Captain Ron
Reefing newb
I just purchased a 37 gallon tank and stand. Tank is 30"W x 12"D x 22"H. I live on the 2nd story of an apartment. I am worried about leaks now and in the future. I have decided to fill the tank with tap water in the garage and leave it there filled for a week to check for leaks.
From what I gather by searching the forums, tank leaks can happen at any time, even months or years later, not just when you first fill the tank with water. Is that true?
If my tank were to leak, would it start off as a slow leak (less than 2 gallons per day) growing to a larger leak (1 to 5 gallons per hour) hours or days later? Would water shoot out of the seals or just ooze out? I am thinking of putting a drain pan on my stand and placing the aquarium inside the drain pan, and hide a reservoir (large enough to hold the full 37 gallons) connected by tube to the drain pan. I would hide this reservoir behind the couch the tank is next to. I figure this way I can sleep easy without having to worry about a leak damaging the apartment even if I am away on vacation.
In summary:
How do tanks fail/leak?
Would a drain pan extending 1 inch beyond the bottom edges of the tank be sufficent or should it extend out 2 inches or more? Will a lip of 1 to 1.5 inches high on the drain pan be enough to collect the leaking water?
-Capt. Ron
From what I gather by searching the forums, tank leaks can happen at any time, even months or years later, not just when you first fill the tank with water. Is that true?
If my tank were to leak, would it start off as a slow leak (less than 2 gallons per day) growing to a larger leak (1 to 5 gallons per hour) hours or days later? Would water shoot out of the seals or just ooze out? I am thinking of putting a drain pan on my stand and placing the aquarium inside the drain pan, and hide a reservoir (large enough to hold the full 37 gallons) connected by tube to the drain pan. I would hide this reservoir behind the couch the tank is next to. I figure this way I can sleep easy without having to worry about a leak damaging the apartment even if I am away on vacation.
In summary:
How do tanks fail/leak?
Would a drain pan extending 1 inch beyond the bottom edges of the tank be sufficent or should it extend out 2 inches or more? Will a lip of 1 to 1.5 inches high on the drain pan be enough to collect the leaking water?
-Capt. Ron