Help! My tank is leaking! :(

Hi everybody!
I am freaking out -- one of my 6 gallon tanks is leaking! I've had this one only about 6 months. It's never been roughly handled and is never moved. It has been just fine up until a few days ago! It's a Marineland Eclipse tank made of seamless acrylic. I have a tank divider in it and it's home to my pink veiltail Lotus and red & green delta tail Sequin.

Just the other day I noticed my computer desktop with a large puddle of water on it. Yikes! Seemed to be coming from a slow leak underneath my tank on the right side. I mopped up the water and stuffed paper towels around the side of the tank and it was fine for a couple days. Then, last night, it was leaking water again and I'm racing around with paper towels trying to stop the flow. I was afraid to go to sleep last night in fear that the whole tank would empty out. What in the world do I do? I'd rather not have to buy a brand new tank. Never experienced this before. Help???

Sounds like the bottom might be leaking which isn't good, but should be repairable. I couldn't tell from the pictures but logic tells me the bottom is a separate piece. I would assume its leaking from the bottom.

Was the tank purchased new by you? If so, it might be under warranty still.
Have you contacted the store or emailed Marineland for support?

You will have to empty the tank and house your Bettas separately until the tank is repaired. LFS's usually sell tubes of aquarium sealer or can be purchased at most hardware stores. Once applied it takes up to 48 hours to cure. It will cure quicker at a warmer temperature.

Is/was the tank located close to a heat source that could have caused a warp at the bottom? Also look close by the aquarium heater location to see if that may have caused a warp and separation.

I suggest reading the "The Divided Tank Build Thread!" by KalandraJane in
the Housing and Decorations section. Just to give you an idea on how to apply sealer if you're not confident in your own abilities. It was very well thought out and assembled.

If you reseal the bottom again you will need to remove the old sealer and run a bead around the whole bottom on the inside. If no sealer is present you can still run the bead.

If I can be of more assistance just post again or PM me Sienna. Good luck!

BTW how is Flame doing these days?

Hi! Thank you so much for the response. I'll look into that post about sealing the tank. I'm not sure if it's still under warranty -- I'll have to see and also contact Marineland. The weird thing is that the leak comes & goes. Right now, it's not leaking. I just hope it stays that way through the night! There is indeed a seam going all the way around the bottom of the tank. But I can't tell exactly where the leak is coming from until I empty the tank. -SIGH- I will have to find a couple suitable bowls to put my fish in temporarily.

Oh and thanks for asking about Flame! He is doing great. He watches me from the other side of the room.

I'm happy to hear Flame is good!

So you know in the future; F.Banks has now become 2tall as I go by that on a couple other forums.

Let us know how the tank progresses!

If it's coming and going, could it be condensation dribbling down the back from the lid?

If it is leaking from the bottom, you'd just need to reseal it which is an easy enough job, it's just annoying though because you have to let it cure for 24 hours, then fill the tank with water and let it stand 24 hours, then fill and empty it another couple of times to get rid of all the acetic acid released by the curing process.

Yay! The manufacturer sent me a replacement tank for the leaking one at no charge. I just moved my two little guys into the new one and all is well now.

Fantastic news! Did they want the leaker in return?

No, they told me to just keep it. Well, actually I recycled it. I have to say, Marineland does have good customer service!

You might have been able to repair it. Oh well, at least you have the new one!

The problem was, I could not tell where the leak was coming from. I didn't see a crack or split seam or anything. A real mystery. The water was leaking from underneath the tank and flowing out from there, not on a side. This is OK because if I were able to fix that tank, I would just be tempted to get another fish and I already have more than plenty. By the way, Marineland replaced the clear acrylic unit only, not the lid, pump, etc.

Just as well! Good to know they stand by their products in any event!