Air Conditioner Blower Failed

[JackTheReefer]

I have a 180 Gal Oceanic "Brick" (thicker glass with no crossbars) in my dining room. The sump is in the basement in the same room with my first floor and basement central air conditioner unit. I have a vent blowing on the sump and a return vent near the floor about 3 feet from the sump (now that I think about it, it should probably be near the ceiling, as that's where the hot air would be, but all the other return vents in the house are near the floor)...

Anyway, I installed the system about a year and a half ago. Last weekend, the A/C blower stopped working.

The A/C guy came out and said that it was due to corrosion from the saltwater. I questioned how that was possible, as salt doesn't evaporate, just the water, right? Then I got to thinking that maybe it was salt spray from bubbles popping and somehow being sucked into the return vent. Does this sound feasible? Anyone else have any experience with this happening?

He said he could "taste" the salt on the blower.

This is a picture of the sump room. The return vent is on the wall, just to the left of the yellow pumps.

If it is possible that saltwater air is being sucked into the A/C blower, is there a way to prevent this? I want the sump open topped, so it can receive the full benefits of the cooling effect of the basement, but I can't afford to lose a $600+ A/C blower every year or 2.

 

[gotfin]

every time a bubble breaks salt mist is release into the air, multiply that by the vent from your skimmer and drains from tank to sump, thats alot of salt mist in the air. that is why the beach smells like the beach.

I always limit splashing and bubbling as much as possible.

 

[JackTheReefer]

so, what can I do to fix this? Some sort of filter over the air return? No air return? What? Someone has to have run into this before.

 

[JackTheReefer]

I'll close off the return vent for now. I just figured since that room was closed, it needed a way for more cold air to get into the room. Maybe a bathroom vent fan to ventilate it outside---but hey, I've seen plenty of people use those things to handle humidity. Does the salty air kill those also??

 

[Jhardain]

Bathroom vent, vented OUTSIDE through the roof will work to rid the room of some of the issue (moisture), but if the return vent is near an open body of water (tank or Fuge) the problem will persist.

I'd look into either covering the water to allow less to enter the return or moving the return.

I have been running my bathroom vent from Lowes, for only about 6 mths, and no issue yet.
Just have to make sure it is vented outside because there will be big problems in your attic with moisture if it isn't.

 

[JackTheReefer]

yes, I know it would need to be vented outside. I'm running a dehumidifier, as I've had the moisture issues in the past. Interestingly, it's still running strong (apparently, salt corrosion hasn't gotten to that yet). I'll just close off the return vent.

covering the water eliminates the cooling affects of the cooler air in the basement. I don't run a chiller, and I'd like to keep it that way.