Tip of the Day – 1/23/2015

Having large aquariums, aka big boxes of water, in our homes means there is always a potential for leaks, spills, and imminently some type of water damage. Water can escape from sloshing buckets, spray from splashing water in the sump, leaky plumbing fittings, tank failures, and even as water vapor in the air. In any situation, the water can damage virtually everything in your home, but there are ways to prevent this. For splashing water in sumps, a simple cover over the different sump sections can really cut down on splashing. So can fully enclosed aquarium stands. For sloshing buckets, I usually try to use screw top lids for this problem, not to mention taking my time and using extra care when moving buckets around the house. Leaky plumbing and tank failures are random occurrences that can lead to giant water related disasters and can happen for any one of a million reasons. For plumbing, just make sure to clean any fittings and pipes before installing them, and make sure they are secured and leak-free when you fire up your tank. Leaks can spring up down the road, but if you do it right to start with, you’ll experience fewer plumbing headaches down the road. Tank failures happen, and our only real advice here is to make sure the tank and stand are level at the time of the installation. Unlevel stands are one of the main causes for tank failures. Lastly, aquariums generate plenty of water vapor, ramping up the humidity in any room or home. This can lead to rust developing on random metal objects in the home, as well as damage to other things. For this, just run your air conditioner to knock down the humidity. Or, you could use a dehumidifier if you have a more serious issue.