Previous owner sold me a tank with multiple leaks... options?

[Matt1997]

SOOL

 

[Pntbll687]

Older not sure on the brand. Maybe AGA. Good quality 1/2" glass.

AGA was bought out by Central/Aqueon I believe. You can call them to see if they have any certified repair centers near you. It won't be covered under any warranty, but it's better than trying to slap a repair together yourself.

In all honesty you might want to walk away from this tank. The thought of it blowing out at any moment will always be there.

I got a DSA 190 for FREE, with a stand, and sump. The tank had a chip about halfway up the one corner. And I'll tell you in all honesty I thought about that chip and panel blowing out EVERYTIME I walked by it, and anytime we were going to be away for more than 1 day.

 

[JosephM]

I think you could hire a professional to repair it at a fraction of the cost as buying a new one. A professional, not someone that knows what they’re doing. If that’s something they do on a regular it kind of has to work or they wouldn’t keep getting work with peoples house flooding.

 

[Jekyl]

Small claims won't work. Time and effort spent and they still can take their sweet time paying if you win, if they pay at all. Options are either break it down and reseal properly or buy new. Unfortunate, sorry it happened.

 

[Dolphins18]

AGA was bought out by Central/Aqueon I believe. You can call them to see if they have any certified repair centers near you. It won't be covered under any warranty, but it's better than trying to slap a repair together yourself.

In all honesty you might want to walk away from this tank. The thought of it blowing out at any moment will always be there.

I got a DSA 190 for FREE, with a stand, and sump. The tank had a chip about halfway up the one corner. And I'll tell you in all honesty I thought about that chip and panel blowing out EVERYTIME I walked by it, and anytime we were going to be away for more than 1 day.

This is my thought, what is a hobby if one has a daily worry of their house flooding.

I guess ill start up a new thread on new tank options... maybe theres some loose change in my dirty jeans

 

[Pntbll687]

This is my thought, what is a hobby if one has a daily worry of their house flooding.

I guess ill start up a new thread on new tank options... maybe theres some loose change in my dirty jeans

You can always list it as a reptile enclosure on facebook.

I bought some 75's during the last sale at Petco and re sold them. Three out of the four people were going to use them as snake enclosures, so it might not be a total loss

 

[Bleigh]

I'd like to see pictures of the tank too. I am having a hard time imagining where the leak is coming from - probably because I am dense. We are having a special meeting of the Carolina Reefing Community tonight at 7 pm EST and Reef Bum, aka Keith Berkelhamer will be talking. Cannot get any better advice than from him - whether you opt to try and fix it or go new. Feel free to join in!

www.crcHub.com

 

[Dolphins18]

So I have a theory, I have looked at the tank for hours and the multiple leaks. I do not want to buy another tank, it seems entirely possibly that the leaks could be coming from water that got inside the trim and is therefore not leaking out of the tank, but out of the trim itself. I am going to take my chances.

 

[Valum]

Contact a local tank builder in your area I'm sure they would take the burden off your hands and replace the silicone then at least you have someone to blame if it leak

Personally I'd fix it myself though

 

[RobB'z Reef]

while it sucks to be you, trust me i would be frustrated too, and i truly hope you find an amendable outcome, this is no different to buying an used car off craigslist. what are your legalities? none, other than the risk assumption you made when saying 'i do'. stuff happens, at smaller sizes I personally would try a repair, but as things scale up you risk eventual failures as the pressure increases and bonds become less tolerant. If it wasn't leaking when you picked it up the seller cannot be possibly responsible for the state of the tank once you installed it. Hate to be the reality guy here, but dang... You mentioned over the sump, are you talking about corner seam compromises or bulkhead fittings etc.? Not that it will resolve differences between you and seller (cuz I really think you're on your own here), but it may provide insight on risks with regards to repair attempts. Hope you didn't spend a lot. Personally I wouldn't hesitate to buy an used tank under 125 gallons but after that, move one and see what happens...

