大约三年前,这个周末我从卧室下楼,却发现了我脚上的水。像每一个很好的凉亭一样,我立即以为我的坦克爆发了一个重大的泄漏,并淹没了我房子的第二层。
Now at the time the only tank I had on that floor was a 75-gallon one, but having had it ingrained into my head that any problem in the house was the fault of me and my aquariums, I nonetheless blamed it initially. Fortunately, the tank was intact and had not dripped a drop in to the flood.
不幸的是,填充车站的喷气机已经破裂了,在我六个小时的睡眠过程中,设法将超过2,000加仑的水释放到我家的二楼。幸运的是,我的主坦克和另一个附近的坦克在水箱的另一侧,因此它们的内容物没有被稀释,这会产生更多的问题。
While this does not seem to have any relationship to our hobby, the problem with leaks, drip and other issues came to the forefront again for me this week when a line going into my RO/DI unit came apart and shot 200 gallons of water, TWICE, as I didn’t learn the first time, onto the floor of my basement. As a result of this, I thought it might be a good time to take a break from my world tour articles and talk about something we all know happens: water where we don’t want it.
I know the old adage is don’t cry over spilled milk, which may be good advice to follow, but I know that most spouses or significant others do not forget when we have a major issue with the saltwater from our tanks being somewhere where it shouldn’t be. I have a tank that sits near me where where fish love to splash and I have had guests get splashed even with a couple of drops of water and not be happy.
更糟糕的是,我参与了一个坦克,底部分开,结果4000加仑的盐水被倾倒在他房屋的地下室中。不用说,后一种情况更糟,但实际上,我们其中一个坦克的任何泄漏或溢出都可以导致在恋爱关系中最好的摩擦,或者在最坏的情况下进行非常激烈的讨论。
看,我们都知道我们将在某处溢出,泄漏或滴水,通常会在最糟糕的时间和房屋中最昂贵的事情上发生,所以问题是我们该怎么办?
First, don’t lie to your spouse when you set up the tank and tell them you will never spill a drop. The reason for not doing this is simple, they will remember your saying that and will bring it up every time even if just the humidity in your house goes up. I have found it better to say, I know you are worried about a leak or spill but I am taking every precaution to prevent one from happening and am prepared in case one does occur. But you can’t just say that, you actually have to think ahead and be prepared. So in this regard I have worked to prevent leaks or spills and am prepared if one happens.
在这一点上,您可能会问自己如何防止泄漏或溢出,不幸的是,防止或减少它们的答案并不容易。但是,我发现我们可以做很多事情可以减少它们。首先,我尝试将尽可能多的水箱固定,并尽可能少的柔性软管。
This is done because over time hoses tend to shrink and crack after being exposed to saltwater and when a leak does occur it is always when I am sleeping or out of town. If a hose is needed, it always fits as snugly on a barb fitting as possible. In the best scenario it is on so tight that it needs to be heated up in hot water before being placed on the fitting and then as it cools it almost bonds onto the barb.
And to further decrease the likelihood of it leakingall hoses are clampedonto the fitting as well, even if the hose is in water. This is done as not only to hoses tend to shrink over time, but most of them are also exposed to vibrations, and if these precautions aren’t taken the likelihood of a water issue will always be there. [Ed. Note: Zip-tie all the things!]
如果你足够幸运能够努力探究,that is use PVC pipe or something similar, to plumb the tank then there are also things you need to do when doing this as well to reduce the likelihood of a leak. First, all PVC fitting should be cleaned with the purple PVC cleaner and allowed to dry before being glued.
这可能看起来微不足道,但我有粘无数fittings both clean and uncleaned, and when I have had an issue with a fitting coming apart invariably it seemed to be one that was not cleaned. Or if they were all cleaned the only time I have had them come apart was when I did not give the PVC adequate time to dry before exposing it to saltwater. So plan ahead and give the pipes and fittings time to cure completely before running water through them.
如果您能够用力固定所有东西,那么您还应该在任何需要清洁或可能随着时间的时间更换的设备周围使用门阀和工会。这似乎是一笔不必要的费用,但是如果您无法关闭水源,并且需要看到一些东西来修复或清洁它,那么在地板上会有水。
Not all fittings are slip to slip, that is glued together, many can be screwed together, with there being male and female fittings. For most of my time plumbing my tanks, I preferred these types of fittings as they are easy to find and easy to take apart. However, I also found over time that some of them leaked and I never understood why.
幸运的是,我有机会与大师水管工谈谈这一点,原因很简单:我当时使用Teflon胶带将雄性线放在雄性线上,然后再将配件拧在一起。
He informed me that PVC fittings are not for the most part water tight under pressure when Teflon tape is used. Instead he recommended something called Real-Tuff to apply to the male fittings that would make them water tight. Since I have been using this I have to admit to no leaks from these fittings. Not even the pin hole leaks that used to drive me crazy.
