Tank leaking... via the power cords?

[champyeti]

Came out to check on the tank and discovered a sizable puddle of water beside it. There's more under my desk's drawers and under the tank stand itself. Just topped it off last night and there's about a centimeter of water missing (20g high) from where the water level should be.

Now, the base of the tank looks completely dry. I have a plastic skirt to protect the stand from any drips during maintenance and that is also dry.

The only things wet are the power cords from my heater and Hydor Koralia pump. The heater was displaying the temp as 75 F when it usually is 78 F (and set to 78), sometimes drops to 77 F. I turned off all power to the tank for now.

The Koralia's power cord was slowly dripping water onto the floor. The heater's cord was very wet near the top for a foot or two as it trails down the side of the tank.

what the heck?!

How does this happen? I assume there's some sort of weird suction going on pulling water down the cords which is weird, because the heater and pump are a good couple inches below the water surface of a rimmed tank, so the cords both arc upwards before going down. I run a drip loop on all cords so luckily no water is at the power supply but like

How do I stop this/prevent it and do I need a new heater? My torch near the heater is looking kind of pale and translucent so I'm worried the heater is sending out electricity or something. Or should I be looking for a source of a leak on the tank itself? what the heck is going on lol

 

[champyeti]

Here is a pic of how the two wet cords are set up. What is going on lol

 

[ironman187]

Salt creep in the spiral cord cover causing water to draw up through capiliary action?

 

[Thub]

It can happen, water is getting pulled through that cable protector stuff via capillary action. This us also why all your accessory manuals advise using a drip loop( so the water doesn't follow the cord into the wall and cause a short )

 

[champyeti]

Salt creep in the spiral cord cover causing water to draw up through capiliary action?

Clean your filthy power cord, got it. In my defense that portion of the cord used to be underwater in an older tank lol

Makes sense since the drips were coming from the spiral cord's drip loop at the base and the salt creep is damp.

what's up with the heater, though? Any cause for concern? A 3 degree drop is very out of the ordinary for this heater.

 

[Thub]

what's up with the heater, though? Any cause for concern? A 3 degree drop is very out of the ordinary for this heater.

Could be unrelated. The heater's coil could have failed, causing the thermometer to still work, but not heat the tank. I'm sure a submersible heater doesn't care if there's water on the cord

 

[Snoopy 67]

Check the heater in a 5 gallon bucket.
& yes get rid of the spiral wrap.

 

[Billdogg]

I agree with the probable cause of the leak. As for the heater - I preemptively replace mine about yearly. They are, without a doubt, the most common piece of equipment we have to fail.

 

[NanoDJS]

Creepy post .