# HELP I think my tank has a leak



## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

Remember a couple weeks ago I mentioned that the filter was leaking.... well I thought that was it.. but now I still have water around the edge of my tank. I have emptied 55% of my water and moved the tank around so I can get to the edges to see if I can find the leak and I can not find one.. How do I find a leak??


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

I have checked all edges of the tank again, no wet spots. I checked the filter none of the outside was wet... I did however find a baby living in the filter! LOL


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

Here's what I would do - I would take a bunch of old towels and completely dry off one pane and carefully inspect the seal all the way around and wait a reasonable amount of time to see if the water starts again anywhere around the seal (where the silicone meets the frame and/or the glass). You can put pieces of toilet paper against the seals to help you detect water, cause it will show wet very clearly. 

Then move on to the next pane, drying very carefully and watching - if there is an actual leak there should be a couple droplets on your paper even if the leak is very slow. If you do all four of the visible panes and you can't identify any leaks at all, it might be the bottom of the tank (which would be a massive drag, but what do you do?)

Alas, a leak is a leak. If your tank is leaking (and not just kicking water out due to an overactive filter or airstone or something) you're going to have to break it completely down, probably need to get some 5 gallon pails from Home Depot or somewhere (Home Depot is great for cheap pails, and they sell lids which can be helpful. Don't rinse the gravel 'cause you want as much of your biofilter to remain as possible, just put the gravel unrinsed in its own pail. Once everything is out of your tank, then you can clean the glass like crazy, dry it and then refill and see if you can figure out where the leak is. Put the tank on a whole layer of paper towels before you fill it, fill it very carefully (no spills) and if the leak is at the bottom, on an all glass tank you will be able to see through the bottom glass to the paper towel to see where it is getting wet and/or where the water is running. 

Get an exacto (or new blades for your old exacto knife) and cut out the part of the seal that is leaking and clean the surfaces completely (no soap, just water and then dry and then rubbing alcohol and allow to dry) and then use an approved aquarium sealer to refill the area completely no bubbles from good seal to good seal and smooth with your finger or a popsicle stick. You can always remove mistakes after they've cured as well. Allow the seal to completely cure, usually at least 24 hours, and then refill and recheck for leaks. 
In the meanwhile you can keep your fish going with a sponge filter or something in the bucket with them, they will be fine for a day or two. You can even put in 50% new water after 24 hours to be safe or if you have no filtration. The buckets are solid, toxins wise, I used them when moving and my fish were in the buckets for a couple days. 

I'm sorry this is happening to you, you'll be fine, your fish will be fine. Good luck.


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

ugg.. well the tank has a black frame around the top and bottom of the tank. I think I found the area where it is leaking from, I feel water seeping through the top edge of the bottom "frame" 

I bought it from Petco right after Christmas, do you think they will trade me another 29g? Im a good customer of theirs... I think I may call them tomorrow to find out. *sigh*


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## M1ster Stanl3y (Dec 10, 2010)

good luck.. i dont see why it wouldnt have at least a 90day if not 1yr warranty...


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

I dried the outside of the tank completely and dried under the tank. Let it sit and watched patiently. I didn't see any leaks. I think what happened was when my filter leaked a while back water got UNDER the tank and it was creating condensation and was creating water to come out from under the tank. All seems well now.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If the tank is still half full, it may not be creating enough pressure to show.


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## Crackbaby84 (Feb 8, 2011)

Ive noticed a few times when I put just a little to much water in my tank it will flow down the sides slowly around the hood. Scared me the 1st time...until I realized what happened.


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

Well I am definitely keeping an eye on the tank, so far its been 24hrs and I have no excess water anywhere.


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

Hmmm. I would call asap to check on the availability of an exchange, just in case time is running out. That way you can have a date in your head "I have to decide by March x whether or not this tank is defective" - so that it doesn't slip by. Glad it sounds like things are less drastic than they at first appeared.


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