但是,管道只是泄漏或滴水的一种来源。我还发现,松散的软管,盐喷雾剂和未灌输的补充系统也可能是溢出物的主要来源。我所说的松散软管的意思是,某些毫无戒心的人会撞到或拉出任何不应该在的水的软管。
In my own case, the slow flowing line from my calcium reactor was a constant source of spills in that it was in a place such that small kids seemed to constantly want to take it out of the tank, or worse when I was in a rush I would inadvertently pull it slightly out of the sump.
因为流过它的流程太慢,不到一加仑一个小时,所以地板上没有快速涌出水,因此通常需要一段时间,通常需要一段时间,通常是在被拉出后的早晨,在其损坏之前注意。因此,为了防止这种情况发生,现在将其牢固地固定在储罐上,因此不能将其拉出。
In the same vein, all refill and reservoir hoses for make up water are now also firmly anchored in place. These produced similar issues as unless a refill of the tank was occurring they were dry. So they could be pulled out of place with no notice. However once the tank or reservoir needed to be refilled the water that they should have been putting into these quickly spilled onto the floor. So that is why they too are now immovable.
最后,就预防而言,ON还应确保任何溢出或其他从水箱中取水的方法都超大,以便如果发生任何堵塞,则不会溢出。甚至更好的是,如果内置一些冗余,则如果溢出会被阻塞,则可能会出现水中水中的第二种方法。同样,与大多数事情一样,由于碎屑或死鱼或睡觉时似乎总是会发生的任何事情,因此堵塞了溢出,因此请进行相应的计划。
Despite having the best laid plans of mice and men spills, and leaks will still occur, so in this regard you need to be prepared. Having spilled an ocean of water over the years I think I am well-qualified to help in your preparation. First, try to get to the spill or leak as quickly as possible.
因此,为了减少大量泄漏或溢出,我的水箱周围都有泄漏探测器。这种小电子设计的作用像是水的烟雾探测器,并发出相同的刺耳音调。盐水似乎比淡水更快。
They are around $10 apiece so at that price they are well worth the money to prevent the floor, carpet, or ceiling from being destroyed from a bad leak. There are even high tech ones, obviously for more money, that can send you an alert, should a leak occur while you are sleeping or away.
尽管有这些设备,但仍然会发生大泄漏和溢出物,因此可以帮助清理三个设备派上用场。首先,在低技术方面,可以节省尽可能多的旧毛巾。我的房子里有近50条毛巾,可悲的是不得不使用比我想承认的要多得多。但是,要快速搅拌湿的烂摊子,没有什么比这更好的了。
Second I also have a wet/dry Shop Vac for drawing off water as well. If water has pooled I use the Shop Vac first and then the towels dry the area off as much as possible. However, I also have 3 tanks over carpeting and have had a couple of spills on the carpet.
Now you can use the Shop Vac and towels to dry the carpet, and it will seem dry on the surface, however underneath the carpet is padding. And while it is called padding, it is actually a big sponge and as such if you do not get it dry it will act as a moisture reservoir for a long time and produce the kind of mod and mildew that your significant other will never forget.
因此,为了干燥地毯,您需要一个风扇,而不仅仅是一个简单的盒子风扇,而且确实是家庭填海工作人员使用的工业风扇。而且,您还需要知道您可以并且需要提起地毯和填充,并从下面的风扇中取出流动,以使其完全干燥。
Most carpeting is held in place with nail boards, so all you need to do is get to the edge and with a flat head screwdriver lift the carpet and padding off the board bit by bit and then have the fan blow underneath it to dry it. Once it has dried it may seem like it has shrunk a bit so you need to pull it and kind of stretch it to get it back into place. And then you can nail it back down with a mallet. Sadly, I have become a master of drying carpets due to my own stupidity, but I hope my experience will be helpful.
Having a leak or spill from a tank is kind of inevitable, but with proper planning and preparation its likelihood can be reduced and its size minimized. But if you are wavering in doing some of the things suggested, I should point out that that 2,000- gallon leak of clean water that I mentioned at the beginning produced about $30,000 in damages.
但是,与4,000加仑的盐水泄漏相比,这显得苍白,因为这造成了近20万美元的损失。因此,考虑到您可能需要确保大泄漏或溢出的机会的昂贵。而且,如果您除此之外什么都不做,除此之外,您可能会放弃一个主要问题。
Please please shut off your mains water supply when you go on vacation, even if it is just for a long weekend. As my insurance adjuster told me, she covers at least two large claims a month due to water damage and felt that half of them could have been reduced if people had just shut off their water main when they went away.