emergency - tank overflowing

[stimkin]

My husband is out of town and the saltwater aquarium is all his. When I came home from work i found that it had overflowed and leaked through the floorboards and puddled in the basement. It is not currently overflowing, but is on the verge. How can i stop this. I don't want to mess anything up, but I don't want the tank falling through the floor either. I don't know what is going on with the system. It is spuing out a bit of cloudy water. HELP!!!!!

 

[steamboat1569]

Where is the water flow coming from? Is it the kind with the sump, or is it overflowing out of the top of the tank. If it is the sump, there will be a pipe going down into the sump from the tank. Find something quick and plug it, anything, washcloth, etc.
If it is coming out of the tank itself, find where the water is coming from that is filling the tank, if it is a powerhead or pump - just shut off the electricity to it or unplug it.
Hard to tell by your description.
Get back with us to help.

 

[stimkin]

the water overflowed from the top of the tank. it stopped overflowing now, i sucked some of the water out of the tank. he has a tube that recirculates the water back into the tank and now not very much water is coming out of it. there is a power head submerged in the tank and a protein skimmer in a tub in the cabinet under the tank. the protein skimmer is doing nothing.

 

[steamboat1569]

The tube that has the water coming back into the tank should be hooked up to a pump in the container under the cabinet. For now shut off the electricity to that pump so the pump does not burn out. Also shut off any power to the skimmer so it does not burn out. Check the level of water in the sump, is it low?
Sorry, im flying by the seat of my pants here, hoping this helps.

 

[wamp]

Sounds like he lost the siphon on an overflow box going to the sump.
Does he have a box on the back of the tank that has a tube that goes under the tank?
There will be a U shaped clear tube going from a box hanging tin the tank to a box hanging on the back of the tank.
If he has one, let me know and we can try to get it running again.

 

[steamboat1569]

Sounds like the water level in the tank has dropped sufficiently where it does not reach the overflow. I was just trying to keep pumps from burning up till we can figure it all out. Feel free to take over, I have no sump, and everything I know about them is from you guys and reading.

 

[wamp]

What happens is when the siphon is broke, The sump will pump all the water it has in it and overflow the tank. Kinda like taking a sumpless tank and pouring a 5 gallon bucket into it.
Once the sump runs dry, you will get lots of air bubbles in the tank but no water. Until the siphon returns and starts pulling water from the tank, it will continue to run dry.
You did the right thing by turning off the powerhead and skimmer. This will keep them from burning up.

 

[stimkin]

Thank you all for your help. I finally got a hold of my husband and we tried to get things going again. The overflow was not working, but after I hung up with him it started working again. for now, the system seems to be working. he'll be gone for a few more days, but the tank shouldn't overflow again (because there is not enough water - is that a correct assumption????) - i hope.
Thanks again.

 

[steamboat1569]

Now that the emergency is over.....
Welcome to the board!
Dont be a stranger, and if there is anything else, please don't hesitate to post. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here.

 

[wamp]

Glad to see it working again but... You still need to add some wate to make up for the lost water. If not, once a little evaporates, your pump will run dry again.

 

[joerdie]

reading this thread has been like watching ER!!! i dont mean to make light of the situation but there was tention, worry, intreague, and the best plot that never seems to make it to tv (and it should) Salt Water.... Ah sigh...

 

[steamboat1569]

Maybe we should invest in a saltwater "crash cart".

 

[joerdie]

yes we should invest in a crash cart. we should also start a spouse out of town sw disaster fund to keep these things from hapening in the future. just a few weeks ago i was talking to a friend of mine who thought the reef that his wife keeps was making funny noises. i went over to his house and the pump was ruinning dry in the sump. it was a rio and it was starting to smell like a fire. anyhoo i fixed the problem but the rio will have to be replaced.