The Genesis Reef....God help us.

[Rororeefer]

We walked right into this one. As you may read in my bio, we are starting our first reef tank and I must say it was a good start. We were able to aquire quite a bit of equipment for not alot of money. There is a short list of what we needed to purchase to get started and research has shown me that we are blessed for that. I have a couple of pics I'll post of the tank when it was set up in the previous owners home and will post more after I clean it and set it up in my living room.

 

[Adrift]

Awesome tank good luck.

 

[flagg37]

You named it the Genesis Reef. Genesis means beginning; does that allude to more reef tanks in the future?

 

[Rororeefer]

You named it the Genesis Reef. Genesis means beginning; does that allude to more reef tanks in the future?

For right now it just means the beginning of this reef. But we'll see.

 

[Rororeefer]

So I got the tank on it's stand and began to clean it. lots of vinegar and scrubbing. Then before I sucked out the water I saw that it was leaking. So now I'm going to re-seal the whole tank, which I think would be proper. I would like to remove the overflows and calk the glass behind there as well. It appears to me that they are also just siliconed in place. Is this usually the case?
There seems to be nothing wrong with the two return bulkheads and the two drain bulkheads but as long as I am doing what I described above should I change them as well?
I want to post pictures but it's telling me they are too big. Can someone help me with that?

 

[Rororeefer]

Having to re-seal the tank actually is a bit of a blessing in disguise. I can now take the stand outdoors to paint it (I was going to hand paint it inside the living room). I can paint the back glass, is there a how to thread on that? I don't care for the sump but couldn't remove it without removing the tank so now I can do that too. #reefsquad

 

[Rororeefer]

The tank came with two Eheim 1262 return pumps piped to opposite ends of the sump. Tank size infers it is 112 gallons. Can I run just one of these pumps with a tee to the two tank returns? Is 900 gph split to both sides of the tank enough? #reefsquad

 

[nereefpat]

So I got the tank on it's stand and began to clean it. lots of vinegar and scrubbing. Then before I sucked out the water I saw that it was leaking. So now I'm going to re-seal the whole tank, which I think would be proper

Where is the leak? If it's leaking at one of the seams, then that means the structural seams between the panels is bad. Just adding silicone in the corners isn't really the way to fix this. If it's at a bulkhead or overflow or something, that's different.

The tank came with two Eheim 1262 return pumps

Good pumps.

Can I run just one of these pumps with a tee to the two tank returns? #reefsquad

Yes, if you want.

Is 900 gph split to both sides of the tank enough? #reefsquad

It will be a bit less than that with head loss. No big deal either way.

 

[Rororeefer]

Where is the leak? If it's leaking at one of the seams, then that means the structural seams between the panels is bad. Just adding silicone in the corners isn't really the way to fix this. If it's at a bulkhead or overflow or something, that's different.


Good pumps.

Yes, if you want.

It will be a bit less than that with head loss. No big deal either way.

The leak is in the seam on the front panel. I am going to strip all the silicone not add to it.
Thank you

 

[nereefpat]

The leak is in the seam on the front panel. I am going to strip all the silicone not add to it.
Thank you

Bummer. You would have to pull the panels apart to do it right. I would get a different tank. I know that's terrible news.

 

[Rororeefer]

I didn't need to hear that.

 

[Placenta89]

Looks awesome!! Good luck, may your algae blooms be small and your coral thrive!

 

[Rororeefer]

I could be wrong about the leak. I haven't actually seen any water. I saw salt coming out from the bottom edge and was told that could be from water going over the top of the tank and making its way down to the bottom lip and creeping underneath. But I also saw what looked like water in the wood slat going across the top of the stand. Maybe I just got that on the wood while I was cleaning the tank? I never saw a drip or bead of water.

 

[Placenta89]

I could be wrong about the leak. I haven't actually seen any water. I saw salt coming out from the bottom edge and was told that could be from water going over the top of the tank and making its way down to the bottom lip and creeping underneath. But I also saw what looked like water in the wood slat going across the top of the stand. Maybe I just got that on the wood while I was cleaning the tank? I never saw a drip or bead of water.

Oh I didn't realize that you had a leak sorry! But I get salt residue all over the bottom edges of my tank. Definitely from water changes and cleaning. If you don't see any water logged areas that are wet constantly I think you're in a safe place.

 

[Jedi1199]

I could be wrong about the leak. I haven't actually seen any water. I saw salt coming out from the bottom edge and was told that could be from water going over the top of the tank and making its way down to the bottom lip and creeping underneath. But I also saw what looked like water in the wood slat going across the top of the stand. Maybe I just got that on the wood while I was cleaning the tank? I never saw a drip or bead of water.

If it was me, since you have the tank apart now anyway, I would do a FW drip test for a few days... Clean everything as much as possible and fill it with fresh water. put something around it that will give you a clear visible sign that you actually have water leaking. From there you will know how to proceed. In the meantime you can paint the stand and stuff you want to do.

