Large tank question(s) - 240 gallon

[saf1]

First question is regarding humidity. On larger tanks of which mine is 240 gallons is humidity a issue in the house? I'm going to have the tank in my den / office which is about 12' x 14' in size. Right now the tank is in the garage going through a leak check (tank, sump, and plumbing) and when I walked in I can feel the humidity. It got me thinking that maybe I made a mistake and now need to include a fan which may be a bit difficult. To be honest I actually liked the feel (calming and reminded me of the ocean oddly enough) but I don't want any damage to the house.

Second question is more of protection and/or spill protection. I was thinking that maybe I could lay down a pond liner, then set the stand and aquarium on it, to make any spills easier to clean up without damaging the floor. The flooring is a engineered wood laminate but was just thinking that maybe I could set it on that for a buffer. If not another option would be to maybe find a larger spill mat and set the sump and other items under the tank on that. The sump is not really going to hold a lot of water anyway and I kept it that way on purpose.

Anyway - thanks. Just trying to see what maybe I got myself into since I never considered the possibility of humidity before and I should have...

 

[maddmaxx]

First question is regarding humidity. On larger tanks of which mine is 240 gallons is humidity a issue in the house? I'm going to have the tank in my den / office which is about 12' x 14' in size. Right now the tank is in the garage going through a leak check (tank, sump, and plumbing) and when I walked in I can feel the humidity. It got me thinking that maybe I made a mistake and now need to include a fan which may be a bit difficult. To be honest I actually liked the feel (calming and reminded me of the ocean oddly enough) but I don't want any damage to the house.

Second question is more of protection and/or spill protection. I was thinking that maybe I could lay down a pond liner, then set the stand and aquarium on it, to make any spills easier to clean up without damaging the floor. The flooring is a engineered wood laminate but was just thinking that maybe I could set it on that for a buffer. If not another option would be to maybe find a larger spill mat and set the sump and other items under the tank on that. The sump is not really going to hold a lot of water anyway and I kept it that way on purpose.

Anyway - thanks. Just trying to see what maybe I got myself into since I never considered the possibility of humidity before and I should have...

that is a large amount of water. so humidity will def be present. it will be even more noticeable if the room is small.. and second answer is cutting a pond liner to size, laying that under an area rug, then the stand on top of that....

 

[Dmorty217]

I run a 50qt dehumidifier in my basement fish room for the 800g of total water volume and it by no means runs all the time. They are good to have but not necessary unless you have water condensating on the wall above the tank and/or aren't running you heat/AC ever. As far as spill protection goes invest in quality check valves (not the spring loaded ones from lowes/Home Depot... think Bulk Reef Supply) that will prevent nearly 100% of your floods on the floor.

 

[ca1ore]

I have not had particular humidity issues in my house except for the basement ..... and that issue is independent of having a tank.

 

[saf1]

@Maddmaxx, @Dmorty217, and @Ca1ore,

Thanks for the replies. It isn't the biggest room by any stretch of imagination Maybe 140 - 150 square feet give or take. The tank measurements are 54" wide x 30" deep and 30" in height. The piece about condensation was interesting so I went out in the garage to poke around and didn't notice anything. Just for fun I went ahead and ordered a AcuRite Indoor Humidity Monitor to see what it would register. I'll also keep an eye out for condensation in the garage but probably isn't apples to apples. We do tend to keep a cooler house living in Northern California especially in the summer months. Heater is on during the winter but I don't think has much as others.

I do not have any check valves installed. I assumed those are bad practice. I see Spears true union check valves that are swing and not spring loaded. I'll search and read more about how they work and similar products. I can add them in without any major work. It sounds like they are a secondary level of protection. Thanks for the suggestion.

Right now the room has a 40 breeder and I don't noticed much of anything. Sounds like it may be something to consider due to room size and total water. The good news is I don't have a very large sump. My guess is it will hold maybe 10 gallons if that max.

Thank you all again. I appreciate the feedback and recommendations / suggestions. I probably should have thought of this before buying a large tank. Seems like a 100 gallon may have been more suited for the room.

Edit: @Dmorty217 - also good to see you on the forums. Hope all is well. I've missed your threads in the fish section and it is good to see you having some time here!

 

[Dmorty217]

Life got busy and I really struggled to keep interest as odd as that sounds with a large tank and lots of fish, but I did. I revamped my tank after selling tank inhabitants off early this year, so Im currently working on a stock list again!

