Skimmers Gone Wild

So, I leave for an hour and the ETSS that I was breaking in goes ape%$% and I end up with about five gallons on the floor. Now this is in my dining room. It is that old parkay wood flooring that needs to be replaced anyway. Not too worried about that. What I ended up doing is taking an old drill bit, you know, the kind you make a big hole in the door so you can install a deadbolt. I drilled through the bottom of the cabinet. Looked through. Water. OK. Good enough. I went and got the shopvac, put the hose up to the opening (perfect fit) and sucked away. I got most of the water underneath.

Now, I am wondering. The cabinet flooring does not seem to have much use. It is that weak plywood. What about cutting it away? Then I could really clean it up good. What do ya think?

 

oofff! first the leak now the flood. ouch, i hope you get a string of goodluck to cancel out the bad, i wouldn't mess with the stand but thats just me.

 

I would cut it out, I have never seen a cabinet where the bottom has anything to do with being a structural part of the cabinet. All it is for is to raise what every you store under there.

I would also put a couple of fans around the area to make sure it gets really good and dry. Any moisture will hasten rot especially under the floor.

 

I would drill a few holes and put the nozzle of the vac to it round holes in wood do not weaken the structural integrity of the piece of wood.

 

I would be Leary of cutting it away all together but I would cut a few holes to get the water out. Man you have run into some bad luck lately. It will get better. And one question. How is the better half taking it. Mine would be ready to divorce me. LOL

 

Karma to ya brother... Its gotta get better.
Drill some holes...use the fan...vac what ya can....some time a little bleach solution if its smelly....but maintain structual integrity.....I just went through the ol lean'n tank stand...
bad for the heart......ya did'nt have anything else to do this weekend!!
Peace and calm be with you and yours...
LG

 

I wouldnt call it "bad luck", but more like bad events. My dad always used to say, " Positive thoughts/thinking will produce positive outcomes". Just be positive about everything and everything will be fine. To help you get started, Im going to give you some positive karma.
As for the cutting, when I made my stand, I didnt cover the whole floor so I could get to it if needed. It can be done, but just be careful. Can you post some pics so we know what we're dealing with? Luna

 

Its the only floor guys, after spending 20 years in all kinds of construction I have built and modified many cabinets. The floor of a cabinet hasn't got anything to do with structural integrity. As a matter of fact most tanks stands that I have seen don't even have a floor in them.

All it is for is to raise things above the bottom rail and or in the case of a standard kitchen cabinet above the kick plate. If your that worried about the front of back kicking out (not likely) you can always put a stretcher board across like the stretcher on the top of a tank, but personally I wouldn't worry about it.

I would be more worried about what damage a CLOSED in area and moisture can do. If you have ever worked in remodeling and removed a kitchen sink cabinet or bathroom cabinet you will understand. Even the slightest bit of water can do major damage if not properly dried. And if it has leaked in between the floor boards (parkay flooring is notorious for this) and sub-floor it can be extremely hard to get properly dried.

Just my opinion!

 

She just shrugs her shoulders and says "it needs to be replaced anyway, If it were new, then I would be Pi%$ed." She's a keeper.

Everything seems to be dry now. All of this happened at one in the morning. I am going to switch on the skimmer again and put the bucket back. I am going to think about McGyvering some kind of auto redirect thing.

Last night I was thinking about drilling a hole in the side of the house and running hose directly from the skimmer to outside, then 90 degrees down under the deck.

Now.......with THAT, she might divorce me. But it would solve a problem.
Hehehe.

I love this hobby!!!!!

 

when I first set up my tanks I had them in our living room. one night power went out and presto I have 10 gallons of water all over! needless to say the very next day the tanks were moved to the utility room where there is a concrete floor! needless to say I was living in the little house in the back yard with one really pissed off puppy!!!