HOB went haywire, filter media completely dried out....

I was away for a few weeks, and while I was gone my HOB filter went haywire... I started leaking somewhere and the motor burnt out. Any idea's how a HOB can leak? I'm having problems finding the source. My wall is damaged, and my 20 gallon high tank is missing about 3 inches of water, so quite a bit leaked out.... but how?


Everything inside the filter was totally dried out. I've thrown it all away, except for the sponge. Is the sponge safe to use? Or is the dead bacteria deadly?

Can't say I have ever let any of my filter media ever dry out, so I'm stumped... anyone?!

Thanks, Decz.

Thanks, 80gal joe, i'll get rid of it.

As for the type of HOB, it's an Aquaclear Mini.

Geez, I think I've figured it out. Thanks Elmo, as soon as you said that, I realized that just before I went away, I had taken the motor apart because i accidently dumped my crushed coral into it. shoot, I'll have to be more careful next time. Thanks for your help!