 

[slief]

I have a 480g display in my house. It's built in top to bottom. The light soffit has a duct in it that has a 500cfm fan blowing out of the house via the ducting and a vent I installed through the wall of the house directly outside.

As for leak protection, I installed a pond liner below the tank. Since my stand is framed in with drywall, I ran the pond liner up the wall a bit and then added white FRP to the walls below the tank which hold the pond liner to the walls. I created some 3" dams in the door openings that the pond liner is stapled too.

This should give you an idea of what I did as far as the pond liner and dam goes.

 

[Dmorty217]

I have a 480g display in my house. It's built in top to bottom. The light soffit has a duct in it that has a 500cfm fan blowing out of the house via the ducting and a vent I installed through the wall of the house directly outside.

As for leak protection, I installed a pond liner below the tank. Since my stand is framed in with drywall, I ran the pond liner up the wall a bit and then added white FRP to the walls below the tank which hold the pond liner to the walls. I created some 3" dams in the door openings that the pond liner is stapled too.

This should give you an idea of what I did as far as the pond liner and dam goes.

All that Royal Exclusiv stuff looks sexy under there!

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

I wound up with a whole house dehumidifier, (was in basement with hot tub & sauna since removed), that we moved to accommodate my 3 rooms. There was some signs of mold starting.

 

[ca1ore]

Just as an addendum ....

I run a dehumidifier in my basement during the high humidity (outside) Summer months, but in the Spring and Fall I have found a ventilating fan to be both better and cheaper to run.

 

[anbosu]

I think you will need a vent or dehumidifier. I have always lived in relatively humid climates since I've had my big tank, but I needed to run a dehumidifier in both locations.

 

[saf1]

@all - thanks. I am going to revisit how I am hanging the lights a bit more. If I go with my original thought of a floating shelf that rests between two cabinets / book cases with the tank in the middle I would have to use a dehumidifier portal unit type of thing. If I end up going with a hood that rests on top I could probably go to the ceiling and then add a fan to be safe and tie that vent to the bathroom fan across the hallway so it would exhaust outside. So I have a couple options it looks like.

@slief - thanks for the picture. I've read your tank thread off and on and forgot about your sump area. I seem to remember now that you did have a liner in there so thanks. That is what I was thinking of but didn't remember if the stand is placed on or if it is more inside hugging the wall My stand is steel. I was thinking of maybe making a wood box with a 6" high wall that rests inside and add the liner. Sort of like a kitty liter box - lol.

Thank you all again. Side note, I've added a picture of the wainscoting which has since been sanded, primer, and painted (and beauty plates reinstalled) which lead me to the thread. So thanks again.

 

[slief]

@all - thanks. I am going to revisit how I am hanging the lights a bit more. If I go with my original thought of a floating shelf that rests between two cabinets / book cases with the tank in the middle I would have to use a dehumidifier portal unit type of thing. If I end up going with a hood that rests on top I could probably go to the ceiling and then add a fan to be safe and tie that vent to the bathroom fan across the hallway so it would exhaust outside. So I have a couple options it looks like.

@slief - thanks for the picture. I've read your tank thread off and on and forgot about your sump area. I seem to remember now that you did have a liner in there so thanks. That is what I was thinking of but didn't remember if the stand is placed on or if it is more inside hugging the wall My stand is steel. I was thinking of maybe making a wood box with a 6" high wall that rests inside and add the liner. Sort of like a kitty liter box - lol.

Thank you all again. Side note, I've added a picture of the wainscoting which has since been sanded, primer, and painted (and beauty plates reinstalled) which lead me to the thread. So thanks again.

With a steel stand, if it were me, I would look into having a PVC tray made that has 4 sides that come up 4-6 inches. This is what I am talking about. These are some pictures of what one of the Royal Exclusiv customers did below his steel stand. he went a bit nuts and had it built around the legs as you can see. Maybe a bit overkill and you could save a small fortune by having it just fit between the legs with straight sides instead of having them build around the legs.

 

[saf1]

@Slief - that is exactly it. Although I was going to do it out of wood and paint, then the liner. But yes, that is the exact idea I was looking to replicate. PVC may be a bit cost prohibitive for me ATM but that looks very clean, neat, etc.

Thanks!

 

[slief]

@Slief - that is exactly it. Although I was going to do it out of wood and paint, then the liner. But yes, that is the exact idea I was looking to replicate. PVC may be a bit cost prohibitive for me ATM but that looks very clean, neat, etc.

Thanks!

Glad to help! :beer: