Fish tank filter leaking water :(

[Nepen]

This morning I just noticed my fish tank filter leaking water. The water ran down to the floor unnoticed my me for probably quite sometime. I think I lost about 2-3 inches of water...
I have the 55 gallon fish tank with the cabinet stand. The stand goes all the way down to the floor on all side so I cant access what under it.
All around the base of the stand are all wet. They are made of pressed wood like particle board so it all soaked with water and bloating. I'm worried that it wont hold the weight of my fish tank anymore. I'm going to have to dissembled my fish tank and get rid of it. I dont want to have this feeling anymore.
The fish tank is on hardwood floor. I'm scared to look what it's like under... I may (quite certain) have ruined our floor
I have to come to work so I put a heater fan at the back to try to at least dry it. I wont be able to pick up the tank myself too so will have to wait for husband to get home to help. I'm going to get an ear full

Anybody had this happen to them before? what's your experience?

 

[DutchMuch]

get rid of it.

*waving hands in the air*
wish I could have it.
*cough* but sorry for your loss

 

[DutchMuch]

yea this happened to me, like 2 days ago, with a hydor professional three fifty.
Water everywhere... was a nightmare...
hint; get vinyl floors.
but if it is attached to the floor, then I would assume water didn't even get into it if its a tight fit? but if it did, then depending on how much you might have an issue.

 

[addy1]

I had a 175 gallon leak, on hardwood floor. The floor managed to do ok, no cupping swelling. It all depends on how wet it got and how the floor is installed.

 

[Nepen]

AHHHHH GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!

I put most of my fish (that I could catch, all goldies and some small tropicals) in my pond yesterday. The water temp was not that different so I didnt have to wait long. They seems to be very happy there.

Then I drain half of the tank and my husband came home and moved the tank a little for me. We discovered that no water damage on the hardwood at all!!! Which is weird, because all around the base of the stand, the woods are wet and puffy! The floor's dry though. That's all that matters.

Sooo..... now... what should i do? I think i'm going to keep the tank as planted tank with no filter now (cut the risk of another leak) But should i replace the stand or do you think the stand is still ok? The weight of the tank rested on the corner so even the wood all around is wet, what matters is the corner ones, right?
I could find another stand or make one that doesnt have the wood all the way down to the floor.

should I risk using the old one? The water damage is about 1 inch all around, and about 2 inches at the front corners.

 

[Nepen]

*waving hands in the air*
wish I could have it.
*cough* but sorry for your loss

I'm hoping to get another stand so it didnt reach the floor so I'll know if the water leak. No the tank isnt attached to the floor I wish to have a custom fish tank that big lol. But it'd take a big space

I want to convert it to planted tank. My tank is pretty much planted but with gold fish and tropicals. I have filter (which I will stop using I think), a fan to move water, CO2 injection (right now only from one side of the tank and the fan blow it to the other side, is that enough?), 2 light bulbs.. what is the recommend light I should use? I think mine is not enough.. dont remember what I have though, it's been 2.5 years so might need new ones soon?

Probably going to stock some more tetra and maybe 1 crayfish... but the crayfish could destroy my plant.. hm....

 

[DutchMuch]

CO2 injection (right now only from one side of the tank and the fan blow it to the other side, is that enough?),

highly recommend you get a drop checker, I recommend GLA.
Tells how much co2 you have in the water which is crucial to your fish and plants. Lighting depends on what plants your using (high tech or low tech?) and how much PAR you want.

 

[Nepen]

highly recommend you get a drop checker, I recommend GLA.
Tells how much co2 you have in the water which is crucial to your fish and plants. Lighting depends on what plants your using (high tech or low tech?) and how much PAR you want.