 

[Dolphins18]

while it sucks to be you, trust me i would be frustrated too, and i truly hope you find an amendable outcome, this is no different to buying an used car off craigslist. what are your legalities? none, other than the risk assumption you made when saying 'i do'. stuff happens, at smaller sizes I personally would try a repair, but as things scale up you risk eventual failures as the pressure increases and bonds become less tolerant. If it wasn't leaking when you picked it up the seller cannot be possibly responsible for the state of the tank once you installed it. Hate to be the reality guy here, but dang... You mentioned over the sump, are you talking about corner seam compromises or bulkhead fittings etc.? Not that it will resolve differences between you and seller (cuz I really think you're on your own here), but it may provide insight on risks with regards to repair attempts. Hope you didn't spend a lot. Personally I wouldn't hesitate to buy an used tank under 125 gallons but after that, move one and see what happens...

Its all good! I got it worked out folks, It was a bit of a PITA, but it was not leaking at the seam like I thought! Its full of water now after multiple leak tests
\https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/220g-predatory-mixed-reef.815407/#post-8743876

 

[Rmckoy]

Contact your insurance company !!!

tell them there was a massive ( 240 gal ) leak

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Its all good! I got it worked out folks, It was a bit of a PITA, but it was not leaking at the seam like I thought! Its full of water now after multiple leak tests
\https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/220g-predatory-mixed-reef.815407/#post-8743876

so give us some closer bruh...where was it leaking from?

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Contact your insurance company !!!

tell them there was a massive ( 240 gal ) leak

really?

 

[Dolphins18]

so give us some closer bruh...where was it leaking from?

All bulk heads were leaking, that was not a big deal I replaced those already. What happened is somehow or another a ton of water had gotten inside the trim of the tank, and was leaking out of the trim & appearing to come from 2 seams where silicon was missing! Dried it very good and filled it inside after replacement of 4 bulk heads and had to re do some more plumbing but so far its not leaking at all.

really?

That would be a terrible idea. Would void all of my homeowners insurance.

 

[Ed olson]

The trim can be removed and resealed without affecting structural integrity.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

All bulk heads were leaking, that was not a big deal I replaced those already. What happened is somehow or another a ton of water had gotten inside the trim of the tank, and was leaking out of the trim & appearing to come from 2 seams where silicon was missing! Dried it very good and filled it inside after replacement of 4 bulk heads and had to re do some more plumbing but so far its not leaking at all.

That would be a terrible idea. Would void all of my homeowners insurance.

haha..maybe not voided... but you'd notice your next statement haha. When you make claims your insurance company discourages your next claim by increasing your rates to train you to not make the next claim in my experience. That's how I trained my ex wife to not claim extraneous damage to personal goods from our rambunctious children haha. No different really. Really glad to hear it was an initial setup really and sometimes those can cause high anxiety because it is stressful!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

The trim can be removed and resealed without affecting structural integrity.

you mean that superficial plastic isn't crucial to the integrity of my tank? crazy

 

[Dolphins18]

haha..maybe not voided... but you'd notice your next statement haha. When you make claims your insurance company discourages your next claim by increasing your rates to train you to not make the next claim in my experience. That's how I trained my ex wife to not claim extraneous damage to personal goods from our rambunctious children haha. No different really. Really glad to hear it was an initial setup really and sometimes those can cause high anxiety because it is stressful!

haha, that is funny yet smart!
It was stressful at first, being the large tank that it is, the trim can hold quite a bit of water. Panic certainly set it for a while.
Believe it or not before I reinforced under the house I inquired about the insurance, turns out if there is an accident due to the tank, none of the damages will be covered.

 

[Ed olson]

you mean that superficial plastic isn't crucial to the integrity of my tank? crazy

Just merely making a statement. Not sure it's worth the sarcasm. You mentioned you thought the leak may have come from water trapped in the trim. Maybe the seal was giving in an area or two and just mentioning they too could be resealed.
Good luck.