Lake Malawi is LEAKING!

[CajunCC]

Well I woke up this morning to wet carpet around the 55g tank and a good 3 or 4 inches of water gone from the tank. Apparently it's leaking from around the bottom somewhere. I've got it all drained and the fish in a 5-gallon bucket for now, as that's all I've got.

Now here's the real problem. I can't afford to replace the 55gallon tank, nor would I be able to fit one in my Trans Am to bring it home. I might be able to squeeze a 40-gallon into the budget, but I'm still not sure if I can squeeze it into the car. A 30-gallon XH (24x12x24) would fit both for sure. My question is will this be enough for temporary housing? I have the following fish, all between 2 and 3 inches:

- 3 Yellow Labs
- 3 Red Zebras
- 2 Cobalt Blue Zebras
- 1 Ps. acei

I know a 30g isn't really big enough to keep them, but will it do for a month or two until I can get ahold of another 55-gallon tank? If not, i'll see about the 40g. I'll obviously get the biggest I can, but i guess what I'm asking is would a 30g be worth buying to hold them until I can get a 55?

Argh... What a morning... :coffee:

I guess there's a silver lining to every cloud though, because when i tore down the tank and was emptying it, I found two little Red Zebra fry. For now, I have them in the fry tank with my guppy fry, but that'll have to change, I suppose.

 

[sumthin fishy]

Obviously 30 gallons won't be enough. But it is better than a 5 gal bucket. Do you have any friends w/ room in thier tank(s)? The fish are still small, so if that s all you can do for them do it. Make sure to load up on hiding places, and get them in a bigger tank asap(you know that already) and if a 55 fits in my z, itll fit in you T/A

 

[TipStylez]

try to find out where the crack is located, and go out and buy a tube if aquarium sillicone sealent and try to fix it if its not too big.


haha i said try to find out where the crack is located...

 

[mishi8]

I vote for trying to fix the 55 gallon. You didn't mention if it's actually cracked...maybe it's just be the seal? Putting new silicone in place may do the trick, and would be a lot cheaper than getting a new 55. In the meantime a smaller tank or two would probably work...it shouldn't take too long to fix the bigger tank.

 

[tel0004]

Why dont you buy some aquairum safe silicone, and try to reseal it. If that dosent work, but a rubbermaid tub and put all the stuff in there for a few weeks until you get a bigger one. A 55 gallon tank is about 75-80 bucks, and a 30 gallon is about 50, so buying a 30 gallon just seems like a waste.

 

[mishi8]

I second the rubbermaid tub suggestion. Another idea is to see if your LFS can keep your fish for a short while, until you can repair the tank.

 

[TKOS]

I was going to suggest the rubbermaid container as well. You can probably get one for under $20 that is huge or else get two smaller ones for now. And then you can try to find the leak in the tank and get it fixed.

 

[NatakuTseng]

Get the rubbermaid for now, throw the fish, heater, airator, filter in there and use it as the tank. Then go out and buy a tube of clear silicone (99% of them out there will not leach anything into the water as long as you allow for the proper drying time) Just strip the bottom of the tank of silicone, put a generous bead along the entire bottom, and up the sides a bit, let it dry and ur good to go.

 

[MattyJFly]

your tank orginally...

I've always been a bit nervous about my 55g tank leaking ... just paranoid i suppose. Did you buy a used one? New? Was it resealed? etc.

 

[CajunCC]

The tank was bought used from a good friend of mine. The whole situation doesn't bother me all that much, but it's just frustrating not being able to afford to replace the tank right now.

I made the decision to go out and get a 29-gallon to use until I can fix or replace the 55. Unfortunately the night in the bucket appears to have taken its toll on one of the labs and the acei. I guess time will tell on the rest.

My deciding factor on getting a 29-gallon tank instead of a big rubbermaid tub is that now I have another tank sitting around as a quarantine/hospital or something. Heck, i could use it as a sump for my 75 or something too. Possibilities.