I have a high tech I think. My husband got me the CO2 kit from the guy who did home brewing. From reading online that's a high tech. I tried drop checker but couldnt get it to work right (I think the filter messed it up) or it just always green... I think my problem is I bought all sort of plants and just stick them in there and hope it lives that's how I spent about $200+ each order! But I think I did pretty well last batch

 

[DutchMuch]

From reading online that's a high tech

High tech is when you have High requirement plants,
dose fertilizers (do you? if so what is your regime?)
have high lighting (par around 100)
have usually canister filtration
and usually ADA aquasoil of some kind.

 

[Nepen]

High tech is when you have High requirement plants,
dose fertilizers (do you? if so what is your regime?)
have high lighting (par around 100)
have usually canister filtration
and usually ADA aquasoil of some kind.

haha so I misunderstood the term all these time I have Eco Complete Planted Black Aquarium Substrate (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DH0QM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
I have Fluval T5 Double Lamp with Aquatic Life 54-Watt 46.5-Inch T5 HO Aquarium Lamp 6000K and 54 Watt Coralife HOT5 Replacement Lamp 6 (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VBD2JC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
so.... I have no clue how to calculate lightning....

I used to put Excel every other day but just ran out and havnt get more. I put some fertilizer tab every few months. But I had 4 mature goldfish and about 15 tropical fish so I thought fish poo would help with fertilizing the plants.

I have fluval filter (need it for the goldfish) it's the one that leaks and I hope not to have to use it anymore.

 

[DutchMuch]

@Nepen try using RotalaButterfly.com/ for calculations on things and such, they have a lighting measurement.
Excel is useless, in this case, it will only kill algae and harm certain plants for you.
I would get some EI dosing in your tank going on, goldfish usually eat plants to so watch out...
EI dry dosing you can find (what I use) at this link: http://nilocg.com/diy-ei-liquid-fertilizer/

 

[Nepen]

@Nepen try using RotalaButterfly.com/ for calculations on things and such, they have a lighting measurement.
Excel is useless, in this case, it will only kill algae and harm certain plants for you.
I would get some EI dosing in your tank going on, goldfish usually eat plants to so watch out...
EI dry dosing you can find (what I use) at this link: http://nilocg.com/diy-ei-liquid-fertilizer/

thanks Yep, excel for killing black beard algae!!!!! I'll see what is EI
No more goldfish in my tank, all are outside now, where they were supposed to be.. I just got attached. And I was afraid of the heron (came and emptied my pond earlier this year) getting my $100 fish so I kept them inside. But they are getting too big anyway.

 

[DutchMuch]

thanks Yep, excel for killing black beard algae!!!!! I'll see what is EI

EI (estimative Index) is overdosing nutrients for plants so you don't have to worry about getting specific nutrient levels (like potash or iron for example, Po4) in your tank.
Kind of like over feeding your fish, but with plants, and something that wont kill your fish....
The Estimative Index (EI) coined by Tom Barr is a straightforward method for providing nutrients for a planted tank. The idea behind EI is simply introducing an excess amount of nutrients within an aquarium, throughout the week. This excess of nutrients floods the water column and feeds the plants. This is an estimative method; measuring specific nutrient uptake rates is not necessary and no test kits are involved. EI provides a surplus of nutrients that helps to prevents plant deficiencies, and allows plant growth to out compete algae growth.

The process of which this is done is simple. Each day fertilizers are dosed, and the nutrients are absorbed by the plants. With this method being estimative, we can dose fertilizers according to general guidelines suited for our particular setup (see below). At the end of the week, one performs a 50% water change to ‘reset’ the nutrient load in the entire system. And then the entire dosing schedule is repeated.

The primary fertilizers are the macro nutrients - Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K), and the micro nutrients – trace elements (Plantex CSM+B, Flourish). Iron (Fe) can also be supplemented if necessary.

The Estimative Index method works best for a high light and well planted aquarium. However it is not limited to lower light setups, smaller quantities of fertilizers should be dosed in those instances.

