Tank Overflowed Last night

[nicenakago]

How?
Well the return kept pumping and the overflow was clogged.
So my question... The stand was painted with a outdoor latex, but I am sure that the tank is sitting in a puddle of water. I can't get to the underside of the tank to dry it. Will it be okay? Or will it rot the stand and eventually colapse in my living room? Anyone with experience on this? I really don't want to take apart my 75 gallon... You know what that would be like...

 

[nicenakago]

Well... I am not so much worried about the floor as I am the stand. The part I am concerned about is where the bottom of the actual tank sits on the stand. It is a glass tank so the moulding on the tank holds the glass 1/4" or so off the stand. I am worried about the water traped in there. BTW - my stand has leggs so I am postive that I can run a fan between the floor and the stand.

 

[stacyt]

What do you have in the tank. I would really recommend removing everything from the tank, and clean between the tank, and stand. I had something similar happen with my 37, and a couple of weeks later I noticed the stand sagging a bit. I had to drain the tank, and replace the stand.

 

[nicenakago]

I was afraid someone would say that...

 

[majakarot]

if the stand is made of mdf or any other particle board then i would be very concerned, if it is solid wood it is not as much of a problem
if you end up taking it down you may want to consider using formica to seal the top of the stand

 

[nicenakago]

I made sure not to use particle board.
plywood and and 1x4 with a 2x4 frame

 

[buzz]

Don't empty the tank...I've seen your stand's construction. Any warping is most likely the panelling because it is thinner. It is a solid stand.
Like we discussed, blow a fan up the back where there is a gap under the tank...it should dry...warping will occur from leaving the wood wet for too long...

 

[stacyt]

If it's plywood, I wouldn't be as concerned. Use a fan as suggested, but I would keep an eye on the stand for the next couple of weeks. If anything is going to happen as far as the stand coming apart it should be apparant over the next couple of weeks.

 

[nicenakago]

I had a ball valve on the bottom of the durso standpipe to help reduce bubbles in the sump. I moved some rocks around yetsterday and some debris got stuck in the ball valve (which I didn't find out about until the middle of the night)

 

[robb]

Can you go in your stand and drill a hole up through the bottom? Just be careful not to hit the bottom of the tank. If there is water up there you may be able to get it to run off.

 

[bluemarlin]

I'd be very nervous drilling the stand and trying not to hit the bottom of the tank.
It sounds like the fan idea is the best. Seeing what you stand is made of tells me that it will stand a one-time water experience. Now, if this were a daily thing and water was constantly running on the stand then that would be another story.

 

[robb]

If you know how thick the wood is then it should be no problem. The tank sits on the trim that keeps it up off the wood at least a quarter inch. If your careful it would be very easy.

 

[majakarot]

i don't know if you would want to drill a hole in it, but if you do, you can buy bit stops at a local hardware, they tighten to the drill bit so you can't drill past that point... i personally would be WAY too afraid to try it, but if you do, get the stop

 

[dreeves]

And when you get a new stand down the road...look to see if it has an open top (for tank bottom). If you need any further explanation let me know.

 

[nicenakago]

Thanks everyone.
The current stand has a opening across the back. It was originally made for a 16" deep tank. but when I stepped up to a 75g tank; the back hung off... so I had to nail a 2x4 to the top of the legs on the back side of the stand. The result is that there is a 1/2" gap between the original stand and the 2x4. This gap runs the length of the stand between the back legs.
I have been running a small space heater on it and am pretty sure that everything is dry now.
The legs did warp a bit, and ruined my sloppy sanding job. But at least the thing didn't colapse in my living room. My hardwood floors did wrinkle a bit... but a least it wasn't a total loss.