my betta tank busted a seam

After the last water change there was a bit of a drip at one corner- I thought I'd refilled a bit too high and it was seeping out under the tank rim (has happened before) so wiped up the drips and lowered the water level a bit, laid paper towels down they were getting a bit wet- I thought it was just wicking water out where it had dripped into the lower tank rim.

Then later SO GLAD I went upstairs- the towel was soaked. The panel under the tank was wet in that corner. I looked closely and the seam had lines of separation all up and down that corner- white streaks and air bubbles in rows, where I never saw them before. I grabbed my spare 10g (newer, in much better shape) and several buckets, immediately scooped out most of the water, all the plants on hardscape and floaters, Ruby the betta. The heater and filter. The light and sliding lid. Hauled it all downstairs- where there's space on a table in the basement- and put it all in the spare tank. So basically Ruby has everything but the substrate. I was going to leave all the stems, crypts and rooted buces in the substrate because I can't deal with this properly for a few days but then I went to move the leaking tank and realized it was worse than I'd thought, I really narrowly avoided disaster I think.

The panel that was under my tank- half of it is soaked through. Luckily the end table it's been sitting on was just barely damp. I felt really dubious the tank would hold the last inch of water until I could take care of it- and nowhere to put it- except in the bath, with plastic wrap over to keep in the humidity but then I thought crap there's no heat or light the plants will start to be dead in four days probably- we have familiy stuff going on for end of the spring break and I just can't deal.

So I pulled up all the stems and crypts with tweezers, rinsed off their roots and dropped them in the betta's 10g to just float. Ruby looks fine. He's exploring around and looks relaxed. It's all a jumble, but I think I saved most everything. Nerites moved over on the plants, trumpet snails will survive in the substrate layer meanwhile.

That was a stressful hour just now SIGH. I have to find a stand- don't want to put it back on that end table, in fact don't want to put it back in my bedroom (I already miss seeing the betta and the plants in here but wow it sure is nice and QUIET now) and then I can move the substrate out of the leaky tank into the good one, replant and rescape everything. Crossing fingers there isn't much of a cycle, going to skip feeding a few days. Blarg.