Sporadic Leaking

[Watersprite]

I recently moved and I was having a bit of a problem with my 55 gallon glass aquarium. It was sporadically leaking! When I first set it up I didn’t encounter any problems other than the normal when reestablishing a densely planted aquarium. After about a week or so I walked into the kitchen to grab a snack and trod through a pool of water. Here is the info:
1. I checked all the inline pipes and none where leaking.
2. The aquarium is setup in the kitchen on one of those floors that looks like cement but most definitely is not cement, but still solid enough.
3. I noticed that the floor is a little rippled, i.e., not exactly flat/level.
4. The aquarium is an excess of 13 years old. I bought it when I was 15 and it was used at the time.
5. After cleaning up the water, I would say a good gallon or so, there showed no signs of leaking for at least 24 hours. Then again I was surprised with wet socks in the middle of the night.
6. This happened a few more times and now for about a week or more there have not been any signs of leakage.

My guess is that the uneven floor caused the bottom of the tank to twist and upset the seal. What really has me stumped is that it has come and gone. I would think that when there is a leak there is a leak and it will keep on leaking. Has anyone had something similar happen?? I am a Biology/Chemistry major and I don’t like to be thwarted. I would love a logical explanation. Even if it never leaks again, it sure has ruffled my feathers.

 

[Bawb2u]

I recently moved and I was having a bit of a problem with my 55 gallon glass aquarium. It was sporadically leaking! When I first set it up I didn’t encounter any problems other than the normal when reestablishing a densely planted aquarium. After about a week or so I walked into the kitchen to grab a snack and trod through a pool of water. Here is the info:
1. I checked all the inline pipes and none where leaking.
2. The aquarium is setup in the kitchen on one of those floors that looks like cement but most definitely is not cement, but still solid enough.
3. I noticed that the floor is a little rippled, i.e., not exactly flat/level.
4. The aquarium is an excess of 13 years old. I bought it when I was 15 and it was used at the time.
5. After cleaning up the water, I would say a good gallon or so, there showed no signs of leaking for at least 24 hours. Then again I was surprised with wet socks in the middle of the night.
6. This happened a few more times and now for about a week or more there have not been any signs of leakage.

My guess is that the uneven floor caused the bottom of the tank to twist and upset the seal. What really has me stumped is that it has come and gone. I would think that when there is a leak there is a leak and it will keep on leaking. Has anyone had something similar happen?? I am a Biology/Chemistry major and I don’t like to be thwarted. I would love a logical explanation. Even if it never leaks again, it sure has ruffled my feathers.

Tanks don't leak intermittently, they either leak or they don't. What might be the problem is a small seep that fills up an area and then gets so large that the weight of the water overcomes the surface tension of the pool of water that builds up, causing the water to pour onto the floor until it's small enough for the surface tension to "cause the leak to stop".

 

[chesterthehero]

put strips of paper around your tank.. even if you miss the spill/leak the paper will wrinkle after it gets wet

 

[Watersprite]

Tanks don't leak intermittently, they either leak or they don't. What might be the problem is a small seep that fills up an area and then gets so large that the weight of the water overcomes the surface tension of the pool of water that builds up, causing the water to pour onto the floor until it's small enough for the surface tension to "cause the leak to stop".

I thought of this already but discarded the idea becuase the spot inside the stand that was wet before is now completely dry. I had thought that the tank was leaking from one of the bottom seams and pooling in the top of the stand (a thin board) and then leaking down the front side of the stand. (where I found the water) It has probably been closer to two weeks since the last incident and now everything is dry......

 

[12 Volt Man]

are you sure you didn't over flll the tank?

sometimes when tanks are not 100 percent flat (square to the floor) if you fill up the tank a bit too much you can get water moving up over one of the corners and out, particularly with surface agitation - creates ripples and everyone once and a while it could be enough to go over..

as the tank evaporates, the water level drops slightly and this problem goes away.

hence, the intermitten problem.

worth a check.