Disaster my turn

[phil5613]

Ok went downstairs this morning to get the laundry. I heard a pump running dry, looked the top of tank for my 210 (approx 20 gal) and it was empty and the sump was almost dry. I checked the usual things like skimmer running too thin and overflowing...not that. Looked for loose fittings or large drips.....nope. No leaks so plumbing is ok shut down all pumps. Saw water beading up on the lower trim hmmmm odd? Looked to make sure nothing overflowed....nope. HMMM dried trim and it started overflowing again ok try again yep filling fright back up and overflowing. Squish through about 60 gallons of water in the carpet grab the shop vac and start sucking the trim dry. As soon as I stop it immediately starts overflowing again. Dry off everything and watch yep welling over again and starting to rain inside the stand. Ok I have a leak in the bottom trim of my 210!

Call work sick day (no lie I am sick) call Advanced Aquatics not open duh its 8 am. I look up the number for All Glass. Within minutes I am talking with Nick and he is helping me tremendously. He takes all the info and asks for pics. I send them and we continue to plan out what to do next. Get off the phone with him and call RickyB. Do you still have the tub you used for a temp tank yep. Head to Ricky's to get tubs he takes lunch and meets me there we load up the van and I head back.

In the car I reach Glen at Advanced he is a calming effect and assures me this will work out ok. Talk to Nick again and give him additional info.

Get home start tearing tank down fill two trash cans that Ricky gave me and transfer all live rock and live stock to stock tank.
Talk to Ricky and he heads over to help out.

Nick calls as I head to Ace for PVC glue for temp plumbing ( why would I run out of that now!) Nick has spoken with Glen and everything is worked out the new tank will be there Saturday.

Whew!

Ricky shows up and helps me strip the tank down and empty the stand so its ready to be returned.

I am now able to breathe again!

Lessons learned or at least remembered:

Buy quality:
If I would have went with the Glass cages tank 1.5 years ago would I have been treated like a human being in a time of emergency like Nick treated me? Probably not from what I have read.

Buy a new tank when buying large.

Show loyalty to a LFS with purchases and time.
Glen knew me by name and remembered the tank again this was calming during all this. This isn't the only store I shop at but do spend time and money there and it feels well spent at times like this.

Remember CMAS members are here to help.
Although my friendship and acquaintance to RickyB is beyond CMAS with out him I would have been in deep doo doo! I will have to find a way to repay him.

To those of you that have helped I can't thank you enough.

Now the future holds getting the beast out not and easy task!
Also need to get new one in and setup a job that will be exciting to say the least.

Any strong backs out there?

[JPagliai]

Wow! That had to be incredibly stressful. Sounds like you had a great support system through the whole ordeal! I've never had a tank leak (knock on wood), but I have suffered from a burned out sump pump. Battling water in the house, no matter the source, is always a stressful situation. I'm glad to hear that the rep from All Glass was there to help. Not many manufacturers provide that kind of customer support.

Hope all goes well when your new tank arrives. I can't be there to help (bad back and girly muscles), but I'll be there in spirit! Make sure to post pics of the tank swap and new setup.

[phil5613]

yes I have some pics of what happened and will add others later so I can post them

[rickyb]

All of this happens at the time Phil's tank is ready to enjoy
I have never seen Phil''s tank before other than in pictures and would had love to see it running. Neverless, I'm glad you decided not to quit and just think of all those upgrades you can do now. I need not to be thank at all; I'm sure you would have done the same thing if it was me calling at the other end.
I'm also glad with the expericences you received from the LFS and All Glass, kudos to you guys.

I'll see you on Saturday, this may seem difficult but after taking a 180 down the stairs at Doug's house (by ourselfs) this feels like it's going to be an easy task if we get enough people to help.

I will take the Korallias 4 into work tomorrow so you get more water moving in the tub. Do you want me to check to see if the cylinder container still available?

[Pufferpunk]

Sounds like everything went way smoother that it could have. Good luck! Was the tank still under warrantee? Do you have to replace the stand too?

[yankeereefer]

When's the move and where are you located - If it's over the weekend, I might be able to help - PM with details

YR

[jglackin]

I will help if I am available when it comes time to make the move. PM me.

[squibley2]

I am not that far from wheaton so depending on when it all goes down I could help out as well. Or we can ask hansfrans to do it himself LOL

[Sara B]

Phil - Sorry to hear about your tank mishap! Hope the transfer goes well and your tank will be up and rocking again soon!

[bignick]

YOU GOT LUCKY

thats all i'm gonna say

I had my 210 crack from the lower left corner to the upper right corner on the front pane of glass. Water was shooting out almost 5ft from the tank. It was like a nightmare coming true.

I'm glad you didn't have to live through that. I don't wish that mess on anyone. I lost a ton of money that day.

Good Luck in the future with the new tank.

[Kmiec123]

I love to hear stories of great customer service, Glad it's working out, but sorry too hear of your trouble.
Carl

[phil5613]

hanks to all the well wishers! Those of you that have volunteered to possibly help I will pm in yhe morning when I get an idea when the tank will be there. It may not be tomorrow if it is going to arruve to late as I have a work function that is overnight so may be Sunday afternoon. I will have better info tomorrow.

Here is a question I am looking for suggestions on: I painted the back of this tank which looked great but the overspray that covered everything helped my wife dislike this hobby even more...OOPS! Also drying time is a concern as I would like to get this plumbed and up running again. So other ideas or options? Taped backgrounds look shoddy after a while and the vasaline trick isnt favorable. Or do I bite the bullet and hand paint it letting it dry overnight?

