Auquanut
5000 Club Member
View BadgesPartner Member 2024
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
RGB
Reef Squad Emeritus
Hospitality Award
Midwest Reefer
My Tank Thread
I keep (kept) a 125 reef, 125 FW planted and 20 planted tanks. So, Thursday morning as I was just leaving for work, I noticed the 125 FW tank was about 4" low. I turned on the light to discover water dribbling all around the base. OH NO!! At the rate it was coming out, it couldn't have been leaking for more than an hour or two. Needless to say, I didn't go to work on Thursday.
Anyway, when I set up the reef and took down a 93 gallon cube, I decided to keep the cube as an spare tank. I bought a large HOB filter and new heater and kept everything I'd need to set it up in a hurry. Fast forward 4.5 years, and the spare tank is doing its job. It took about an hour and a half to get everything transferred, the 125 out, and clean up underway. All fish and plants are alive and well. The carpet is even mostly dry. If the leak had occurred in the reef tank, the rescue attempt would have been much more involved, but I'm fairly confident I could save my livestock.
Now it's decision time. The cube looks really good where it's sitting, and I really don't want to invest in a new 125 gallon FW tank. Might just try to find a used tank to keep as a spare. I've got plenty of time to make up my mind as long as I don't have another disaster soon. Regardless, I'm glad I kept the cube. It took up a lot of room in the shop, and I've considered selling it a dozen times. I'm SO glad I didn't.
Does anyone else have a contingency plan already in place for an emergency tank swap?
Anyway, when I set up the reef and took down a 93 gallon cube, I decided to keep the cube as an spare tank. I bought a large HOB filter and new heater and kept everything I'd need to set it up in a hurry. Fast forward 4.5 years, and the spare tank is doing its job. It took about an hour and a half to get everything transferred, the 125 out, and clean up underway. All fish and plants are alive and well. The carpet is even mostly dry. If the leak had occurred in the reef tank, the rescue attempt would have been much more involved, but I'm fairly confident I could save my livestock.
Now it's decision time. The cube looks really good where it's sitting, and I really don't want to invest in a new 125 gallon FW tank. Might just try to find a used tank to keep as a spare. I've got plenty of time to make up my mind as long as I don't have another disaster soon. Regardless, I'm glad I kept the cube. It took up a lot of room in the shop, and I've considered selling it a dozen times. I'm SO glad I didn't.
Does anyone else have a contingency plan already in place for an emergency tank swap?
Last edited by a moderator: