I'm an idiot... gotta vent

[jacob.morgan78]

So last night, I had to refill my ATO reservoir. You already know where this is going. I've also been battling an interference issue between my lights and my apex jr lately. Somewhere in the tossling of cords, I managed to pull the tubing out of the reservoir. My alarm went off (I just set a timer on my phone with the time I think it will take to fill up) and I went to check the water level. And, surprise, it was the same as when I started. The tubing was back behind my aquarium laying on the floor. I think about three gallons of water had time to leak out. To add to the frustration, I have my tank on carpet. The part of the floor I can reach was not wet. So, I think, since the tubing was close to the wall, the water leaked down between the wall and the padding/vapor barrier, effectively going underneath the padding between it and he concrete slab. What in the world kind of damage is this gonna cause you think? It's poured concrete under that padding (tank's in the basement.)

frustrated.

[Korrine]

ugh! Sorry that happened!

I'd say you need to peel everything up and let it dry, otherwise it could mold.

[firebirdude]

Originally Posted by Korrine

ugh! Sorry that happened!

I'd say you need to peel everything up and let it dry, otherwise it could mold.

Think he said it's behind/underneath his aquarium.

Sucks for sure. But I think you'll be ok. It's happened to me in the past. I got a towel and shoved it back there then pressed as hard as I could trying to soak some water out of the carpet. I even used a stick one time. But you mentioned that it may have not even leaked on the carpet, but rather concrete? Well, not sure if that's happened to me, but at least it's DI water!

[Korrine]

I know it's behind his aquarium. I'd rather spend a week moving it and letting things dry out than getting mold in my house. So is dry wall wet or what? If it's inside your wall "ie the vapor barrier" I would still want to let things dry out.

[unkel j]

You may need to open the sheet rock a little if it's in the wall.
Fans will help it dry faster. If you end up with mold, bleach and water will kill it. Just spray it down and let it dry.

[jacob.morgan78]

The wall is painted block, so no drywall. The carpet was wet at the initial spot where the water hit but due to the tack strip, I think that the water drained toward the wall and went underneath the pad/vapor barrier. Could be totally wrong. I think concrete is somewhat porous... maybe it will just eventuall soak into that or something. There is no way I have time to tear everything down right now

[obaptista]

Use a shop vac to get the bulk of it- They usually come with tips for tight places. The, point fan's at the spot and let them run day and night- it should take care of it. If it smells at all, 10% bleach with water will take care of it. Soak, shopvac and fans. Good luck!

[Sk8r]

Use osmosis for all it's worth: start with towel and a strong fan. Towel will suck it up if it contacts water: keep changing towels; and when a towel won't get any more start using paper towel. Get one corner of towel contacting a wet spot if you have to use a screwdriver to force it into the crack, turn fan on the towel, and just keep it going 24/7 until it's dry: it will wick continually. If you have a portable dehumidifier, put it to work in the area. The number of times I've done this are many.

[Amoore311]

+1 to Sk8r and Obaptista.

Instead of a shopvac I've used a carpet shampooer in the past. I just worked the carpet with the rug shampooer till it wouldn't pull any more water out, then went to town with towels until it was dry.

Took me about 3 hours in total. But I had a lot more than 3 gallons of water on the floor. (I would estimate I overflowed my top off container at least 6 gallons lol). Never making that mistake again...

[jacob.morgan78]

Thanks! This is not the first time I've done this either But, it is the first time that no water made into the reservoir in the first place!!!

[emooring37]

once put 5 gallons of dirty saltwater onto carpet. had left 5 gallon jug outside and uv had broken down plastic. went to pick it up by handle and it split! had to call carpet people, big fans for 2 days, etc. several hundred bucks! plastic + uv = bad!!!!!!!

[dublo8]

Only one thing can help you with this mess.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1321036448.155769.jpg


Sent from my who cares they all do it now.

[syrinx]

shopvac towels fan. If it is not a constant dampness mold will not be a issue. Mold takes time to grow and moisture to survive. little to worry about unless one has a particle board stand!

