Water Leak Emergency Kit: Do you have one and what's in it?

Do you have a Water Leak Emergency Kit on standby?

  • Yes

    Votes: 65 10.9%
  • No

    Votes: 335 56.3%
  • Not sure what that is

    Votes: 183 30.8%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 12 2.0%

  • Total voters
    595

revhtree

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I was thinking a couple of days ago that it's probably a good idea that we have an "emergency kit" for water leaks and issues if you will. You never know when your tank could spring a leak, your plumbing could get cracked or something like that. How many of you can confidently say that if you had a leak at 2am that you would be able to manage on your own? Also don't forget about a spare aquarium or aquariums that you could move coral and fish into during a dire emergency. So let's talk about it!

1. Do you have a "water leak emergency kit" and if so what do you have in it?

2. What are some things you may need during a water leak emergency that people may not think about?

3. Have you ever had a major tank leak and what were the circumstances?



WATER LEAK KIT.jpg
 

Johniejumbo

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I don’t have a kit per se. I do have a contingency plan though. I could make use of my quarantine tank and buckets and various other pumps and such to temporarily house everything in my tank.
of course that wouldn’t take much. My main tank is only 40 gallons;Smuggrin
 

SPR1968

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I don’t have a contingency plan other than a small carry case that I would need to have at hand, when the 530 gallons of water potentially ends up on the floor, and I need to escape quickly and quietly from my wife!
 

ca1ore

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1. Do you have a "water leak emergency kit" and if so what do you have in it?

Bunch of towels and a shop vac ….. oh, and a thesaurus dedicated to new and interesting swear words. BUT, to mangle a metaphor, 'an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure' so i also use a bunch of water detection sensors to mitigate the most likely offenders (mostly skimmer overflow).

2. What are some things you may need during a water leak emergency that people may not think about?

Not cheap, but a good dehumidifier can be very helpful. I use one in my basement fish room anyhow. If the logistics work, a slop sink is awesome also. Great place to dump those sodden towels. Just don't forget about them …..pheeeweee

3. Have you ever had a major tank leak and what were the circumstances?

No major tank leak, but a few minor ones. Even a gallon of water goes an astonishingly long way. Frankly, if you have a major tank leak/failure you're pretty much screwed regardless.
 
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andrewey

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My plan is fourfold. 1) Start saying words I can't type on this forum. 2) Grab my copy of my insurance policy where I added a rider to cover water damage. 3) Freak out. 4) Assume I'm SOL if there's a leak. This is the point where I use towels, buckets, shop vac, etc. to try and remove some of the water.

It's too late at this point.
 

Whasmack

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1. Do you have a "water leak emergency kit" and if so what do you have in it?

A Kit? No. I have extra tanks & alternate systems to house fish / corals in the event....

2. What are some things you may need during a water leak emergency that people may not think about?

Fans, mops, towels, wet-Vac, extra salt & fresh RODI water.
Maybe Buckets or holding tanks.

3. Have you ever had a major tank leak and what were the circumstances?

Not major, thankfully. If I ever do have a burst tank, I hope I'm home in the event!
 

fish farmer

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I have two empty 55 gallon tanks in the basement, duct tape, plenty of buckets, salt, RO/DI water.

I did have a leak once...cracked my 25 gallon when I was messing with the overflow fitting. Cracked all the way to the bottom. I taped it and got a bucket under the leak. I pulled all the water I could, corals, fish and rock. I luckily had a middle refuge tank(20 gallon) which took all the livestock until the rebuild.
 

BighohoReef

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1. Do you have a "water leak emergency kit" and if so what do you have in it?
Yes! Two brutes to save the water, black 4 Costco storage containers for the live rock, corals, etc. frag racks, egg crate, tunze coral gum, 2x 200w heaters, drying fans, dehumidifier, shopvac, python hoses, 2x silicone tubes and 5 packs of shammys. I’m ready put me in coach!

2. What are some things you may need during a water leak emergency that people may not think about? Silicone, ShopVac, indoor hoses dedicated towels, safe place to put corals (storage bins)

3. Have you ever had a major tank leak and what were the circumstances?
Not yet and I hope not anytime soon.
 

Hugh Mann

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1. Do you have a "water leak emergency kit" and if so what do you have in it?

No, but I do have enough supplies and containers to deal with anything short of total catastrophic structural failure, in which case it is scoop up the floppers and dump them into a bucket of stored saltwater and hope I can heat it fast enough.

2. What are some things you may need during a water leak emergency that people may not think about?

Haven't the faintest. But whatever it is, I hope I have it if that time comes.

3. Have you ever had a major tank leak and what were the circumstances?

No, but I have had a small leak. Hairline crack in a plastic bin I was using as a QT. Leaked maybe 3 gallons into the floor before I noticed the powerhead sucking air. Towel at the crack, move everything over to a new (double stacked) bin. More towels and fans, problem solved.
 

rcillig

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I have several empty buckets and a few empty tanks to quickly move livestock into and a big box of towels and a pump with 50ft of hose to start draining so I can hopefully save some cleanup. Will use the water from leaking tank or if needed I do always have about 30-50gals of already mixed fresh SW.
 

ChrisNH

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My 40B stand is sitting in a 14 gallon sump tray that has a water alarm. Alarm goes off I can toss a pump into the sump and tank for the nearby sink. The organisms will have to go into the QT tank I will have when I actually get fish.

I had to have something like this in place before the wife was going to be ok with having a tank in the basement..
 

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