[badazztealcobra]

I was thinking about the same thing that would be less permanent than painting... I think you could get some sheet vinyl from a sticker place and put it on the back no problem...

I use a place called Xtreme Graphics in Villa Park, IL. Ask for Steve.... Get some a few inches larger than your tank, spray a light coat of soapy water on the glass and on the sticky part of the vinyl so it doesnt stick to everything... after you get the vinyl lined up, squeege out the water and it'll stick to the glass great with no air bubbles.... Then just use a razor blade to trim off the excess.... be done in 20 minutes and no waiting for it to dry...

Plus theres a zillion colors to choose from.

[jglackin]

Originally posted by phil5613
Here is a question I am looking for suggestions on: I painted the back of this tank which looked great but the overspray that covered everything helped my wife dislike this hobby even more...OOPS! Also drying time is a concern as I would like to get this plumbed and up running again. So other ideas or options? Taped backgrounds look shoddy after a while and the vasaline trick isnt favorable. Or do I bite the bullet and hand paint it letting it dry overnight?

I painted the back of my tank with a can of blue latex paint and a small roller. I put on a coat, waited 30 minutes, threw on another coat, waited another 30 minutes and added the last coat. 2 hours later, it was dry and ready to go. If I ever decide to remove it, it will scrape off cleanly with a razor scraper.

I have a lot of of unions, bulkheads, and other parts. Are you stocked up or will you need parts? Are you going closed loop? Now is the time to sit down and figure out all of the things you didn't do last time but wished you did.

I drilled paver stones and inserted fiberglass rods and then drilled my live rock and slid them over the rods. I did this after I was fed up with stacking live rock for aquascaping. I couldn't be more pleased with the look and how stable it is. My only screw up is that I should have put the pavers on the glass bottom of the tank and then slid my plenum over top of the rods and the pavers. It's not a big deal, but it is one of those minor details.

[Toddrtrex]

Phil,
Really sorry to hear that. While I can't offer any physical help --- herniated disc in my back --- when you get things up and running any frags that you want are yours.

Best of luck.

[phil5613]

Update. The tanks wil be exchanged Thursday after work. Strong backs requested around 5 pm. I am loosing livestock. So any help will be appreciated. I am pickiing up what i need plubing wise and getting the Vinyl for the backing. Hopefully Thursday it will be back up and running

[yankeereefer]

I live in Naperville and can help

I should be home from work around 5 - That'll put me in your neck of the woods around 5:30 (depending on where in Wheaton you are)

PM or post details (addy, phone, etc.)

Watch out if that DaveBien guy offers help, he just likes to supervise

[jglackin]

Unfortunately, I am in Denver until Friday. Sorry.

[taylor t]

too bad I didn't read your post earlier... I have a brand new 210 empty in my garage under blankets only used for 6 months. you could have borrowed it. It only took me and my neighbor to move it...how many guys can it take? Isn't in 2'x6'x29tall?all glass? 343 lbs. you must have stairs. nevermind.

[phil5613]

Taylor Yep same size tank and weight but not only stairs but a turn on a shallow landing. I purchased the largest tank that would fit down there its just a tricky carry so more hands the better. By the way thanks for the offer of the loaner

[squibley2]

I work till about 6:30 in Rolling Meadows. So I would not be down to wheaton untill I am guessing about 7:15 or so would that be to late or will you still be going?

[phil5613]

Ok to catch anyone who is interested up:
Received new tank on Thursday, what this consisted of was me paying some guys who were putting the roof on the townhouse next door to carry the the old one out, then pick up new tank and swap out old, Get home pay the same guys to carry it in, Find a bad seam with bubbles in it and splintered at the bottom edge, Call Advanced and they will order a new one and have it by Friday. Pay the guys to carry the new bad one out and return it. I have also spoken with Nick the All glass warranty guy and he has no issues with Glen swapping the new bad one out.

Now its Friday:
Pick up the second new tank and its spot on looks great! Too short of notice to call RC helpers. RickyB comes out, neighbor and my brother in law (who I just caught on his way home) all help get the new one in. Whew it looks great! RickyB now spends the next like 4 hours helping (more like doing it all!) replumb the whole system and put the vinyl on the back. Thanks for the idea badazztealcobra! Ricky I hope you got home in time and i don't know if I can ever pay ya back for the help! After Ricky Leaves I finish the little plumbing that is left and move everything back in place. Now to get everything back in.

All rock is in but not arranged completely and live stock that survived is in the tank but not sure what's going to happen. Not to much left I am not going to list till there is a final tally.

The only thing not running yet is the refugium but I am making water now for that. The tank is clearing and i will finish Rockscaping tomorrow.

Thanks to all volunteers that have offered help. The timing on this was just a mess and lining everyone up was not easy as my own schedule was crazy.

Those that have offered frags I will look you up in about a month when this all settles out and the tank is stable again.

Finally I urge all of you to stop by and make acquaintance with Glen and he staff at Advanced Aquatics in Roselle. I cant tell you how much easier this was because of his concern and commitment to my needs. In what could have been a aggravating run around replacement with things like most of my paper work was flooded as it was in a envelope in the stand. Glen stood by the product and did everything I could ask for in getting this done right. So stop by and say Hi for me as its the least I could do. Oh and stock up on the things you need as your there anyway LOL.

I will provide more follow up as this moves along but its 5 am and 12 + hours is enough. Oops I have to be on the field to coach my sons soccer game at 8 am! have Fun and talk with you all later.

[rickyb]

so how about some pictures?