 

[Nepen]

EI (estimative Index) is overdosing nutrients for plants so you don't have to worry about getting specific nutrient levels (like potash or iron for example, Po4) in your tank.
Kind of like over feeding your fish, but with plants, and something that wont kill your fish....
The Estimative Index (EI) coined by Tom Barr is a straightforward method for providing nutrients for a planted tank. The idea behind EI is simply introducing an excess amount of nutrients within an aquarium, throughout the week. This excess of nutrients floods the water column and feeds the plants. This is an estimative method; measuring specific nutrient uptake rates is not necessary and no test kits are involved. EI provides a surplus of nutrients that helps to prevents plant deficiencies, and allows plant growth to out compete algae growth.

The process of which this is done is simple. Each day fertilizers are dosed, and the nutrients are absorbed by the plants. With this method being estimative, we can dose fertilizers according to general guidelines suited for our particular setup (see below). At the end of the week, one performs a 50% water change to ‘reset’ the nutrient load in the entire system. And then the entire dosing schedule is repeated.

The primary fertilizers are the macro nutrients - Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K), and the micro nutrients – trace elements (Plantex CSM+B, Flourish). Iron (Fe) can also be supplemented if necessary.

The Estimative Index method works best for a high light and well planted aquarium. However it is not limited to lower light setups, smaller quantities of fertilizers should be dosed in those instances.

Thanks! I'll try this. What if I dont do water change every week??

What is my set up? High tech or low tech? High light? do I need more light?

I just put the water back in my tank... the stand is still holding... cross fingers. I'll try to see if I can build a stand myself Right now the water damage part is only minimal but I have a nightmare that it'll just gave and crash the tank. I have time though, I think.

 

[DutchMuch]

What if I dont do water change every week??

Well you should do a fifty percent WC weekly anyway, but to answer your question
Nutrients will build up, possibly becoming toxic, and killing everything eventually if not done correctly.
Or an algae outbreak, of different kinds, hard to remove.

And more but you get the point, bad things.

What is my set up? High tech or low tech? High light? do I need more light?

Well right now I really don't know... for sure that is.
For a fifty five, you prob. have medium light, which is ok but you Will have an algae problem without around 100 par or so in your case.
This is the light I have on my tank:
https://www.amazon.com/Agrobrite-Designer-FLP24-4-Tube-Fixture/dp/B007FGE6C0/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1493843248&sr=8-18&keywords=t5+fixture&th=1
Of course with different color spectrums.

Lets see, you have:
Pressurized Co2
Goldfish ( I would remove these before you go near a high tech, in a high tech its ALL about the plants )
Estimative Index Dosing (Before you begin your High Tech, this is basically "required" for plants to grow successfully without deficiency's)
Lighting: Is medium right now, so I would step it up a notch, and look into a different light with more PAR, you can calculate your PAR here: https://rotalabutterfly.com/light-calculator.php High tech is around 100 PAR or more. Mine is 120 PAR
Substrate, I forgot what you had, but this doesn't matter.
Filtration, is fine, with injected Co2 generally you want your diffuser on the left front portion of the tank (close to the bottom so it has time to get to plants, or else what's the point?) with the Outflow on the surface of the water (if using lily pipes) on "top" of that. Then on the right top front portion of the tank, have your inflow.
Plants: if you could take some pics for me of ALL your plants, I can ID them for you and tell you which ones are High Tech plants, and Low tech or Medium tech. I know this sounds silly (oh they are just plants??) but it DOES matter, the death of 1 plant in your High tech system can cause catastrophic failure if not revived in time to your ecosystem. Depending if its a species or 1 plant, either way it is Serious.
So in a high tech tank, get generally High Tech plants. (for example. Rotala sp. , Hygrophilia sp. Pogostemon sp. etc)

For now, go from there.

I just put the water back in my tank... the stand is still holding... cross fingers. I'll try to see if I can build a stand myself Right now the water damage part is only minimal but I have a nightmare that it'll just gave and crash the tank. I have time though, I think.

Good luck on your stand! here is some stand inspiration: