Reef tank in the Laundry room - did I goof?

[Creggers]

Hello R2R,

I was wondering if anyone had success setting up a reef tank in their laundry room - my reef is about five feet or so away from my Washing Machine & dryer. I was doing a load of laundry on hot and noticed that there was a good amount of evaporation and condensation on the top of the machine.

This got me thinking - is it likely that some of the issues I've been experiencing lately could be due to the fact that some of the detergent is finding it's way into the tank via condensation? It is obvious when the machine is running as there's a pretty strong smell of cleaning products, but I just don't know if the actual detergent can become air born or be transmitted without direct contact... Just a thought! Figured I'd come to the experts.

 

[Mikedawg]

What tank issues are you experiencing?

 

[TriggerFinger]

Cleaning the lint catcher requires me to get out a vacuum for the mess it makes...I can’t see that being good for a reef tank. Unsure about air borne detergents.

 

[Cabinetman]

I had my 560 gallon in our oversized laundry room and had other tanks in there too Over the years and none of them seem to do as good as the ones in other parts of the house. I wondered too if somehow some detergent was making its way into my tank. Since moving it to another part of the house the tank is doing 10 times better. Related ? Who knows.

 

[MnFish1]

Hello R2R,

I was wondering if anyone had success setting up a reef tank in their laundry room - my reef is about five feet or so away from my Washing Machine & dryer. I was doing a load of laundry on hot and noticed that there was a good amount of evaporation and condensation on the top of the machine.

This got me thinking - is it likely that some of the issues I've been experiencing lately could be due to the fact that some of the detergent is finding it's way into the tank via condensation? It is obvious when the machine is running as there's a pretty strong smell of cleaning products, but I just don't know if the actual detergent can become air born or be transmitted without direct contact... Just a thought! Figured I'd come to the experts.

Just my opinion. 1. If you have a 10 gallon tank - maybe. 2. If you have a 100 gallon tank - probably not. I mean - I spray windex on the outside of my tank. I do not see any problems. Lets put it this way - If I were looking at a number of possibilities - I would say air borne things would be lower on the list - do you have any parameters? What problems are you having? PS - I'm just curious - why did you put a tank in your laundry room?

 

[phillybean]

Hello R2R,

I was wondering if anyone had success setting up a reef tank in their laundry room - my reef is about five feet or so away from my Washing Machine & dryer. I was doing a load of laundry on hot and noticed that there was a good amount of evaporation and condensation on the top of the machine.

This got me thinking - is it likely that some of the issues I've been experiencing lately could be due to the fact that some of the detergent is finding it's way into the tank via condensation? It is obvious when the machine is running as there's a pretty strong smell of cleaning products, but I just don't know if the actual detergent can become air born or be transmitted without direct contact... Just a thought! Figured I'd come to the experts.

My old 90 gallon in a small laundry room with Furnace & hot water heater. 220 going in the same space now, I never had a problem

 

[MnFish1]

My old 90 gallon in a small laundry room with Furnace & hot water heater. 220 going in the same space now, I never had a problem

I'm not getting it - why put a fish tank in a laundry room - OR do you mean you have the tank part in the laundry room - with the tank front in another room - like an in wall tank - nice btw

 

[[Cameron]]

When you walk into your laundry room does it smell like detergent? If so, then some of that is making its way into the tank. If it does smell like fresh laundry, put an opened bag of chips in there with a chip clip on them for a couple days while doing laundry then eat a few... I bet it will taste like chemicals if it does smell detergent-y in there.

We stored bottled water in ours for a couple months and when we opened a bottle from there for the first time the water tasted like detergent flavor.

 

[Creggers]

What tank issues are you experiencing?

All of my hard corals (SPS / Chalice / monti) have been struggling for the past month or so, STN from the base up. I've lost a lot and cant explain why.

I had my 560 gallon in our oversized laundry room and had other tanks in there too Over the years and none of them seem to do as good as the ones in other parts of the house. I wondered too if somehow some detergent was making its way into my tank. Since moving it to another part of the house the tank is doing 10 times better. Related ? Who knows.

I'm tempted to look into moving the tank but there isn't many options for other locations at this time.

Just my opinion. 1. If you have a 10 gallon tank - maybe. 2. If you have a 100 gallon tank - probably not. I mean - I spray windex on the outside of my tank. I do not see any problems. Lets put it this way - If I were looking at a number of possibilities - I would say air borne things would be lower on the list - do you have any parameters? What problems are you having? PS - I'm just curious - why did you put a tank in your laundry room?

My tank is 75 gallons w/ a 20 long sump. Probably about 80G of total water after taking into account live rock. Laundry room was the best option to get the largest tank. It's actually in my basement but the washer / drier are in the same space.

I didn't include my params because the intent of this post was to get an idea if anyone had experience with reefing near a washing machine. For those that were asking:

DKH: 10
CA: 425
NO4: 10
PO4: .04
PH:8.1-8.3

 

[Kris 2020]

My basement sump is in the laundry room, fairly close to the washer and dryer. Been there for 8 years-ish? Has not caused any trouble that I know of. We do wash primarily with cold water, so I would not have the problem with evaporation/chemical odors.

 

[MnFish1]

All of my hard corals (SPS / Chalice / monti) have been struggling for the past month or so, STN from the base up. I've lost a lot and cant explain why.

I'm tempted to look into moving the tank but there isn't many options for other locations at this time.

My tank is 75 gallons w/ a 20 long sump. Probably about 80G of total water after taking into account live rock. Laundry room was the best option to get the largest tank. It's actually in my basement but the washer / drier are in the same space.

I didn't include my params because the intent of this post was to get an idea if anyone had experience with reefing near a washing machine. For those that were asking:

DKH: 10
CA: 425
NO4: 10
PO4: .04
PH:8.1-8.3

IMHO - it should not make a difference.

 

[phillybean]

I'm not getting it - why put a fish tank in a laundry room - OR do you mean you have the tank part in the laundry room - with the tank front in another room - like an in wall tank - nice btw

Yeah, inwall, tank part in the laundry room, display outside. Here is a pic of the 220 in progress that shows it a bit better (don't pay attention to the clothes waiting for folding...):

I will add, that I run carbon 24/7 and replace every 2 weeks, so if there is anything getting in there, the carbon may be taking care of it.

 

[Creggers]

Yeah, inwall, tank part in the laundry room, display outside. Here is a pic of the 220 in progress that shows it a bit better (don't pay attention to the clothes waiting for folding...):

I will add, that I run carbon 24/7 and replace every 2 weeks, so if there is anything getting in there, the carbon may be taking care of it.

that's about the distance I have between my tank and the washing machine!

 

[MNFish]

Have your tried using a free and clear detergent and no fabric softener?
I don't think the soap itself would be escaping however I use free and clear and do not smell anything in my laundry room.
Not saying it would help for sure but it might be worth trying to see if there is something in the sent that is entering the tank.

 

[phillybean]

that's about the distance I have between my tank and the washing machine!

Haha, when I decided to do the 220, due to the extra 6" width I had to switch which side each was on, the doors used to open into each other, not a huge deal, but now there isn't enough room for that to work.

 

[elysics]

You could route the air intake of the skimmer of your tank to some other room where the air doesn't smell like chemicals and see if that makes a difference