External Environment Factors (Window, HVAC...)

[SereneAquatic]

We purchased some small items to help with the safety and longevity of the tank over the last few days... are we missing something obvious or doing something stupid?

• Blackout curtains for the living room. The tank will have to be in front of one of the windows, and that curtain will always stay closed. The other windows are far away and not direct.
• Window insulation plastic to keep cool drafts to a minimum for additional protection
• Magnetic cover for the HVAC vent that will be below the aquarium. We will probably also add a foam insert soon to keep air from blowing at all near the tank, but this cover is a good start? We will close the vent itself and place this on top of it.
• GCFI outlet to swap out with the normal outlets in the wall for added safety
• Flat blocks to support (2) 4x4 beams under the house floor joists in the crawl space for added support to the living room floor. Just in case. No sense warping or straining the floor when it's an easy precaution. Our tanks may get bigger over time :lmao:

We also need to play around with the fuse box for the house to make sure this is a dedicated circuit. We are going to commandeer the circuit that is for the propane fireplace that we never use. There are two switches side by side that are essentially useless in the house right now. We think there may be nothing, or very little else, on that circuit. If it is 15 and not 20 amp circuit we will switch out the fuse box breaker. (Forgive me if my terminology isn't right... my husband is the electrical guru)

The 15 amp GCFI outlet shown in our video is for a freshwater tank in my daughters room, we have another that is for 20 on our tank.

Are we good?

 

[billdogg]

The curtains are a good idea, especially if that side of the house gets direct sun. You will have to be aware that salt spray will inevitably get on them and so they may very well ned washing from time to time to keep them nice. How close will the tank be to the wall/curtain? I like to allow for at least 6" or so so that when (not if) you need to get behind the tank you can. The increased distance will also help to minimize salt spray.

Window insulation is a good idea regardless of whether you have a tank or not - no sense in trying to heat the outside!

When I had a register near a tank, I just used one of those curved plastic covers to help direct it away from the tank.

GFCI is not just a good idea - I consider it MANDATORY equipment! You haven't lived yet if you haven't been tossed across the room by a faulty power head - I have - it was not fun.

Adding support underneath cannot possibly hurt - consider it very cheap insurance.

If you have room in the breaker box, think about just running a new circuit or two - it is not difficult and allows for redundancy if one side trips. With two separate circuits you can split the life support equipment between them so that unless the power is out, the tank will always have circulation.

I've gotta tell you - it is refreshing to see that you are trying to think ahead of the curve. All too often there are posts about whatever disaster has just occurred that could have easily been prevented with a just a little foresight and planning.

Happy Reefing!

 

[SereneAquatic]

The curtains are a good idea, especially if that side of the house gets direct sun. You will have to be aware that salt spray will inevitably get on them and so they may very well need washing from time to time to keep them nice. How close will the tank be to the wall/curtain? I like to allow for at least 6" or so so that when (not if) you need to get behind the tank you can. The increased distance will also help to minimize salt spray.

Drat. Hadn't thought of that, even though I knew about 'salt creep'. I'll plan to wash the curtains occasionally. We did plan to leave about 10" behind the tank anyway so we can (maybe) put access panels on the back for getting to things in the sump/plumbing easier. Maybe they are already there with the Red Sea cabinets, I'm not sure. Would seem like a good thing to have in a cabinet.

GFCI is not just a good idea - I consider it MANDATORY equipment! You haven't lived yet if you haven't been tossed across the room by a faulty power head - I have - it was not fun.

LOL, sorry, this made me laugh even though I'm sure it wasn't funny at the time. I've been zapped a few times and it's awful. I dont know much about electricity... would the GFCI detect that there is a current leaking into the water from faulty equipment prior to you reaching in... or would it trip once your hand goes in and you get a small (rather than large?) jolt and it detects it at that point? I've read about heaters doing the same thing.

Is there any way to protect yourself? Ground yourself out while reaching in? Use rubber gloves? I seriously hate the feeling of electric shocks. I suppose you could buy a voltage detector... Maybe this is overkill http://www.shockalert.com/ :lmao:

If you have room in the breaker box, think about just running a new circuit or two - it is not difficult and allows for redundancy if one side trips. With two separate circuits you can split the life support equipment between them so that unless the power is out, the tank will always have circulation.

This is a great idea. I'm not sure if we'll be lucky enough to find two unused circuits, but it might be a good idea to add one for this kind of redundancy. We were looking at battery backup items the other day for power outages, but this is a different kind of redundancy. I like it.

I've gotta tell you - it is refreshing to see that you are trying to think ahead of the curve. All too often there are posts about whatever disaster has just occurred that could have easily been prevented with a just a little foresight and planning.

Happy Reefing!

Thanks Husband and I are both pretty detail oriented, and I'm an analyst for a living so I almost can't help myself. Ultimately we realize that this is an expensive hobby, and we dont like wasting our money. We're in it for the long haul, so we would prefer to do it right the first time... at least, as much as possible.

 

[billdogg]

The best way to protect yourself is by NOT grounding yourself. If you give current a pathway to ground, it will follow it. If you are grounded, you are the pathway. I wear tennis shoes. Don't go at it barefoot while standing in spilt tank water!

Even if you have only one open spot, you can get a double breaker so in effect have 2 circuits using only one spot. (I'm not an electrician, so when in doubt, consult someone who is)

 

[SAT]

For peace of mind, I suggest investing $20 in a titanium grounding probe. That will assure any stray voltage in your tank won't give you a shock -- and will help trigger the GFCI if there is any stray voltage.

 

[SAT]

Regarding blackout curtains... I don't know how much sunlight your tank might receive. You may not like the visual effect of sunlight hitting the tank, or perhaps you are worried about excess heat, or perhaps you are growing deep-water animals. However, I think most of the advice given about sunlight being bad is basically just urban legend. I have three 21" tubular skylights above my tank and the only real problem is I don't get enough sunlight during winter.

 

[SereneAquatic]

Regarding blackout curtains... I don't know how much sunlight your tank might receive. You may not like the visual effect of sunlight hitting the tank, or perhaps you are worried about excess heat, or perhaps you are growing deep-water animals. However, I think most of the advice given about sunlight being bad is basically just urban legend. I have three 21" tubular skylights above my tank and the only real problem is I don't get enough sunlight during winter.

Mostly concerned about algae blooms with too much light. I've had freshwater tanks before that got too much light and it wasn't super fun. The tank will be, literally, right in front of a window for most of it's length.

 

[SAT]

Any light will enable algal blooms if the right nutrients are present. I'm guessing your freshwater tank was not heavily planted. Most freshwater tanks are dimly lit and nutrient rich. For a reef tank you typically want the opposite.