Emergency Advice Needed - Reefer 250 Seam Leak

[stacksoner]

I just came home to a nightmare and think I successful plugged the seam leak with jb water weld.

What do I do now? Transfer livestock to a 5 gal hospital tank and empty the 250?

 

[fishguy242]

sorry to hear, yes, empty asap, totes, garbage cans with bags as liner .
have very little confidence the water weld will hold.
better safe than sorry...

 

[stacksoner]

Thanks for the tip. Water was spraying out of the front, bottom, center seal like a hole punched in the bottom of a bucket. No idea how this happens, but it ruined my floors and really makes me less interested in this hobby that was already hard enough to deal w

 

[Cell]

Yikes. I don't think 250's were eligible for the stand retrofit were they? Seems like they should be...

 

[Chrisv.]

Ugh so sorry. Your livestock can survive in a big tote if you can find one with sturdy sides or in a stock tank from somewhere like tractor supply while you get this sorted out. Just provide similar flow, light and heat. If there is no good way to hook up your skimmer, you can feed a little less and use a bag of activated carbon or chemipure blue to help with nutrients in the water.

 

[Cell]

I mentioned some threads popping up recently about smaller RS tanks leaking, here is one @blaxsun

 

[A Young Reefer]

so sorry to see this happening.
hope you recover from the incident soon.
Mind sharing what reefer 250 version this is once you got the time?

 

[NickHolmes]

I see these reports almost on a daily basis on the Red Sea Facebook page

 

[gbroadbridge]

I just came home to a nightmare and think I successful plugged the seam leak with jb water weld.

What do I do now? Transfer livestock to a 5 gal hospital tank and empty the 250?

Nightmare indeed.

You need to move everything out and into heated buckets with flow.

A new tank is needed asap, and the old tank should be covered by a replacement guarantee.

In Australia that would be a free replacement plus costs, but I'm not sure where you are located.

 

[blaxsun]

I mentioned some threads popping up recently about smaller RS tanks leaking, here is one @blaxsun

I wonder what the age of the OP's tank is?

 

[gbroadbridge]

I wonder what the age of the OP's tank is?

In Australia we have this wonderful thing called the Australian Consumer Law and the Consumer Guarantee.

Even if a tank is 30 years old and fails due to an inherent defect, you get a new tank from either the retailer or the importer.

As an importer it drives me nuts trying to calculate the margin I need to cover those unexpected costs down the track.

As a consumer it means I can buy stuff with confidence that I can get it replaced any time the gadget fails If due to an inherent defect

It even applies to motor vehicles, with many being replaced with new due to defects.

 

[blaxsun]

In Australia we have this wonderful thing called the Australian Consumer Law and the Consumer Guarantee.
Even if a tank is 30 years old and fails due to an inherent defect, you get a new tank from either the retailer or the importer.

As an importer it drives me nuts trying to calculate the margin I need to cover those unexpected costs down the track.
As a consumer it means I can buy stuff with confidence that I can get it replaced any time the gadget fails If due to an inherent defect

I think 30 years may be a tad excessive...

 

[gbroadbridge]

I think 30 years may be a tad excessive...

The law is what the law states

I'm not a lawyer just a lowly bean counter, but have been bitten with claims going back 20+ years.

 

[Derrick0580]

Typical of the original red sea tanks, stands are junk and sag causing the seams to break. They added a metal bracing rod on the G2’s

 

[vetteguy53081]

having fixed many many tanks for customers and my own 360g, you will have to place everything in totes and provide water movement and maintain temperature.
For the tank, empty completely and wipe dry with towels.
Take a sharp razor blade (protect your fingers) and cut into corner where it leaks. Then cut away silicone pulling like a zipper. Scrape entire area clean of silicone. Then wipe clean with rubbing alcohol and allow to dry. Wipe with water and lint free cloth.
Apply a generous bead of TANK SEALANT - Not silicone . Aqueon sealant is excellent and comes in clear or Black. Apply bead into corner and smooth out evenly with wet finger or large popsicle stick. Allow to dry a FULL 36-48 hours and then fill tank with freshwater and allow to sit 24-36 hours to confirm NO LEAKS
If None, start water pumps/powerheads and add salt accordingly ( in your case 4.5 50 gal mix bags and allow to dissolve and repack your tank

 

[stacksoner]

so sorry to see this happening.
hope you recover from the incident soon.
Mind sharing what reefer 250 version this is once you got the time?

It's from 2019. Not sure how many versions there are...but it has the normal overflow in the back.

 

[stacksoner]

having fixed many many tanks for customers and my own 360g, you will have to place everything in totes and provide water movement and maintain temperature.
For the tank, empty completely and wipe dry with towels.
Take a sharp razor blade (protect your fingers) and cut into corner where it leaks. Then cut away silicone pulling like a zipper. Scrape entire area clean of silicone. Then wipe clean with rubbing alcohol and allow to dry. Wipe with water and lint free cloth.
Apply a generous bead of TANK SEALANT - Not silicone . Aqueon sealant is excellent and comes in clear or Black. Apply bead into corner and smooth out evenly with wet finger or large popsicle stick. Allow to dry a FULL 36-48 hours and then fill tank with freshwater and allow to sit 24-36 hours to confirm NO LEAKS
If None, start water pumps/powerheads and add salt accordingly ( in your case 4.5 50 gal mix bags and allow to dissolve and repack your tank

When I push against the front glass, I can see that the entire bottom seal is failing. There is debris/water in the entire black part now and it moves when I push against the glass

 

[vetteguy53081]

When I push against the front glass, I can see that the entire bottom seal is failing. There is debris/water in the entire black part now and it moves when I push against the glass

I would repair front left/right/bottom seals