As for the bulkheads, I would say replace them. Saltwater is not a kind liquid. It tends to degrade anything it touches. When you are ready to reinstall them, make ABSOLUTELY sure that you have a perfectly clean seal between the gasket and the glass inside the overflows. When you are sure it is perfectly clean, clean it 3 times more. Don't ask me how I know how important this is... lol

 

[Treefer32]

Well, before everyone scares you... Be sure to wip down all the rims of the tank and remove any and all salt crip and water drips. Thoroughly wipe, take pictures if you have to to remind yourself how it looked. DO NOT stick your arms, hands, or any body parts into the tank for a day or two. Nothing.

Then check rims, seams, and outside of tanks for salt stains and / or water leaks. My Black trim always is full of salt because of the water that drips down my arm and out of my arm pit when I'm cleaning the tank. I splash a little here or there and I have to put towels over all the MP 40 dry sides to ensure nothing runs onto or into them. A day or two later, I see salt creep where I didn't get cleaned up from my cleaning foray.

At the same time I had a friend check my tank while I was out of town. He told me I have a leak. I'm like nope, it's just from me, he said, no seriously, your bulkhead is leaking. I've dried it off and waited an 20 minutes and it was wet again. Not what I wanted to hear while I was out of town. When I got back the next day we drained the tank past the rear bulkhead and redid the bulkhead and resealed it and tightened it up. Monitored with paper towels for a couple hours and nothing got damp or wet. Leak fixed.

Making sure an area is dry and free of salt creep then using paper towel where you think the leak is can also be a good way to see if there's an actual leak or if the paper towel remains dry, it may just be from you and/or equipment in the tank cleaning it.

 

[Jedi1199]

Well, before everyone scares you... Be sure to wip down all the rims of the tank and remove any and all salt crip and water drips. Thoroughly wipe, take pictures if you have to to remind yourself how it looked. DO NOT stick your arms, hands, or any body parts into the tank for a day or two. Nothing.

Then check rims, seams, and outside of tanks for salt stains and / or water leaks. My Black trim always is full of salt because of the water that drips down my arm and out of my arm pit when I'm cleaning the tank. I splash a little here or there and I have to put towels over all the MP 40 dry sides to ensure nothing runs onto or into them. A day or two later, I see salt creep where I didn't get cleaned up from my cleaning foray.

At the same time I had a friend check my tank while I was out of town. He told me I have a leak. I'm like nope, it's just from me, he said, no seriously, your bulkhead is leaking. I've dried it off and waited an 20 minutes and it was wet again. Not what I wanted to hear while I was out of town. When I got back the next day we drained the tank past the rear bulkhead and redid the bulkhead and resealed it and tightened it up. Monitored with paper towels for a couple hours and nothing got damp or wet. Leak fixed.

Making sure an area is dry and free of salt creep then using paper towel where you think the leak is can also be a good way to see if there's an actual leak or if the paper towel remains dry, it may just be from you and/or equipment in the tank cleaning it.

Pretty much exactly what I was trying to say.

 

[UnrealReefer]

Good luck

 

[Rororeefer]

If it was me, since you have the tank apart now anyway, I would do a FW drip test for a few days... Clean everything as much as possible and fill it with fresh water. put something around it that will give you a clear visible sign that you actually have water leaking. From there you will know how to proceed. In the meantime you can paint the stand and stuff you want to do.

As for the bulkheads, I would say replace them. Saltwater is not a kind liquid. It tends to degrade anything it touches. When you are ready to reinstall them, make ABSOLUTELY sure that you have a perfectly clean seal between the gasket and the glass inside the overflows. When you are sure it is perfectly clean, clean it 3 times more. Don't ask me how I know how important this is... lol

Thank so much

 

[Rororeefer]

Well, before everyone scares you... Be sure to wip down all the rims of the tank and remove any and all salt crip and water drips. Thoroughly wipe, take pictures if you have to to remind yourself how it looked. DO NOT stick your arms, hands, or any body parts into the tank for a day or two. Nothing.

Then check rims, seams, and outside of tanks for salt stains and / or water leaks. My Black trim always is full of salt because of the water that drips down my arm and out of my arm pit when I'm cleaning the tank. I splash a little here or there and I have to put towels over all the MP 40 dry sides to ensure nothing runs onto or into them. A day or two later, I see salt creep where I didn't get cleaned up from my cleaning foray.

At the same time I had a friend check my tank while I was out of town. He told me I have a leak. I'm like nope, it's just from me, he said, no seriously, your bulkhead is leaking. I've dried it off and waited an 20 minutes and it was wet again. Not what I wanted to hear while I was out of town. When I got back the next day we drained the tank past the rear bulkhead and redid the bulkhead and resealed it and tightened it up. Monitored with paper towels for a couple hours and nothing got damp or wet. Leak fixed.

Making sure an area is dry and free of salt creep then using paper towel where you think the leak is can also be a good way to see if there's an actual leak or if the paper towel remains dry, it may just be from you and/or equipment in the tank cleaning it.

Thanks I'm hoping for the best