Major Condensation Problem inside My Stand......

[nanoguy]

I just setup a 55 gallon with a 22.5"x30" footprint and had it running for a couple of days. I am having a huge condensation issue inside my stand. I was thinking cutting a hole and putting in a 4-5" fan to draw the air out of the stand. Would this work to eliminate the condensation or should I have the fan draw air in instead?

 

[bulldogfish]

I always blow air in. It serves 2 purposes: 1. Gas exchange, adding air inside will help lower CO2 in your system.
2. The salty air would tear up a fan in short time.

 

[demonsp]

Whats the tanks temp ? And where is this tank?

 

[nanoguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11080731#post11080731 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by demonsp
Whats the tanks temp ? And where is this tank?

The tank is in my family room in the basement. It is fairly cool down there even on hot days which is nice because I don't need to run a chiller. My controller keeps the tank at a constant 79.5 degrees.

 

[nanoguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11080728#post11080728 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bulldogfish
I always blow air in. It serves 2 purposes: 1. Gas exchange, adding air inside will help lower CO2 in your system.
2. The salty air would tear up a fan in short time.

Bulldog........would blowing air in eliminate the condesation? I was thinking I would have to draw the moist air out but what you stated does make sense.

 

[demonsp]

Yea thats it . MB a dehumidifier or a light with a clip shroud under the stand to warm and prevent this.
Im sure you know that whene the outside air gets to a certain temp thats differant from the glass, condesation will collect. Though not sure what the temp differance is.

 

[bulldogfish]

nanoguy

It should help eliminate the problem. The other thing you could do is to drill another hole on the opposite side of the stand and just put a screen over it with no fan. The fan blowing in would then blow the air right out the other hole. Cross ventilation setup always works for condesation. Remember though with running a fan you will have more evaporation.

 

[nanoguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11080793#post11080793 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bulldogfish
nanoguy

It should help eliminate the problem. The other thing you could do is to drill another hole on the opposite side of the stand and just put a screen over it with no fan. The fan blowing in would then blow the air right out the other hole. Cross ventilation setup always works for condesation. Remember though with running a fan you will have more evaporation.

That makes good sense. Equalizing the temp inside of the stand with the room temp should eliminate the condensation. Thanks for the info. I will get to work on it as soon as I can.

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

are you sure you don't have water splashing around or something? I don't see what would be cold enough to condense water from the air constantly

also, i would NOT recommend running a random light source under there for heat. light=algae, and that's the last thing you need in your sump equipment/lines etc


also, did you paint the inner stand surfaces with some epoxy/polyurethane? then salt spray etc is no issue regarding wasting the wood.