[jimmy frag]

if its concrete floor under the under pad and carpet, it will not mold. concrete for some reason will not grow mold. place a de-humidifier by the wet carpet for a few days and you will be fine.

[jacob.morgan78]

thanks everybody! I appreciate the help! I'm blowing a fan over it as we speak and it seems to be doing okay and I already have a dehumidifier in the room. Thanks for letting me vent :-)

Sadly, I know it won't be the last time I do this...

[Palting]

Originally Posted by jacob.morgan78

thanks everybody! I appreciate the help! I'm blowing a fan over it as we speak and it seems to be doing okay and I already have a dehumidifier in the room. Thanks for letting me vent :-)

Sadly, I know it won't be the last time I do this...

So true . I smile, because something simillar happened to me several times over the last 2 years, and it's no biggie. A hassle, but not a disaster.

Your best friend is a wet dry-vac. A wet dry vac is a necessary tool for aquarium keeping, just as important as a swing arm hydrometer or refractometer!!
Just keep dragging that nozzle back and forth slowly over the carpet and you'll be surprised at how much water you can pick up.

When you get tired of vacuuming, a fan blowing air over the carpet and all around the base of the tank will finish the job over the next 24 -48 hours.

A dehumidifier is a good idea, almost mandatory, if you have the tank in a room with carpet and drywall. It's not only for emergencies, but to keep it running. It will help prevent mildew and mold, especially if the tank is against drywall.

[dh350twin]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Use osmosis for all it's worth: start with towel and a strong fan. Towel will suck it up if it contacts water: keep changing towels; and when a towel won't get any more start using paper towel. Get one corner of towel contacting a wet spot if you have to use a screwdriver to force it into the crack, turn fan on the towel, and just keep it going 24/7 until it's dry: it will wick continually. If you have a portable dehumidifier, put it to work in the area. The number of times I've done this are many.

+1 strong fan for a few days. sorry for your frustration,but it happens to us all.

[redddogg69]

I've got you all beat. Not too long ago I was filling a 5 gallon pail, just put the RO hose in and the wife started in on me about our cell bills, well I got ****ed and said ok off to the mall to get a new provider, 3.5 hours later as we are leaving the mall I'm like "oh snap". Rush home to find the first floor of our apt. With a half inch of water. 3 hours later and many buckets of water mopped up (thankfully all hardwood and vinyl flooring) only damage was 3 sq ft of hardwood peeled up. This wasn't the first and probably not the last lol.

[tkeracer619]

I dunno. I disagree with a lot that is said in this thread.

Unfortunately I have a lot of experience with water on the floor. For instance. While doing a water change last sunday my python tube came loose and i probably put 30g on the floor. In the carpet. I used a shop vac to remove most of it but...

The salt in the water seems to help. If you dump a bunch of fresh water on the carpet to dilute it all your doing is diluting the preservative. I have yet to have mold in all the times I have dumped water on the floor. As long as you get it dry in a day or two your all good. Clean it with a carpet cleaner once dry. If you never move the tank I wouldn't worry about it.

Use a lot of fans. The more fans the better and open some windows.

3 gallons is nothing. My worst yet is when my 150 burst a seam. That was about 120 gallons on the floor.

[ThaBeast]

Originally Posted by unkel j

You may need to open the sheet rock a little if it's in the wall.
Fans will help it dry faster. If you end up with mold, bleach and water will kill it. Just spray it down and let it dry.

Never use bleach to kill mold in/on a wall or floor!! Use a quat cleaner obtainable from a commercial cleaning supply house.

[ThaBeast]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

I dunno. I disagree with a lot that is said in this thread.



Use a lot of fans. The more fans the better and open some windows.

Opening windows may work in Colorado, but don't open windows in a high humidity locale such as Virginia. Turn the hvac on and use it to help extract the moisture.

[rhdoug]

many general contractors have drying fans which will suck out all the moisture within a few hours before the mold has any chance to get established. They use these for flooded homes all the time, for a tiny flood like that it would be no problem at all.