How long to leak test aquarium

No leaks yet, but at least it's a house where I live and not something more risky like a second floor apartment. I'll make a new tank thread in the members aquariums. Stupidest thing ever when people take a picture and post that they are leak testing it on top of their livingrooms wooden floors 1 foot away from the stand.

Leak testing is not just about preventing damage to your floors as it is about making sure you don't kill everything inside if it fails. That said, I don't leak test. Most tank failures do not occur immediately, they occur weeks or months later. That's true But if you are questioning the integrity of your tank, why would you do it on a surface that could cause thousands of dollars worth of trouble and over a week of construction?

It's not to hard to fill it up outside or in a garage. You should never have coral waiting for a new tank. It should either be sitting at a store waiting for you to pick it up or sitting safely in the tank you are upgrading from. I leak tested my tanks when I first got them. However, they my current ones were both used when I got them so I guess that's why. I've gotten gallon aquariums before from Walmart and never tested.

I tested my gallon reef after I moved it across town to make sure it was still OK. However, it was a quick test 30 mins or so and not the full blown "check for leaks after 24 hours" kind of test. In short, I've tested some and not tested others. It's never been a problem so far. I have leak tested most of my tanks.

Even leak tests success doesn't mean it will never fail tho. For whatever reason I had a seam rip loose the other night on my acro tank that had been running just fine without a problem or leak for nearly a year, then all of a sudden rushing around trying to keep the full amount of water from saturating my "wood" floors.

God damn it, on so many levels. One of worst fear is this tank busting open at some point. Yeah I'd say g hit the floor. Even with the insurance the deductible can make it not worth it, and the increase in premium Luckily my parents live a few miles away and my dad has a few shop vacs and we have like towels so the damage was minimal on that front. You can post now and register later. Your location should be level, flat, and should not be someplace that can be damaged in case of a leak.

Usually a garage, patio, or driveway will work very well. In many cases, you can just set something up in your yard. Then you will need to get some kind of functional stand for the tank. The stand does not need to be decorative, but does need to eliminate any irregularity in the surface you are setting the tank up over, and does need to support the weight of the tank and water.

If you are setting the tank up to test on a hard, solid surface that will not absorb water or hold moisture, your aquarium stand will probably work just fine. However, if you are going to do your testing over soil, or something that may have a possibly irregular surface, something like cinder blocks or bricks and planks may be a better choice. Just remember that this must be strong enough to support the weight of the tank and water!

At this point, you should not need to dechlorinate the water, nor should you have to pay particular attention to the water temperature - you will be disposing of this water in a few days without ever introducing fish to it.

Return and check for any leaks. If the tank is leaking, then you will need to decide whether it is worth trying to repair the tank, or if you are better off just getting a new tank. It's just a piece of mind for me. This allows me to inspect the aquarium to see if any stress develops on the glass when water is sitting for a long period. Due to the size of all of my tanks every leak test I've done has been where the tank will ultimately reside.

My concern is usually my own plumbing connections to ensure everything is tight and no leaks going to and from the sump. Of course I want to ensure the tank doesn't have any leaks but that's never been an issue. Originally Posted by cleverbs. As stated before I also leak test my tanks where they are going to be set up, worst I had was a bulkhead leak so I drained the tank, tightened the bulkhead and filled back up.

As far as plumbing I personally used PVC for most of my plumbing. I have soft plastic hose that connects my return pump to the main plumbing just to quiet it down some. I like to dry fit and build everything before I glue incase I need to make changes.

Once I'm happy I mark all the pieces with a straight line so I don't lose the angle of the fittings. Build everything out of the stand then install. Also I feel you can never have too many unions or valves I'm not saying go crazy with them just if you have to think about adding one then add it. Thread Tools.

David A. Crandall, M. Fatherree, M. Ken Feldman Jon E. Shimek, Ph. All times are GMT