried. What a stroke of bad luck! Although we can’t be sure why, the problem was that the tank split a seam. There were two things going on here, first, my bubble trap box (aquarium is glass, all the inserts are acrylic) was just a noodge too wide, and instead of taking it out and re-building it, i tapped it into place. What a stupid move.
Secondly, I use large, industrial wire rack shelving for this project. The 55 gallon tank takes up (width-wise) about a shelf and a half, so it crosses the center. The problem that I had not considered previously is that these racks, at the end, are not flush. They rise up just a tad all the way around. So, even though both shelves were level, the tank was setting on a high spot. Either one of these, or a combination of the two are what did me in.
And if I had been using my BRAIN... I could have dome something to stop it.
Of course, I got the 55 gallon used for a great deal, so there is a chance I got a bum tank, but I think its more likely that my error caused the failure.
Anyhow, my buddy Ian who drove over and helped me get a temporary 29 gallon
sump in place. He also took my
refugium inhabitants and gave them a temporary home in his tank.
From there I had to make a decision...
(1) acquire a new 55 gallon tank by whatever means I can (note again that my budget is shot), learn from my mistakes, and craft a new
sump, even better than the last one.
(2) take everything I put into the existing tank (baffles, etc.) out, and attempt to re-silicone everything. Then put everything back in. Of course, this would have been excessively time consuming, and might not have ultimately worked.
I decided to buy a new tank, so I had to sell some of my corals to finance it.
So as of last night, the new
sump is in, the plumbing is done, and everything seems to be working. I built the bubble trap box VERY differently this time, so potentially stressed/bowed glass will never be an issue again, and I put a 3/4 sheet of exterior grade plywood with a 1” sheet of industrial foam on top of that.
I’m hesitant to take/post photos... I am totally paranoid... but I probably will within the week.
Thank you!!!!
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