100 Gal. saltwater tank, sprung a leak in the sump somewhere. Can you help?

Question

I came home from work with a soaked carpet yesterday, now I am trying to figure out what to do to get it fixed. There is a leak in the sump somewhere, I have about 120 lbs of live rock and only a couple of damsels. We have no idea why there is a leak, the tank isn't too old, not even a year old yet. Everything was bought new...the protein skimmer died on us, don't know why, but all the water levels were tested and everything was good so we haven't had that fixed or replaced. Any suggestions on how to take care of this leak we have acquired. Do I need to get this tank moved (this will be a nearly impossible daunting task) to get underneath? We have set up a dehumidifier and soaked up water with towels, we cannot get under the tank, but we have put towels all around the sump to collect water while we are out today. Could we empty the sump somehow and have it resealed? Or will we be just waiting for another leak to spring by dong that?

As I said, it is not the tank that has the leak it is the sump underneath the cabinet...It is an acrylic piece, but it was new, I am trying to figure out if we can reseal this piece or do we have to buy a new one, that is a little more costly.

Answer 1

I'm not too familiar with sumps(tank plumbed or not?), but stop the pump. With the live rock and the few small damsels, the tank will be OK for a few days(make sure there is a powerhead running). Remove the sump and find the leak. Use aquarium silicone to seal the leak per directions, and retest sump before hooking back up plumbing. If you can replace the protien skimmer,use it on the main tank(assuming it was running on sump) while you are fixing the sump. You may need to plug the main tank depending on how it is hooked to the sump(drilled tank?, bottom, sides or both?) Your live rock in main tank acts as a filter, so only extra water movement is needed while doing this(hence a powerhead). Hopefully you just have plants in sump and not a ton of LR, as it will be easier. Otherwise move all LR to main tank to keep wet. Hope this helps a bit.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

You will have to move the 100 gal, i know it's going to be an amazing feat to do, but that's all you can do, otherwise the sump will keep leaking all over the floor. Once you find the leak, you have to seal it with this aquarium glue stuff, you can find it at your local pet store.

Answer 4

This probably isn't the best way but maybe you could duct tape the piece? It might be something you can do to prevent the leaking temporarily while you try to figure out a more permanent solution.