# Water spill damage ?



## SlowBloke (Sep 4, 2009)

Apologies if this is the wrong forum.

Tank - 4ft 90 gallon.

Woke up this morning with about 1/4 of my tank water magically gone. Panic ensued however soon found the tube from pump to aeration block hanging at the back of the tank happily spilling water.

So panic no1 over - I dont have a tank leak - but I do have approx 80 litres of water spilt onto the carpet over a cement floor.

I cannot get to the back of the tank without complete dismantle / sell fish / move furniture etc..

I wont lose sleep over any carpet stain (which I cant see cose of the tank) but should I consider some sort of repair to avoid structural damage or otherwise over the convenience of just living with it without essentially losing my set up and starting from scratch ?? The floor is cement with no basement etc..

Any tips or links to a better place to ask this gratefully received - thanks !


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

I just flooded my carpet also. The plus side for me is that we were about to replace the flooring anyway. A 4ft tank is not too difficult to move, IMO. And if you don't get the floor dry, you can get mold and mildew. And it stinks! Literally. My advice is to remove any heavydecor/rocks from the tank, drain up to 90% of the water out of the tank, and slide the tank to another location in the room. Pull the carpet back, and replace the padding. Let it dry. Baking soda can help pull up moisture and help with the smell. Then repeat to slide the tank back to the area. You should be able to do this with 2 people. And you can deep clean the inside of the tank at the same time.


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## namvet4 (Feb 20, 2011)

Floridagirl said:


> I just flooded my carpet also. The plus side for me is that we were about to replace the flooring anyway. A 4ft tank is not too difficult to move, IMO. And if you don't get the floor dry, you can get mold and mildew. And it stinks! Literally. My advice is to remove any heavydecor/rocks from the tank, drain up to 90% of the water out of the tank, and slide the tank to another location in the room. Pull the carpet back, and replace the padding. Let it dry. Baking soda can help pull up moisture and help with the smell. Then repeat to slide the tank back to the area. You should be able to do this with 2 people. And you can deep clean the inside of the tank at the same time.


Excellent advice ! Mold and mildew will do more damage to YOU than to the fish. Being on a cement floor is better then a wooden floor,,believe me!


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## NYPDMOUNTIE (Jan 10, 2012)

Buy a check valve for the air line! A $2 piece would have saved you all this trouble.


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## austings (May 12, 2012)

That really sucks. As others have said, Id be more worried about the mold/mildew problem. You will want to get it dried asap! I also second the check valve. It will allow the air to flow through it one way, and cant be reversed, and water cant drain out.

Lesson learned.


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## SlowBloke (Sep 4, 2009)

Thanks alot for the feedback all - I did not even think about that side of things !

Stupid thing is I had a check valve but the tubing came off on the wrong side of that hence that great plan failed 

What to do with the fish during the cleanup operation... **** **** ****.


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## Storiwyr (Apr 24, 2012)

SlowBloke said:


> What to do with the fish during the cleanup operation... darn darn darn.


Wait on an expert on this one, but I suspect you won't need to do anything with them. Take the rocks out, leave enough water for the fish but not enough to make the aquarium prohibitively heavy, and then just do the carpet thing as fast as you can.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

If you want to empty the tank for a major clean-up, you can put the fish in plastic totes with airpumps for a day or so. Personally, I would dry the carpet around the tank as well as possible. You can get a lot of water out using bath-towels at first, and paper towels towards the end. If you have a dehumidifier, running it near the tank for a few days can really help to pull the remaining moisture out of the carpet. The same is true for running some fans. If you do all this, the chance for mold to form under the tank is minimal. I'd only move the tank as a last resort, but it's your choice.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I'd move the tank...even if you move it to the other side of the room or four feet away...really not that big of a deal. Drain the water, net the fish (into a bucket or two), move tank, move stand, replace tank, refill, replace fish. In a week or two move it back.

If you have a wood stand, the wet carpet will damage it unless you dry everything out.

A wet vac will pull out the water. You can rent a carpet machine if you don't have one.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

I agree with everybody else. I would just take the tank down and set it up somewhere else so you can inspect the carpet and pad.

I just replaced my carpet in my house with hardwood laminate flooring and my biggest fear is a leak from one of my canister filters or my tank. I should have put down tile in the bedroom where my tanks are.


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## sus (Aug 29, 2009)

So sorry to hear that. 
Couldn't resist sharing my experience. I had a similar but worse accident in our apartment. One of the outlets from the magnum bio-wheel canister somehow got disconnected and drained half of 75g tank water, when I detected the spill. :x 
Our building is supposed to have cement floor, it is a 9 storied bldg. We turned all the fans on and soaked as much as we could. Fortunately 75g cabinet stand is old and has no wooden base keeping the carpet uncovered; so I didn't have to move the tank, our carpet finally dried. We did use baking soda just to make sure it didn't smell bad.
But one mystery still unsolved. The carpet of the apt down one floor had to be changed.  I don't know how, but the management said that water somehow seeped through the carpeted floor and ruined the wall and carpet down there.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

I would not suggest moving the tank with any water/substrate


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## SlowBloke (Sep 4, 2009)

Thanks again for the feedback - its given me a lot to think about. Moving the tank really is a last resort for a number of reasons including a complete lack of ease of access, the cabinet is resting on additional carpet bits for an even level and also it weighed an absolute ton before I put any water / gravel in it.

I would only move it if it was completely empty or I know we would have a big ol' glass breaking accident followed by further spills.

Decision taken - bought a dehumidifier which has been running for a couple of days and bringing up a good 3 litres a day. It did smell kinda funky before I did that but since it has not... so far....

Decision was not taken lightly - I am sure the best way is dry carpet completely , review damage and deal with it but as long as it does not get to be a hygiene / smell issue I will see how this goes for now.

I will check back in a few weeks to let you all know if this was a stupid decision or not 

Thanks again for all the advice and stories of woe !


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

If you decide to move it you can pm me for advice


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## SlowBloke (Sep 4, 2009)

Thank you very much for the offer bluejack - will do for sure if it comes to it.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

No prob. *** moved my 75 gal tanks and helped move a lfs.


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