catcher Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Hi all, Afer helping Adrian on the Technical forum with a sump problem, I did my water change in my 6x2x2 last night, all ok, woke up this morning and a crack had developed in the base sheet of glass in my sump. A bit of water but not catistrophic, the unit is on a tile floor. Phew. It's been there for 12 months now nothing different was done but murphy's law took over. Don't know what caused it but there you go. The good people at St.George told me to get it over ASAP and they patched/fixed it straight away. Just got to wait for curing, about 24hrs as its not structural. Don't suppose anyone out there has had this happen lately? I've got all the matrix in a big tub with tank water covering it as well as air stone running in it. The tank has a powerhead running and air running but no filtration till tomorrow morning. Do you think I'll get by for 24hrs? Heating doesn't seem to be an issue today cheers (if it can happen it will to me) glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Sounds like you are doing everything you can to prevent having to cycle again, I'd just be worried about the bacteria carking it & causing a big ammonia spike. I assume the fish aren't being fed till you are sure the filter is a goer? Maybe some Amrite down or something incase? Maybe you could test the water the matrix is in before setting the sump back up? Hopefully someone else with more knowledge will reply but in my limited experience you're doing the right thing given the circumstances. Touch wood you'd be alright but I'd be checkin the water perameters every few hrs anyway Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksta Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Testing the matrix bucket is a good idea, if a mass die off of bacteria has occurred, there will be an ammonia spike. If thats the case you probably want to clean them before returning them. Otherwise Id just fill the sump back up and let it go as normal, light feedings and regular tests to be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
az1 Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Hi Glenn Overhauled my sump servicing 3 (5' X 18") + 3 (4' x 18") replacing all the scoria matrix with bio balls and did a 1/3 water change at the same time with no apparent problems. Each tank in this system has its own internal box filter and at least 1 if not 2 airstones. This may have helped in maintainig the viability of the system. So as long as the tank itself has some internal backup systems then a 1 -2 day wait should be ok. As Ash mentioned lay off the food until the sump is back online. Good luck Andreas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nannat Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 id put the pump on the bottom of a tub with the matrix on top and filter wool etc. and switch the pump on.assuming the tub to be big enough.if the tub not big enough slow the flow with a tap on the hose.if if i couldnt find a large tub id still run it.for one day id take a chance on overflowing the bucket even. doesnt your bacteria need fish by-products to exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcher Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 Well, 24hrs later, sump repaired, re-installed, matrix put back into action and no spike. All occupants fit and well. I think having an airstone running through the matrix while in the big bucket of tank water helped. glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Bit late I know, but I've just gotten back from holidays. Aerobic bacteria need three things (4 if you want to count water) to live; 1 a place to live (in this case matrix) , 2 something to eat (fish waste) and 3 oxygen. By putting your matrix into aerated water you fixed the only short term issue you had to look after, and I imagine you could get by for several days maintaining them in this way. With the matrix stored in this fashion, the only thing you had to worry about was their source of food, and I think you'll find it will take some time for all the bacteria to die, and put you back to square one with having to cycle the tank again. If you were forced to keep the matrix stored as you did for a longer period of time, say for ten days, my feeling would be you’d have to sort our their lack of food, and that wouldn't be hard, just put some fish in there and feed them... Glad you got everything back together again. Did you have polystyrene under the sump? Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcher Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 Yes Craig, had poly under the sump. The tank has been there for 12mths so I don't quite know what happened, I took a guess that the base of the cabinet may have distorted slightly. So I placed an additional piece of 20mm structural ply under it for added rigidity then the poly. glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 If I were in your position, I would work out exactly why the sump cracked. If it has cracked due to water distorting the cabinet as you suggest, is your you tank itself in danger? If what ever broke it before had nothing to do with the poly, then adding an extra piece of poly will not fix the problem, if it was not the source. Make sure there was nothing sticking into it from under the tank (screw tip going through the bottom/side of the cabinet for example). Another SCP member had issues with a tank in a rack consistently breaking, and it was eventually fixed when a screw/nail was discovered to have spilt the wood the tank was sitting on, and causing the wood to be higher in that spot, and not giving the tank an even support, even with poly in use. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcher Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 Hi Craig, I put a piece of 20mm structural ply (heavy and rigid), the poly remained the same. the main tank doesn't have a leak nor does any of the fitting, so I was really at a loss as to what caused it. I went over everything with a fine tooth comb when the sump was out but couldn't find anything. glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Was the glass too thin? Did you get it replace/fixed with something thicker? Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcher Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 Yes the tankmaker over at St.George repaired it for me straight away (nice guy). He said replacing the piece wasn't needed as it was a minor crack. It was covered with a 10mm glass patch. Seems ok now fingers crossed glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.