I've been having humidity issues with the evaporation from my tank... More so in my garage closet where my sump is located. I'm going to cut some plexiglass and make a lid to cover as much of the sump as possible. I was also considering getting some for the main tank inside. This would essentially reduce my top off by quite a bit and also fix the humidity issues. The only problem I see with this would be lighting the tank. I have D-120s right now and they're turned way down. Has anyone done this before and are there other issues that may arise?
Air exchange and heat exchange are the only other problems I can think of. If you're running metal halides it could be a problem . I would think if you have a skimmer air exchange wouldn't be a bigee. Strange, I have a 155 gallon tank that evaporates almost 2 gallon a day and still my indoor humidity this time of year is running 30-35%. To illustrate the outdoor humidity is 59% at this moment and my den is 35%. It must be because my heat is running so much
The problem I see with a solid cover to the tank is gas exchange, primarily oxygen. Gas exchange through evaporation is good for the system and I believe trouble would follow with a closed top. At my old house I had problems with humidity when I added too much water volume for the room size. A dehumidifier may be a solution also. You need good air exchange in the room to keep the humidity down.
Hiya, Running the heat this time of year, should reduce the humidity in one's house. Air forced out of our heating units is very dry. When I was raising birds, we had problems with the birds skin being dry in the winter. They were always wanting to take baths. Kim/Benton, AR
I am assuming "Humidity" problems is all the condensation forming in what is probably an unheated closet. The nice warm water is evaporating into unheated air that cannot hold as much moisture so the air becomes quickly saturated. It then condenses out on the cool walls of the closet. Heating the closet would just increase the evaporation rate. Covering the sump would eliminate the problem but as Norman pointed out it impacts oxygen exchange and water pH. If you had lots of macro algae in the sump with good lighting it may offset surface area exchange.
It causing mold issues in the closet... I've got a large skimmer, I would assume that should be adequate for has exchange right? I can do without covering the display tank, but I've got to do something in the sump room... There's not enough room in there to fit a dehumidifier big enough to combat the evaporation... I've started leaving the door open but that's a temporary fix.
I'm not sure of how much free space you have, but they do make dehumidifiers that are pretty compact. They do make things called "damp out" that is made for closets. They sell them at big box stores. I'm not sure if they would be able to combat with a fishtank, but might be worth a shot. If you can find a dehumidifier small enough, that would for sure solve humidity problems. I use one in my basement, & it really works. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
(And the one I use in my basement is pretty small, but my basement is 2 large rooms, & it works). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You can put a vent fan in the closet to get good air exchange, that should keep the humidity down. Something like this could help as well, http://www.amazon.com/DewStop-FS-10...id=1388337169&sr=8-1&keywords=humidity+switch
HIya, Can you not put a shelf above the system in the closet and put the dehumidifier on that? sometimes people forget to think up. Kim/Benton, AR
Small bathroom exhaust fan /light to replace the closet light would work And use a laundry room door grate in lower of door for air flow into it Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
