how messy is it?

[fkshiu]

Keeps lotsa towels handy. Damage is done when you let the SW sit and soak in. Promptly wiping up spills (which are a fact of life) will prevent any damage.

[rigger11]

my tank just sits on a bare concrete floor. but still clean up any spill asap

[EmilyB]

Well, we've replaced drywall, and torn up the carpet to replace with tile, nothing really major though...

[hamsik97]

OMG, you're kidding, right?
What if I get a red sea max cube? It's all covered...
Jenna

[christyf5]

Lets face it, keeping water in a glass box, unless you never touch it its gotta get out sometime. Like fkshiu said, keep towels handy and mop up spills quickly. I've never had a major problem (and I'm pretty good at getting water everywhere).

[hamsik97]

What do you mean by saying "no MAJOR problems"? How mild are they? Please be mean and honest, I want to know the truth!
Jenna

[Aquattro]

Jenna, I kept a 155g in my living room for 2 years on exposed fir floors and against the wall. When I removed the tank, the floors and wall only needed a good cleaning and you couldn't tell there was a tank there. And I got lots of water all over the place.

[christyf5]

Well it looks, to me, like you're going for an "all in one" type tank, which is good. My big tank has a sump and most of my issues have been with sump overflows due to my incredible stupidity and need to tweak things at 11pm just before bed

For example, I adjust the skimmer just a bit, then it overflows everywhere because I'm sleeping and not around the tank. Or not taking the filter sock off the sump inflow quickly enough and water overflows the top of it and down the side of the sump (it used to clog after about a day and a half plus I had a crappy sump design). It wasn't a major problem, and didn't cause any damage, it was just a pain in the butt to clean up.

I have a 5 gallon nano as well (no sump) and I haven't had any problems with it (water wise) and its been running for a year.