Leaking 75 gallon tank...

I guess I'm lucky.. I've been keeping fish for 50+ years.. and this is my first leaker.. but why my first reef tank ...6 months into it and I'm seeing small puddles every third day or so that seems to come and go but it has started to delaminate the table top ( I'll cover the new one with acrylic next time)
After an email to Marine land ( they responded 2 days latter) they required only a picture of the leaking area and picture of the Tank ID number and a copy of the credit card statement to initiate the replacement @ 80% the cost of the "kit" I bought( Tank and stand).. which I can keep and "repair or destroy" after signing a release)... I'm happy with their customer service for this prompt action...

I'm pretty sure how I'll go about the swap... I have several 28 gallon tubs and 3 35 gallon trash cans.. so I can separate the inhabitants that don't play nice together.. I also have heaters available for all.. I've taken pictures of the tank on 3 angles... the tank is in my foyer with a brick floor.. so making a mess is not a problem ... my plan is to start early and do the swap as quickly as possible hopefully to be done in a few hours... any suggestions on how to better handle this are welcome...or point out anything I've missed...

 

Sounds right in general, so for your troubles, a little plannning and things should go well.
Good luck

 

Glad to hear about the good customer service. I would use new sand and just save a cup or two of the old. Good luck! Let us know how the move goes!

 

using new sand makes absolutely NO sense... the sand in the tank has living fauna.. in it.. it is laced with worms and copepods.. throwing it away would be senseless....it still has to be removed from the old tank to move it... nothing would be gained by throwing it away...

 

I usually recommend throwing away the old sand because disturbing it can release alot of toxins into the tank.However if it is a young system using the old sand should still be possible.

 

I'm not concerned about releasing toxins, my entire sand bed is turned over constantly by my diamond spot gobie.. to the point where no sand exists under a lot of the base rock and I have to level it out almost weekly... I would be more concerned with causing an ammonia spike and killing corals with silica and silt by introducing new sand than I am releasing toxins living on my sand bed...I agree if it was a much older system releasing toxins might be a consideration,I've replaced it in fresh water systems that were over a year old...

 

If thats true you probably have very little infauna left.lol Silt and silica will not cause an ammonia spike unless its old sand.

 

When writing my post i was unaware of the age of your system or how it was stocked. As long as you have considered the issue and do not believe that any toxins will be released then by all means re use what you have. Hope the move goes well.

 

The swap worked out perfectly.. it took my wife and I ...7 hours from initiation until the toast with an adult beverage .... I cranked the heat in the house to 80 ( the house was 56).. had the new "installation" prepped and ready to go on 3' lengths of 1" PVC pipe "rollers" I had a 55 gallon drum of heated "make up " water down stairs... as I filled I siphoned from the DT into several tubs and containers I added to the sump and pumped up to the DT until I had enough to start removing corals... I used clear Tupperware containers to put the corals in keeping them submerged as much as I could and added them to the various tubs...siphoning down as I removed each layer down to the base rock... once I cleared the base, I gently guided the fish into the Tupperware container and put them into the 30 gallon tub with some rock and covered it.. I rinsed the sand in the last 4" of water vacuumed it out and pumped up more water from the sump until it was relatively clear... the sand was placed in 5 gallon pails and the old tank and stand sent out the front door...the new stand and tank rolled into place and the base rock then sand added... I pumped water from each tub little by little as I added each layer being careful to keep the rock wet.... by the time the night lights came on the tank was crystal clear...not a single casualty...surprisingly even the leathers didn't shed...this picture was taken the next morning..

 

Well done!!! It looks fantastic. Glad you had no losses. Obviously the result of a well thought out plan.